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: Head of SAPS/Assistant Director of PCC

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 leading Student-Athlete Psychological Services 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.

Maggie Barden: Wellness Graduate Assistant

Maggie is a graduate student studying Higher Education at Providence College. She is a graduate assistant in Student Athlete Wellness Services and is supervised by Dr. Jessica Stewart. Maggie graduated cum laude from Springfield College in 2022, earning a Bachelor of Science in Sports Management and a minor in Psychology. There she was an active member of the community as a student ambassador and NEWMAC Academic All-Conference student-athlete on the women’s soccer team. Maggie just finished her third season with the North Shore Navigators of the New England Collegiate Baseball League as the youngest and one of two female General Managers in the league. She has previously interned with PC’s Friar Edge Program, Holy Cross Game Day Operations, Spaulding Basketball Hall of Fame Hoophall Tournament, and the Springfield Thunderbirds. She is a native of Swampscott, Massachusetts.

Coming Soon

SAPS Staff Psychologist / SAPS Post-doctoral Fellow / SAPS Practicum Externs

We are excited to be adding to our team! SAPS has received funding commitments for two additional full-time clinicians, a psychologist, and a post-doctoral fellow. Two practicum students, who will focus on performance enhancement and health promotion, will join SAPS in Fall 2023. Learn more about our training program applications here.