FINETUNE PSYCHIATRY
Sports Psychiatry with Tonya Lawrence, M.D.
I have been involved in sports in some way, shape or form my entire life-as a competitor, a fan, a coach, a parent and most recently as a physician for the past 20 years.
I played Division I collegiate basketball and lacrosse at Yale University and went on to play professional basketball in Luxembourg and Belgium. I spent a number of years before medical school teaching and coaching at the high school level in Boston, and I went on to work as a graduate assistant in women's basketball at the University of New Hampshire prior to pursuing my career in medicine Additionally, I have eight nieces and nephews that have recently played Division I sports, and my oldest son just committed to play baseball at Duke and aspires to play professionally. Without a doubt, sports have positively shaped my life and have greatly influenced my approach to it-both personally and professionally.
At this stage in my career, I am most interested in how the world of psychiatry intersects with the world of athletics. I have many years of experience treating performance anxiety, depression, burnout, fear of failure and/or how self-worth is tied to an athlete's identity. I want to help athletes better understand how their thoughts and feelings are inextricably linked to their choices and behaviors-both conscious and unconscious. l am singularly focused on helping athletes identify these connections such that they can maximize their performance both in their competitive arenas-whether it be on the playing field, the court, the track, the ice or in the pool-and in their lives at large.
Sports psychiatry is a specialized medical field focusing on athletes' mental health-treating disorders like anxiety or depression and using sport/exercise as therapy, while also addressing performance issues, concussion impacts, and unique challenges like substance use or overtraining. Sports psychiatry aims to optimize both well-being and athletic potential. It involves traditional therapy, medication management and performance enhancement strategies, recognizing the interplay between mental and physical health in competitive environments.
Core Functions of Sports Psychiatry
Diagnosis & Treatment: Diagnosing and managing psychiatric illnesses such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders and ADHD in athletes.
Performance Enhancement: Helping athletes manage pressure, enhance focus, build resilience and achieve peak performance through therapies like CBT and mindfulness.
Exercise as Medicine: Using physical activity as a therapeutic tool for mental health.
Injury & Trauma: Addressing mental health impacts of head trauma, concussions and career-ending injuries.
Substance Use: Managing substance abuse and doping issues.
Key Focus Areas of Sports Psychiatry
Mental Health Continuum: Supporting athletes from preventing mental illness to treating acute conditions, focusing on symptom reduction and both achieving and maintaining strength when it comes to mental health.
Performance Restoration: Restoring function and performance when a mental disorder impairs it.
Holistic Care: Working within multidisciplinary teams to include coaches, trainers and other physicians to provide comprehensive care.
Unique Athlete Context: Understanding the pressures of competition, cultural barriers to accessing mental health and stigma around mental health as well as the impact of the athletic environment on mental health.
I invite you to call 484-960-5370 to schedule with me at Fine Tune Psychiatry in Center City Philadelphia for all of your sports psychiatry needs as well as general psychiatric needs.
Fine Tune is a brand-new psychiatric clinic in Philadelphia near Rittenhouse that accepts the following commercial insurances:
Aetna, United Healthcare, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, Independence Blue Cross (IBX).
I look forward to "getting after it" with your athlete soon!
Tonya Lawrence. MD - Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry