Hello Coaches!

My name is Emily Klueh, I am a Licensed mental health and sport performance clinician and have been hired with USA Swimming National Team division to help bridge the gap between mental health and sport performance care for our National and Junior National Teams. Mental health for your athletes and well as yourself is continuing to become at the forefront of many conversations. I wanted to take a moment and talk about accessing care and what to look for when working with providers. It is important to understand the differences between providers in the field and what you may notice regarding letters after an individual’s name. Above is a chart that provides brief education on the different types of providers for mental health and sport performance. No different than we understand what type of doctor we are going to for physical injuries and illnesses, it is just as important that we take the time to understand what type of mental health provider we are accessing for care. There are multiple different types of providers, some are listed in the chart above. In finding a provider, one thing you will notice are letters after their name: MD, PsyD, PhD, LMSW, LCSW, LPC, among others. I want to emphasize the most important aspect of working with a provider is finding someone you feel comfortable and connected with. Comfort, trust, and connection are the biggest determinants when it comes to successful treatment. This element can outweigh the letters after their name; however, it is important to make sure the person you work with has the education and knowledge to help you with whatever you are seeking help for.

When looking to get connected with a provider or help your athletes get connected with a professional, if needed, there are many ways to get started. First and foremost, your Primary Care Provider, PCP, will have a list of providers they can refer you to who would most likely by within your network for insurance. PCP’s are a great place to start. Outside of you or your athletes PCP, there is a website call psychologytoday.com. In this website you can search your location for therapists. The great thing about this website is you can narrow your search based off of area of interest for care, for example if you are looking for someone who works with athletes, or primarily focuses on anxiety or depression you can select that as an option which will then narrow your search results. You can also see if the provider accepts insurance and what type of insurance they accept as well as seeing if they are taking on new clients. Within each provider’s profile there is a contact option so you can contact that provider right away and get connected with care. My hope is that we continue to create conversation around mental health and sport performance work as well as decrease or remove barriers to accessing care.

Go USA!
Emily Klueh, MSW, LMSW, CMPC