Pitt Athletics Creates Mental Health Partnership with Western
Psychiatric Institute to Help The Pitt POVers

Two full-time mental health counselors are joining the team of Pitt athletics/Pitt POV in a partnership with the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC (WPIC). Pitt athletic director Heather Lyke said the partnership will “provide early intervention for mental health and wellness issues in POV writers, readers and commentators.”

“The program reflects Pitt’s commitment to the POV experience and ensures Pitt’s responsiveness to POVers health and well-being,” Lyke said.  “If they aren’t happy, Pitt isn’t happy!”

The program’s focal points will include awareness and stress reduction strategies and one-on-one counseling. Counselors also will address issues such as blog addiction,  rampant optimism, too much golf, alcohol imbibing and commentator rage.

“The new partnership will expand and enhance the role of behavioral health with two full-time counselors who will be housed within the athletic department and dedicated to POV readers and commentators,” said Jack Emhoff, chief of athlete services at WPIC.

“This innovative approach will radically increase education on support options, along with access and timeliness of counseling services, while increasing Reed’s stigma against commentator rage.  If I have learned one thing in my time doing this it is that when dealing with Pitt football too much optimism is as dangerous as smoking crack cocaine while driving a school bus.”

Two-time Pitt graduate and four-year Dance Team member (woo-hoo) Laurie Wassamatta, L.C.S.W., joins the program as lead clinical counselor. Since 2015 Wassamatta has been working as a member of a team of counselors who worked with aging male POVers when they were referred directly to the WPIC facility.

She has worked on POV readers’ and commentators’ psychiatric assessments and
referrals, individual therapy, as well as treatment for mood, stress and anxiety disorders. Janice Beauhoohoo, Ph.D., N.C.C., will serve as clinical counselor.  She has provided counseling and peak performance services to student-athletes at Liberty College and offered desperately needed individual and team-based services at West Virginia University  (boo!).

WVU’s head coach Dan Hologorsen was a patient of her’s for the last five years and had this to say about Beauhoohoo:

“She really helped me a lot.  Everyone else said I absolutely had to quit drinking or I’d lose my job.  But she worked out a deal with the university’s administration so that if I quit drinking tequila in the mornings I could stay.  Boy, those POVers are getting a great asset with her in their back pocket…”

(Obviously this is a parody submitted by our great friend Hobie. Here is the real article about Pitt Athletics partnering with Western Psych…)