The curriculum is delivered in an online format to accommodate working professionals and students in diverse locations, using a blend of asynchronous learning and interactive experiential activities. Courses focus on core knowledge of athlete development and sport culture, applied counseling skills in sport and performance contexts, and ethical, collaborative practice within interprofessional sport settings. While the full certificate sequence is intended for mental health professionals, the first and third courses are intentionally structured to welcome other professionals who support athletes, providing shared language and collaborative skills for interprofessional sport and wellness teams.

Across the course sequence, students engage with current research, case examples, and experiential application activities that help students translate theory into practice with youth, collegiate, and adult athletes. The curriculum is intentionally aligned with best practice recommendations emerging in the athlete counseling literature and in professional counseling training standards.

This certificate and courses are ideal for:
Licensed or actively enrolled graduate students in a mental health-related field, such as professional counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, and psychologists, who want a focused specialty in athlete counseling and mental health.
Other professionals who work closely with athletes, such as (but not limited to) athletic trainers, coaches, sport medicine providers, and student affairs or academic support staff, may enroll in designated courses, which are Course 1 and Course 3, without completing the full graduate certificate.​

Course 1 and Course 3 are open to qualified non-mental health professionals; admission to the full graduate certificate, however, is limited to licensed mental health professionals and related graduate students.

Graduates of the Online Athlete Counseling Graduate Certificate will be prepared to conceptualize athlete clients using holistic wellness and developmental frameworks, including identity, injury, transition, and performance-related concerns. They will be able to apply specialized counseling skills with athletes and performers while collaborating ethically with coaches, athletic trainers, and sport medicine teams.
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Graduates will also be able to articulate the role of mental health professionals within integrated sport and performance teams, advocate for athlete mental health, and contribute to the emerging specialty practice of athlete counseling and supporting athlete well-being.

COUN 6682: Foundations of Athlete Counseling: Mental Health & Performance
This course introduces the unique mental health and performance challenges athletes face across youth, high school, collegiate, and professional sports. Students examine athlete identity, performance pressures, injury, transitions, and the broader cultural contexts of sport through holistic wellness and sport psychology frameworks.

Emphasis is placed on ethical decision-making, confidentiality in athletic settings, and effective collaboration with coaches, athletic trainers, and other support staff available to athletes. The course is open to graduate mental health trainees and licensed professionals, as well as other professionals who support athletes. This course establishes the foundational knowledge and shared language needed for the rest of the certificate.

COUN 6683: Counseling with Athletes: Evidence-Based Approaches
This course provides advanced clinical training in evidence-based counseling interventions tailored to athlete populations. Building on the foundations course, students deepen their skills in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning for concerns commonly experienced by athletes, including trauma, anxiety, depression, injury-related distress, disordered eating, and performance anxiety. Attention to culturally responsive and developmentally appropriate care is threaded throughout, so students learn to adapt interventions to diverse athlete identities and competitive contexts. 

Students apply clinical mental health counseling approaches alongside sport psychology strategies to help athletes enhance resilience, manage pressure, and return to competition in healthy ways. The course prepares counselors to deliver high-quality, effective mental health services for athletes in schools, collegiate athletics, community agencies, and private practice, and aligns with NCAA expectations for qualified mental health care.

COUN 6684: Team Dynamics and Systems Interventions in Athletics
The final course focuses on team and systems-level mental health work in athletic environments. Students examine group dynamics, leadership, and communication within teams and athletic departments, and they learn consultation models and systemic intervention strategies that promote collective mental health and optimal functioning for athletes and their environments.

Coursework emphasizes working collaboratively with coaches, athletic trainers, administrators, and other stakeholders to design and implement mental health promotion initiatives, team workshops, and policy-level interventions. Ethical challenges, power dynamics, and confidentiality in multi-stakeholder sport systems are critically explored, equipping students to provide consultation and advocacy across athletic organizations. The course is open to graduate mental health trainees, licensed mental health professionals, and other qualified professionals who work within athletic systems and want to strengthen their capacity for systemic intervention and leadership.