Doc Wayne Launches Virtual Mental Health Training Series

February 12, 2021 

Doc Wayne Youth Services, Inc., based in Massachusetts in the US, has launched an educational series for anyone who wants to improve their work with youth and mental health. The award-winning nonprofit and Stay in the Game Network member reimagines mental health therapy through the lens of sport, incorporating social-emotional learning and life skills.

The Winter Training Series is part of Doc Wayne’s Champions Network, a virtual training portal created for coaches, clinicians and teachers to harness the power of sport to improve mental health for all. The new series features virtual sport-based, interactive workshops led by clinicians and therapeutic professionals, with a global audience in mind. 

The blended learning model features live Zoom sessions, online learning platform use and knowledge checks for guided learning. Regstration is open to individuals or groups around the world as a way to "invest in yourself, invest in your team and enjoy experiental learning about sports, youth and mental health." 

Since the start of the pandemic, the organization has continued to shift how it operates and the Winter Training Series is another step in the online direction and another way the organization is offering its services. Before March 2020, the organization primarily conducted in-person group sessions. Now many sessions are one-on-one telehealth calls between a clinician and a patient. 

Doc Wayne CEO, David Cohen said the non-profit has conducted more than 4,000 telehealth meetings since the start of the pandemic. Up to 70% of sessions are individual and roughly 30% to 35% are group sessions. Before the pandemic, 90% to 95% of sessions were conducted in groups.

The Champions Network seeks to serve organizations, communities and change-makers who support disadvantaged communities. The trainings are open to more than coaches, clinicians and teachers, with the intention that more individuals and organizations educated in mental health will exponentially improve mental health for all. 

The Winter Training Series includes a line-up of trainings across the next few months: 

• Trauma-Informed Care Training – February 23
• Creating Champions: Credentialing Level 1 Training – February 23 
• Breaking the Silence: Empowering Coaches to Talk about Mental Health with their Athletes Training – March 9
• Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth in Sports – March 24 

Learn more and register for the "Champion's Network - Winter Training Series" here.