The pressure on college athletes can be brutal - and for IU student-athletes with national attention, keeping healthy both physically and mentally is critical.

That’s where Eli Friedman comes in. Friedman is a doctoral student with the sports psychology program at the IU School of Education.  

Within the sports psychology team at IU Athletics, Friedman primarily focuses on athletes with the men’s basketball team, women’s basketball team and wrestling team, where he addresses the intersection of mental health and performance, both at the individual and team levels.

“On the mental health side, this might include providing counseling to student-athletes dealing with issues like anxiety, depression, or everyday stressors such as transitions or injuries. On the performance side, we offer mental skills training to teams, which could include techniques like mindfulness, imagery, relaxation strategies, or team building activities,” Friedman said. “The specific services we provide vary based on the needs of each coach and the particular challenges the team is facing.”

A key to prioritizing mental health for student-athletes, Friedman said, is simply starting the conversation. Discussions about mental health and performance are both fun and meaningful.

“With one of our teams, we hold weekly ‘Mental Powwows,’ a name the athletes themselves came up with,” he added. “For another team, we use ‘4 to 1 groups,’ inspired by Coach Bob Knight’s famous quote: ‘Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one.’ By creating unique and engaging language around these conversations, we can make services more accessible and relatable. This approach can help destigmatize mental health for our student-athletes and encourages them to strive for a more holistic, well-rounded version of themselves.”

When asked what brought him to the sports psychology program at the School of Education, Friedman noted two things: the program's focus on being an exceptional clinician first, with sport and performance psychology as a secondary emphasis and Professor Jesse Steinfeldt. 

“When I spoke with alumni who have gone on to do incredible work in the sport psychology field—like Jeff Ruser at Notre Dame and Kerry Guest with the Arizona Diamondbacks—their feedback about working with Dr. Steinfeldt was overwhelmingly positive. Since joining the program, he has far exceeded my expectations. He's such an empowering and supportive advisor,” Friedman said, adding, “Secondly, I really appreciate the program's focus on being an exceptional clinician first, with sport and performance psychology as a secondary emphasis. The opportunity to grow as a clinician and counseling psychologist, with that strong foundation, was exactly what I was looking for, and that’s what the program delivers.”

As Friedman works with IU athletes, he’s been able to use all of the evidence-based practices he’s learned in the program into practice: “I find myself regularly drawing on insights and resources from classes, whether it's something Dr. Joel Wong taught or a supervision session with Dr. Andrés Pérez-Rojas. Our faculty and program gives you the ultimate confidence to show up in the field feeling competent and good about the work you do, thanks to the robust training I've received.”

Relationships, Friedman added are the backbone of his identity. 

“My personal growth has been deeply shaped by the meaningful relationships I've built with others. They’ve shown me the profound healing power of relationships. As a result, the athletes and clients I've worked with have also learned to use relationships as a way to better understand themselves and the world around them.”