Maintaining peak mental health can be challenging. When you have millions of people watching, it can be exhausting.
Lindsey Sanders ’12 MSW, ’21 PhD and Shaun Tyrance ’03 MS are among the health specialists making sure NFL players are taken care of in their entirety, including their mental health.
Sanders, a behavioral specialist, oversees behavioral services administered by Cigna on behalf of the NFL. Tyrance is vice president of player services and assessment for the Kansas City Chiefs, where he works to support players’ and coaches’ behavioral health and psychology. He joined the team in 2019 as the second full-time clinician in the NFL, before it was mandated by the league.
“I go to every team meeting, practice, and game,” he says. “Our coach and managers see my office as a good place and encourage the players to use the service. It takes away a lot of the stigma of seeing a therapist.”