Student-Athlete Psychological Services

SAPS is a branch of the Personal Counseling Center (PCC), created and implemented in collaboration with Athletics and Student Affairs to:

1. Provide comprehensive psychological services to support Student-Athlete mental health, holistic wellness, and athletic excellence.
2. Embrace and promote a culture of awareness, acceptance, and resilience in which personal challenges and mental health concerns are understood and responded to as an opportunity for individual and collective betterment.
3. Support the development of future clinicians in Student-Athlete mental health through a dedicated training program grounded in the best practices in clinical assessment and treatment techniques

Student-Athlete Psychological Services serves as a mental health hub for the 400 undergraduate and graduate student-athletes on campus. Students-Athletes use our services for a variety of problems, which range from normal developmental issues to more extreme dysfunction. Typical presenting problems include interpersonal concerns, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, lack of motivation or concentration, challenges with adjustment to college/collegiate athletics, family-of-origin concerns, substance abuse, poor academic and/or athletic performance, and identity concerns.

Services We Provide

SAPS provides comprehensive psychological services to support Student-Athlete mental health, holistic wellness, and athletic excellence through the following services:

Identification and Referral

• We utilize a multifaceted approach to effectively identify and engage with student-athletes in distress.

Education and Programing

• We offer seminars and workshops for student-athletes, coaches, medical staff, and athletics department personnel regarding student-athlete mental health.

Consultation and Advising

• We provide support and guidance for student-athlete facing personnel focused on effective identification and response to mental health concerns; We also collaborate with university personnel to promote effective engagement in university systems and utilization of available campus resources.

Treatment and Intervention

• We deliver culturally sensitive, accessible, mental health treatment for student-athletes on campus through individual and group psychotherapy as well as psychopharmacology.

Who We Are

Jessica Stewart, PsyD: Consulting Clinical Psychologist for Student Athletes

Dr. Stewart is a Licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. She holds a doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from Williams James College and a master’s degree in Sport Psychology from Boston University. She has over a decade of experience providing individual and group psychotherapy in a variety of settings including hospitals, mental health clinics, and on college campuses.

Her clinical work has focused largely on working with college students since completing her post-doctoral fellowship at Boston College’s Counseling Center. Dr. Stewart’s extensive personal and professional experience within sport paired with specialized education in the area informs her expertise in understanding athlete mental health. In addition to working at Providence College, Dr. Stewart has a private practice in the greater Boston area and consults to several universities and athletic organizations throughout New England regarding best practices in supporting athlete and student-athlete well-being.

Trevor Cote, PhD: SAPS Psychologist

Dr. Cote is a Licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Additionally, he is an approved, participating PSYPACT psychologist and can provide telehealth in the participating PSYPACT states. He holds a doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology specialized in Sport and Performance Psychology from Boston University and a master’s degree in Sport and Performance Psychology from Denver University. He is also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC). Since 2010, Trevor’s primary career focus and professional training has been the integration of providing mental health care with performance optimization within high performance environments, specifically college athletics. The goal of his work is to help create an environment where student-athletes can be at their best, while balance the joys, stress, responsibilities, and unique challenges involved with being a student-athlete. In addition to working with the Student-Athlete Psychological Service (SAPS) at Providence College, Trevor is part of a private practice in Massachusetts that specializes in applying a range of clinical and performance principles to the lives of high-performance people and hosts a podcast for SPKN media, Beneath the Armor, that shares the true stories of collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes transitioning out of their sport. Professional affiliations include American Psychological Association, Div. 47, Clinical/Counseling Sport Psychology Association, and Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Piotr Piasecki, M.A., CMPC: SAPS Certified Mental Performance Coach

Piotr is a Doctoral Psychology Extern from Boston University. He is in the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program with a specialization in Sport and Human Performance. Piotr is looking forward to working with Providence College students. He is an advocate for student mental health and pursues to destigmatize help-seeking behaviors among the college population, particularly with student-athletes. Piotr has been trained as a mindfulness instructor through the center for Koru Mindfulness, which provides evidence-based meditation and mindfulness for college-aged populations. His approach is client-centered and heavily influenced by positive psychology to create space for flourishing and ultimately thriving. Piotr is also bilingual, fluent in Polish.

Piotr has a Master of Human Kinetics degree, specializing in sport and exercise psychology at the University of Windsor, Canada. Piotr also has a Master of Arts degree, specializing in rehabilitation counseling at Adler University in Chicago. Piotr is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. Piotr has conducted and continues to do research pertaining to team cohesion, mindfulness, and peer leadership.

Joe Kennedy, M.S., CMPC: Advanced Doctoral Trainee

Joe Kennedy is a Doctoral Counseling Psychology Extern from Springfield College who is currently in his third year pursuing a Psy.D. in Counseling Psychology. Joe’s clinical experiences include working with college students at Springfield College Counseling Center. Joe holds a M.S. in Sport and Exercise Psychology from Miami University (OH) in 2015, and since earning this degree has had the opportunity to work with individuals and groups in youth, collegiate, and professional sports as well as the U.S. Military on concepts surrounding wellness, resilience, and mental performance. At Providence College, Joe is dedicated to supporting students in their self-exploration, psychological growth and personal development. Joe is excited to be at Providence College and work collaboratively with students to explore their goals and develop skills through an authentic therapeutic relationship. Outside of counseling, Joe’s research interests include barriers to utilization of mental health and sport psychology services in BIPOC athlete populations. Joe is a former athlete and coach, and his interests include spending time with his family, being active outdoors, playing golf and basketball, and is a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

Dhruv Raman, Ed.M., CMPC: Advanced Doctoral Trainee

Dhruv Raman is a Doctoral Psychology Extern from Boston University. He is a Counseling Psychology Ph.D. student with a specialization in Sport and Performance Psychology. Dhruv has worked with young populations in the Greater Boston area on mental health and sport performance concerns since 2019. Dhruv was born in New Delhi, India and completed his undergraduate studies in Psychology in India before moving to the United States to pursue a Master’s in Counseling. Dhruv is also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. At Providence, Dhruv aims to support college students in understanding themselves, their environment, and how the interactions shape their well-being. In his approach to therapy, Dhruv uses a humanist and feminist lens that focuses on equalizing the power dynamic in therapy and helping people achieve the best version of themselves while recognizing the systemic challenges they face. Dhruv’s research in sport psychology focuses on identifying physiological correlates of peak athletic performance. In the long-term, Dhruv is passionate about making mental health treatment accessible to marginalized populations. Dhruv is also fluent in Hindi and is a passionate soccer fan.