The Hidden Struggles of Athletes: Performance Pressure, Injury, and Mental Health

Psychiatric Times is excited to announce the addition of Wilsa M. S. Charles Malveaux, MD, MA, FAPA, a sports psychiatrist based in Los Angeles, CA, as sports psychiatry section editor. Malveaux is joining as the sports psychiatry section editor. We asked a few questions to get to know her and her practice.

“There are certain pressures that are different for athletes than they are for the regular population,” Malveaux said. She says when an athlete is expected to perform in silence, in front of a wide audience, or with an injury, that is a different mentality. Another aspect of treating athletes is dealing with medication restrictions. “With athletes, I also have to look at, can you take this in your sport? Is this a banned substance? Do you need to get a therapeutic use exemption for this? Are you going to be able to travel into the country where your competitions are and use this medication or not? Or do we need to find alternative that can actually work with your sport and won't get you into trouble?”

Physical injuries have a profound effect on athletes mental health and wellness. Malveaux completed a study during her master’s program that looked at the effect of injury and failure on the athletes, interpersonal relationships with their teammates, coaches, on their self esteem and on their decision to continue or quit their sport. “When someone is so tied to something, which is not the case for every athlete, but often it's a part of who they are and their identity and that gets altered, damaged or even lost, that can have a profound effect,” Malveaux said. Helping patients understand that going through the emotions of grief and loss is necessary to do to get back to performing well.

This is part 2 of a 4-part video series. You can view part 1 here.

Dr Wilsa Charles Malveaux is a sports psychiatrist in Los Angeles, California, and CEO of WCM Sports Psych. She is an advocate and educator on the intersection of mental health, sports, and racial and social justice. Dr Charles Malveaux lends her expertise as a psychiatric consultant to multiple national sport-related agencies, professional sports teams, and organizations. She served for over 4 years as the Western Regional Trustee (region 4) on the Board of Black Psychiatrists of America. Dr Charles Malveaux now serves on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Sports and Performance Psychiatry (ABSPP), as well as on advisory boards for organizations serving the community.