TCL Course Spotlight: Mental Health for Coaches and Athletes
Dr. Julia Pelikhova has been involved with UCLA’s Transformative Coaching and Leadership (TCL) program since its inception in 2019. She was instrumental in creating the curriculum for the program’s practicum component and the very popular School of Education and Information Studies course, Mental Health for Coaches and Athletes.
In recent years, as public discussions on mental health have intensified and made their way to athletic departments across college campuses (and in professional sports), it’s become increasingly vital that the TCL program prepares future leaders in this field as well.
Among the objectives of Dr. Pelikhova’s mental health course are to provide core information about mental health in athletics and, more importantly, give students tools to recognize and respond to mental health issues.
Combining her dual passions of coaching and counseling, the class is the culmination of Pelikhova’s 15-plus years of work in Los Angeles public schools as both a counselor and athletic coach. Course topics range from disabilities, substance misuse and eating disorders to case studies on mental health issues and abuse in sports. TCL students also create detailed action plan assignments for athletes, coaches or athletic administrators to address and discuss mental, emotional, and physical concerns.
Dr. P (as her students so fondly call her) is a two-time Bruin, having earned both her Bachelors and Doctoral degrees from UCLA in addition to a Masters in Counselor Education/School Counseling and Guidance Services from Loyola Marymount University.
What truly makes Dr. P a stand-out professor in the TCL program? Alumni say it’s her dedication to broaching relevant topics and discussions in the classroom, while also building a strong rapport with students. A regular attendee at Bruin athletic events, Pelikhova is often in the stands at UCLA competitions cheering on the student athletes she instructs.
Learn more about UCLA’s Transformative Coaching and Leadership Master of Education program.