Wilsa M. S. Charles Malveaux, MD, MA, FAPA, Named Psychiatric Times Sports Psychiatry Section Editor

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.

“That’s been my career, the road less traveled,” Malveaux said, “I’ve been doing the work before the work had a name. My thesis for my master’s when I was at Stanford University was a sports psychology study, and it was always calling to me.”

Malveaux realized she was interested in helping athletes in handling the different mental and physical aspects of being an athlete. She feels that, for her, it isn’t just about mental illness, but wellness and helping athletes perform better by getting at what is holding them back.

Athletes face different pressures from the regular population, Malveaux said, but not because athletes are not people. “When you’re expected to perform in silence, in front of a wide audience beyond just what you can see,” Malveaux said, “that’s a different type of pressure when you’re expected not to be thwarted in any way, from your goals, by pain, pain that you are taught to push through.” Malveaux also has to consider limitations from leagues and travel when medicating an athlete. She says concerns like therapeutic exemptions, allowances for certain drugs, and limitations on taking prescriptions out of the country all make treating athletes difficult.

Speaking about the stigma around mental health in athletics, Malveaux said it is important to her that her athletes and the people around them trust her as a provider. “They know that, ‘if I have a doubt about this, my doctor is going to make sure I understand. My doctor is going to answer the questions. If I’m not ready, my doctor is not trying to push me or force me into anything.’”

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.