Symposium | Mental Health and Student-Athletes: Managing the Invisible Injury
A recent UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital (WPH) symposium on mental health and student-athletes was attended by nearly 800 psychologists, coaches, athletic directors and trainers, sports nutritionists, administrators, school counselors, social workers, and teachers. Mental Health and Student-Athletes: Managing the Invisible Injury presented the latest research around the vulnerability of student-athletes to mental health challenges, whether due to physical injury, unmet expectations, performance struggles, or team discord.
Experts committed to both psychological safety and athletic outcomes helped attendees learn to recognize warning signs of mental health challenges in student-athletes and to strategically employ existing support systems and resources when necessary.
From the Department of Psychiatry, Raymond Pan, MD (Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Orthopedic Surgery), and Robin Valpey, MD (Assistant Professor of Psychiatry), delivered presentations, following a welcome and introduction from Kenneth Nash, MD (Professor of Psychiatry, Neurological Surgery, and Pediatrics and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs, Department of Psychiatry). Dr. Nash is chief of clinical services at WPH, and serves as the team psychiatrist for two professional sports teams.
“The Mental Health and Student-Athlete Symposium has continued to grow in visibility and deepen its impact across the community. It’s a great initiative that reduces stigma while increasing understanding and awareness of mental health among young adults from middle school and high school to college and beyond,” said Dr. Nash. “What made this year especially meaningful was the incredible audience. The conversations were honest, the dialogue was rich, and the commitment to supporting student athletes was sincere.”
An expert in integrated care, sports psychiatry, and concussion care, Dr. Pan discussed managing student-athletes during and after concussions and head trauma. As an attending psychiatrist with the UPMC Sports Medicine Concussion Program and the UPMC Sports Medicine Student Athlete Clinic, Dr. Pan treats individuals who experience the co-occurrence of psychiatric symptoms following concussion. Next month, Dr. Pan will deliver an invited keynote presentation at the International Conference on Sports Psychiatry in Switzerland.
Dr. Valpey is an attending psychiatrist with UPMC Premier Sports Program and provides psychiatric clinical care for student-athletes at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University. She has presented clinical grand rounds and taught psychiatry residents on topics related to sports psychiatry and student-athletes. Dr. Valpey’s session on supporting the mental health of student-athletes focused on specific challenges that that this population can face through the collegiate level.
“Using sports psychiatry as a platform for mental health has created strong momentum. I’m already excited for next year. We will continue to expand the reach and continue building a community where mental health is understood, supported, and openly discussed. I want to personally thank Dr. Valpey and Dr. Pan from the Department of Psychiatry for their superb presentations,” said Dr. Nash.
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Learn more: Dr. Valpey and Dr. Pan recently discussed discussing their work in sports psychiatry as guests on the UPMC Psychiatry Advances podcast (listen here).
Special thanks to the event's generous sponsors, the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and the Citrone Thirty/Three Foundation, who continue to prioritize the mental wellbeing of young people in our region.