BOSTON – Committed to bettering the mental health and well-being of everyone within the America East Conference, the league, in partnership with Mindwise Innovations, will hold a two-part educational series this spring that will make a conference-wide impact.
The sessions will be tailored specifically for coaches, administrators and support staff and discuss best practices that can be taken back to their teams and benefit student-athletes. Topics will include how to build a psychologically safe culture for a team environment and provide tips for how to make mental health check-ins a part of the overall well-being of a team. The sessions will also address how to normalize mental health conversations, stress and its impact physically, mentally and emotionally, and the practical ways to build self-care into your life.
Two esteemed panelists will lead the discussions in Lisa K. Desai and Alexandra Pradas. Desai is the Director of Behavioral Health Consulting at MindWise and has over 20 years of clinical and administrative experience across delivery systems in college counseling centers, community mental health, hospitals and private practice.
Pradas has over 10 years of experience working with youth and their families in the fields of education and mental health. She currently serves as the Program Director of the Needham Community Service Agency at Riverside Community Care, which supports youth with severe emotional disturbances and their families.
The first session will take place on March 2 is titled “Building Resilience I: Bolstering Student-Athlete Mental Health in Uncertain Times” and the second on Tuesday, April 6 is “Building Resilience II: Self-Care Isn’t Selfish.”
America East’s Better Together initiative focuses on creating more mentally healthy environments for student-athletes across all 10 America East campuses through education, outreach, events and more. Learn more at americaeast.com/bettertogether.
MindWise Innovations offers a comprehensive approach to mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention. Utilizing our suite of digital and consultative services, we support early intervention, education, and crisis management to promote improved health outcomes and help shape the future of behavioral healthcare. Learn more at mindwise.org.
About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.
- #3Pillars – Building the Complete Student-Athlete -