Mental Health Where We Play

The APA Foundation launched the Where We Play Initiative due to the exponential need for mental health awareness around the pressure associated with performing at the highest level.

Although many assume that athletes and performers do not struggle with their mental health, the opposite is often true. Athletes and entertainers at all levels can experience burnout, stress related to coping with high expectations or coming back after an injury, negative relationships with social media, substance use, and difficulty prioritizing mental well-being.

We work with elite athletes and entertainers, mental health providers, partner organizations, other clinicians, and more to erase stigma on the field and on the stage; educate coaches, program directors, budding athletes and artists, and other industry leaders on the scope of the issue; and elevate accessible pathways to healthy play and appropriate care.

The Where We Play Initiative convenes expert speakers to host authentic conversations and Q&As to shine a light on performance pressure and let collegiate and high school athletes and artists know it is okay to not be okay. Help is available, and it Works.

To find out more about Where We play or to get involved, please email [email protected].

Pressure mounts with unhealthy patterns of emotional, mental, relational stress until it reaches a breaking point and not only affects the hero on the big stage, but also the human in private. —Ben Zobrist, 2x MLB World Series Champion, World Series MVP, and APA Foundation Board Member