Pitt Athletics Introduces Comprehensive Mental Health Counseling Program
6/20/2018 10:00:00 AM | General
Program Increases Access for Support and Counseling Services to Student-Athletes
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics in partnership with Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC (WPIC), announced the addition of two mental health counselors as full-time staff members of the Pitt Athletics Sports Performance team.
"This initiative brings together two world class programs in a unique partnership to address and provide early intervention for mental health and wellness issues in student-athletes," Director of Athletics Heather Lyke said. "The program reflects Pitt's commitment to the student-athlete experience and ensures Pitt's responsiveness to the health and well-being of our student-athletes."
The program's focal points will include mindfulness and stress reduction strategies as well as one on one counseling. Counselors will also address issues of substance use in the student-athlete population as part of the comprehensive approach to helping students be successful in academics, sports and ultimately succeed in life.
According to Jack Cahalane, M.D., chief of adult services at WPIC, the program will build upon an existing relationship where student-athletes had been referred to a variety of WPIC counselors at their Oakland facility.
"The new partnership will expand and enhance the role of behavioral health with two full-time counselors who will be housed within the athletic department and dedicated to student-athletes," Calahene said. "This innovative approach will radically increase education on support options, along with access and timeliness of counseling services, while decreasing stigma."
Kristen Mackel, L.C.S.W., joins the program as lead clinical counselor. A two-time Pitt graduate, Mackel earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Social Work in Oakland. While enrolled at Pitt, Mackel was a four-year member of the cheerleading team. Since 2015, Mackel had been working as a member of a team of counselors who worked with Pitt student-athletes when they were referred directly to the WPIC facility. Specifically, she has worked with Pitt student-athletes on psychiatric assessments and referrals, individual therapy, treatment for mood and anxiety disorders, stress and time management, concussion and injury symptoms and has provided phone coaching and crisis management interventions. Under the new model, Mackel will work from the Petersen Events Center, where she will interact with student-athletes on a daily basis.
A Downingtown, Pa., native, Mackel is an experienced mental health provider, certified by the state of Pennsylvania as a licensed clinical social worker. For the past eight years, she has been employed by WPIC working within the Adult Outpatient Mood and Anxiety Clinic Intensive Outpatient Program where her work focused on college-age individuals. For the past four years, she has providing individual counseling services to University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University student-athletes through the Premier Athlete Program.
Mackel is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and an associate member of the American Psychological Association. She has trained with the Center for Deployment Psychology in the areas of post-traumatic stress disorder treatment utilizing Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to treat sleep disturbances.
She has completed Dialectical Behavior Therapy trainings through Behavioral Tech, the Treatment Implementation Collaborative, and WPIC. Additionally, she is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through The Beck Institute.
Leigh Skvarla, Ph.D., N.C.C., will serve as clinical counselor. She has provided counseling and peak performance services to student-athletes at Waynesburg University and offered individual and team-based services at West Virginia University. Most recently, Skvarla has worked with youth, adolescent and adult performers through KPEX Consulting in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Skvarla is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. She also serves as an adjunct course instructor at Chatham University.
She has presented research and collaborative workshops at national and international conferences, and published multiple peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Skvarla and her colleagues at Chatham recently wrote and received an NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant, and are developing a series of web-based modules to help coaches identify help-seeking behaviors and navigate the mental health referral process.
A Chester County, Pa., native, Skvarla attended Bucknell University, where she was an honors graduate in psychology and minored in dance and philosophy. She was a fellowship recipient and graduate teaching assistant while attending West Virginia University, where she earned a Master's in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Sport & Exercise Psychology.
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"This initiative brings together two world class programs in a unique partnership to address and provide early intervention for mental health and wellness issues in student-athletes," Director of Athletics Heather Lyke said. "The program reflects Pitt's commitment to the student-athlete experience and ensures Pitt's responsiveness to the health and well-being of our student-athletes."
The program's focal points will include mindfulness and stress reduction strategies as well as one on one counseling. Counselors will also address issues of substance use in the student-athlete population as part of the comprehensive approach to helping students be successful in academics, sports and ultimately succeed in life.
According to Jack Cahalane, M.D., chief of adult services at WPIC, the program will build upon an existing relationship where student-athletes had been referred to a variety of WPIC counselors at their Oakland facility.
"The new partnership will expand and enhance the role of behavioral health with two full-time counselors who will be housed within the athletic department and dedicated to student-athletes," Calahene said. "This innovative approach will radically increase education on support options, along with access and timeliness of counseling services, while decreasing stigma."
Kristen Mackel, L.C.S.W., joins the program as lead clinical counselor. A two-time Pitt graduate, Mackel earned her Bachelor of Science and Master of Social Work in Oakland. While enrolled at Pitt, Mackel was a four-year member of the cheerleading team. Since 2015, Mackel had been working as a member of a team of counselors who worked with Pitt student-athletes when they were referred directly to the WPIC facility. Specifically, she has worked with Pitt student-athletes on psychiatric assessments and referrals, individual therapy, treatment for mood and anxiety disorders, stress and time management, concussion and injury symptoms and has provided phone coaching and crisis management interventions. Under the new model, Mackel will work from the Petersen Events Center, where she will interact with student-athletes on a daily basis.
A Downingtown, Pa., native, Mackel is an experienced mental health provider, certified by the state of Pennsylvania as a licensed clinical social worker. For the past eight years, she has been employed by WPIC working within the Adult Outpatient Mood and Anxiety Clinic Intensive Outpatient Program where her work focused on college-age individuals. For the past four years, she has providing individual counseling services to University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University student-athletes through the Premier Athlete Program.
Mackel is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and an associate member of the American Psychological Association. She has trained with the Center for Deployment Psychology in the areas of post-traumatic stress disorder treatment utilizing Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) to treat sleep disturbances.
She has completed Dialectical Behavior Therapy trainings through Behavioral Tech, the Treatment Implementation Collaborative, and WPIC. Additionally, she is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through The Beck Institute.
Leigh Skvarla, Ph.D., N.C.C., will serve as clinical counselor. She has provided counseling and peak performance services to student-athletes at Waynesburg University and offered individual and team-based services at West Virginia University. Most recently, Skvarla has worked with youth, adolescent and adult performers through KPEX Consulting in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
Skvarla is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science. She also serves as an adjunct course instructor at Chatham University.
She has presented research and collaborative workshops at national and international conferences, and published multiple peer-reviewed articles and chapters. Skvarla and her colleagues at Chatham recently wrote and received an NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant, and are developing a series of web-based modules to help coaches identify help-seeking behaviors and navigate the mental health referral process.
A Chester County, Pa., native, Skvarla attended Bucknell University, where she was an honors graduate in psychology and minored in dance and philosophy. She was a fellowship recipient and graduate teaching assistant while attending West Virginia University, where she earned a Master's in Counseling and a Ph.D. in Sport & Exercise Psychology.
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