Sport Psychology Program
Explore This Treatment Program
About the Program
PACES Institute (Performance and Character Excellence in Sports)
The Sport Psychology Program at Massachusetts General Hospital provides services for both school and community youth athletic programs. We offer the following services:
- Consultations and workshops for coaches, teams, parents and individuals on team-building, performance enhancement and character development
- Consultations to schools, towns and youth sport organizations following team problems or crisis
- Individual and team performance enhancement evaluations and treatments for athletes at all levels
- Youth sport research
Focus on the Whole Athlete
Many other sport psychology programs focus primarily on athletic performance. In the Mass General Sport Psychology, we offer comprehensive services for athletes of all ages as well as teams, families, schools and sports organizations.
Our clinicians provide support for athletes through:
- Athletic performance enhancement coaching
- Evaluation and support for medical problems such as injury recovery
- Evaluation and support for psychiatric difficulties (including anxiety, eating disorders, depression, family and personal conflicts, ADD/ADHD or learning issues)
Our program follows a consultation model. After your an initial consultation, we provide support to schools, teams and programs in developing mission statements, interacting with parents and managing crises, while also offering ongoing support. Great value is given to the promotion and development of the overall psychological and physical health of each athlete.
Our Specialists
We provide support to schools, teams and programs in developing mission statements, interacting with parents and managing crises, while also offering ongoing support.
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- Director, Transitional Age Youth Clinic
- Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
- Medical Director, Sport Psychology
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- Psychologist
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- Massachusetts General Hospital Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Instructor, Harvard Medical School
- Staff Psychiatrist, Harvard University Health Services
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- Psychologist
Resources
The co-directors of the Sport Psychology Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Richard D. Ginsburg, PhD, and Stephen Durant, EdD, have co-authored a book with former Olympic rower and fellow sport psychologist Amy Baltzell, EdD:
The book includes case studies and analyses outlining a preventive approach for young athletes that includes a three-step program: know yourself, know your child and know the environment.
Pioneering Psychiatry Research
The integration of patient care and clinical research has been a hallmark of the Department of Psychiatry for more than 30 years. Today, the department has the largest clinical research program in the hospital, with studies at the forefront of neuroscience, molecular biology and genetics.