ISSP Master Class Series – Lecture #13
Humanize. Elevate. Honor.: Developing a Mental Health and Performance Program for a U.S.-based Professional Sport League.
DATE: Tuesday, June 17th, 2025
Speakers: Dr. Kensa Gunter
Length of Session: 90 minutes
(60-minute lecture, 30-minute Q&A)
Language: English
(Translated live captioning available)
Time: 12:00 UTC (New York, 7:00; Belo Horizonte, 9:00; Beijing, 20:00; Seoul, 21:00; Sydney 23:00)
Recordings: Available for 60 days after the lecture or from on-demand purchase.
Program Overview
During this presentation, attendees will learn more about NBA Mind Health, a league wide program that supports the mental well-being of the NBA, WNBA, G League, Basketball Africa League, and 2K League communities. This program reflects an ongoing commitment to promoting mental health and mental performance through integration efforts and enhancing access to appropriate resources for players, coaches, and team staff. Dr. Gunter, the inaugural program director, will share experiences and insights related to the origin, development, and evolution of the initiative. Additional topics that will be covered during the course of the presentation include: a review of the programmatic goals and objectives, an overview of the providers included in the Mind Health professional network, the considerations and nuances of providing services at both the team & league levels, cultural competence and humility, and adapting services across different leagues. Dr. Gunter will also share some of the challenges related to developing this type of program, as well as thoughts about future directions and opportunities.
About the Speakers
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Dr. Kensa Gunter is a licensed psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) working at the intersection of mental health, mental performance, sport, and culture. Dr. Gunter provides services to individuals, teams, and organizations and in addition to private practice, she has worked in collegiate and professional sport spaces within the United States. Since 2020, Dr. Gunter has served as the inaugural Director of NBA/WNBA Mind Health, a program designed to promote and support mental wellness and to elevate performance among players, coaches, and staff, across all five of the NBA’s professional leagues. Dr. Gunter is committed to humanizing conversations about mental health and highlighting the role of contextual factors, including sociocultural and environmental elements, on well-being and performance. She is currently the President-Elect for Division 47 of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Sport, Exercise, & Performance Psychology, and is a Fellow and former president of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) (2020-21). Dr. Gunter also serves on the Board of Directors for Little League International, the National Advisory Board for Positive Coaching Alliance, and she previously served as a member of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) External Mental Health Taskforce (2019-23).
Program Format
Attendees can participate in an ISSP Master Class session right from their office or home. Upon registration, registrants will be provided the Zoom link to access the presentation on the web in real-time. If you are unable to watch the session live, a recording will be provided afterward to all registrants.
Cost (in USD)
