For Professionals Supporting College and Professional Athletes
Psychiatric care from a clinician who trained for it and lived it.
Training and Lived Experience
Summer Lawson, PMHNP-BC, knows the athlete identity from the inside. As an NCAA multi-sport athlete and team captain in women's soccer and indoor and outdoor track, she trained year-round with no true off-season while carrying a full academic load and campus leadership roles. Today she applies that lived experience, together with board certification in psychiatric mental health and dual master's degrees (MSN and MSW) from The Ohio State University, to the higher-stakes pressures of Division I and professional sport.
Who We Partner With
We serve as a clinical extension for: University Sports Medicine Departments, Professional Sport Organizations, Athletics Directors and Compliance Officers, Team Physicians and Athletic Trainers, Sports Psychologists and Performance Coaches.
What Athletes May Be Navigating
Scholarship, roster, and playing-time pressure
NIL, media attention, and life under public scrutiny
Transfer portal decisions and the uncertainty that follows
Performance anxiety and pressure that follows them off the field
Depression, burnout, and loss of motivation
Injury, time away from sport, and career transitions
Sleep, recovery, and focus
Disordered eating and low energy availability (RED-S)
Identity questions when the sport ends
Concussion and post-concussion mood, sleep, and focus changes
Overtraining and circadian disruption from travel and competition schedules.
Sport-Aware Psychiatric Care
Our treatment plans are built with the competitive schedule in mind. We prioritize precision diagnostics and medication management that supports, rather than hinders, physiological performance and cognitive clarity.
Access for Ohio State Students
Psychiatric care via Psyched is covered by the OSU Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP). We offer specialized intake pathways ensuring student-athletes receive timely, sport-informed psychiatric assessment and ongoing care.
How the Collaboration Works
Refer: Send a referral or schedule a quick call. Athletes can also book directly.
Evaluate: A comprehensive psychiatric evaluation that accounts for training load, competition calendar, and sport-specific demands.
Coordinate: With the athlete's written consent, we share updates with the athletic trainer, team physician, or sport psychologist so care stays aligned.
Adjust: Treatment is reviewed around the season, including off-season, return from injury, and career transitions.
What Your Athletes Can Expect
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A clinician who understands the athlete identity and treats it as part of the care, not a side note
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Confidential care. Nothing is shared with coaches or staff without the athlete's written consent.
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Medication decisions made with banned-substance policies and performance side effects in mind
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Telehealth and flexible scheduling that works around training and travel
Insurance And Access
Athletes can access care through three pathways:
Pathway I · Collaborative Psychiatry: Aetna, Cigna, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Humana (commercial), Ohio Healthy, Devoted Health
Pathway II · Insurance Network Partners (GrowTherapy & Headway): AmeriHealth, BCBS OH, GEHA, UHC/Optum, VA CCN, Carelon, Curative, Horizon BCBS NJ, Oscar, Oxford, The Health Plan
Pathway III · Psyched directly: Lyra Health, OSU employee and student plans, existing and transferring Anthem patients, and concierge care