Spotlight – Mental Health in Sports Professionals You Need To Know!!!

Jamal T. Jackson, MSW

January 13, 2020

As society changes there is an increased need for mental health for all people.  This need includes a significant growth within the field of Social Work in sports, which incorporates providing mental health support to athletes from youth to professional levels.  Being in the field of social work in sports has provided me with an opportunity to learn how mental health workers are utilizing their skills to positively support athletes.  Natalie Graves, AM, LCSW (Licensed Clinical Social Worker) is one of Social Work in sport’s pioneers. Natalie has extensive training, earning a Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Services Administration, a Bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University, an Addictions License from City Colleges of Chicago Kennedy-King College, and was a visiting student at the University of Maryland where she studied abroad in London, England, in Sport, Commerce, and Culture.  She has been in the field of mental health for 20 years working in social service agencies, as a school social worker, as well as in consulting with schools. Natalie created the 1in4 Project, which is an organization aimed at collaborating with local service agencies, to build practices and educate communities, in order to improve the lives of athletes. Natalie’s organization would later go on to establish the first social work and athletics conference, called “Behind the Jersey Uncovering Mental Health in Sports” in the spring of 2015.  Natalie has worked with many athletes specializing in anxiety, depression, athletic stress, PTSD, and substance abuse to name a few things. She has also been sought out by many professional organizations to support athlete mental health, including a 2018 HBO special Student Athlete, where she can be heard in the beginning of the initial credits discussing the challenge between educational attainment and athletic performance for student athletes.  Natalie’s work and accomplishments have played a monumental and significant role in fueling athletes to seek out mental health support as well as in leading mental health workers in becoming a pivotal resource in the athletic field.