Montefiore Einstein opens Sports Mental Health & Performance Institute

On July 1, 2024, Montefiore Einstein launched its new Sports Mental Health & Performance Institute. Dr. Jorge Aguilar, M.D., Ph.D., a child, adolescent, and adult sports psychiatrist, is the institute’s new director and brings a wealth of experience from his role as team psychiatrist for the New York City FC in Major League Soccer (MLS ) and advisor to Major League Baseball (MLB) on mental health and performance.

A view on the mental health of athletes

The career path of Dr. Aguilar has been shaped by his dynamic educational background and deep passion for sports psychiatry. After receiving his MD and PhD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, he began a pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where he quickly realized that his true calling was in psychiatry. His subsequent residency and fellowship at Montefiore laid the foundation for his interest in sports psychiatry and mental skills training. During his training he was guided by Dr. Jonathan Fader, certified performance psychologist, at SportStrata. During his time at SportStrata, where he continues to work part-time today, he received extensive training and mentoring, which contributed to his expertise in this subspecialty of psychiatry. Outside of his direct clinical care, Dr. Aguilar member of the Certifications and Partnerships Committee for the American Board of Sports & Performance Psychiatry.

“I strongly believe in the importance of mental health care, as do athletes and coaches. To a large extent, it is the best version of itself, yet occupancy rates are lower than what the epidemiological data indicate they should be,” says Dr. Aguilar. This new institute aims to address the barriers that prevent athletes from seeking mental health care, such as stigma, availability and cost, making specialized mental health services more accessible to athletes.

Extensive services for athletes

The institute is currently staffed by Dr. Aguilar, as he supports athletes at all levels and provides treatment for issues such as performance anxiety, injury recovery and general mental health issues in athletes. He has plans to expand by hiring additional mental health practitioners, emphasizing the importance of specialized services for this population. He looks forward to educating future psychiatrists and psychologists in training at the institute, raising the level of mental health care for athletes.

“We are now about two weeks into the opening of the institute and we are already providing services to professional and high school athletes,” said Dr. Aguilar. In addition to focusing on clinical care, he also wants to expand research, in collaboration with other departments, and increase awareness of mental health care in the community.

The previous work of Dr. Aguilar with professional athletes has significantly influenced his program development at the new institute. “If a college or high school athlete hears that we have a sports psychiatrist who works with professional teams, he or she is more likely to say yes to the services,” he explains. This credibility is enhanced by the hospital’s ties to MLS’s New York City FC and the New York Yankees, positioning the new facility as a trusted resource for athletes seeking mental health support. Additionally, the program accepts insurance, increasing its accessibility to the local community.

A collective effort that inspires broader impact

The establishment of this institute was a joint effort by Dr. David Gonzalez, Chief Medical Officer of NYC FC and Head of Sports Medicine at Montefiore Einstein, Dr. Jonathan Alpert, Chairman of Psychiatry at Einstein, and Dr. Philip Ozuah, CEO of Montefiore Medicine. “It is important for our institute to continue working with professional athletes because they have a powerful platform to inspire people. When they say it’s okay for them not to be okay, that makes it okay for the rest of us,” says Dr. Aguilar. With the launch of the Sports Mental Health and Performance Institute, Montefiore Einstein sets the example for prioritizing athletes’ mental health, breaking down barriers and promoting athlete well-being.