BetterHelp has launched a groundbreaking partnership with three powerhouse basketballteams—the 2024 Champion New York Liberty®, Las Vegas Aces®, and Dallas Wings®, teams all under the WNBA®—to address mental health stigma in professional sports. The multi-year collaboration represents one of the most comprehensive mental health initiatives in women’s basketball, combining direct support for athletes with community outreach to break down barriers to seeking help.
This initiative builds on BetterHelp’s “Stop the Madness” campaign, which previously addressed online harassment faced by student-athletes during March Madness®. By expanding into professional women’s basketball, the initiative targets a critical gap in mental health support for female athletes who face unique pressures both on and off the court.
The Rise of Women’s Basketball and Mental Health Challenges
The extraordinary growth of women’s basketball has brought increased visibility and opportunities, but also intensified pressure on players. “The extraordinary rise of women’s basketball is more than a sports story. This is a cultural movement reaching millions of passionate fans,” explains Sara Brooks, Chief Growth Officer at BetterHelp. “But with that spotlight comes pressure, and for elite athletes, peak performance isn’t just physical—it’s mental.”
This collaboration addresses the mental health challenges that female athletes face, including online harassment and social media criticism that often extends beyond athletic performance to personal appearance and behavior.
This heightened scrutiny creates additional mental health challenges for professional female athletes, who must navigate not only the standard pressures of elite competition but also gender-specific criticism and harassment that can affect their well-being and performance.
Comprehensive Support Across Multiple Channels
The collaboration will manifest across various touchpoints designed to normalize mental health conversations in women’s sports. Teams will have access to licensed therapists through BetterHelp’s platform, providing direct mental health support for players, coaches, and staff members.
In-arena experiences will promote mental health awareness during games, helping to reach fans and create visible support for mental wellness. The initiative also includes plans for a digital content series featuring athletes and coaches sharing authentic mental health stories, designed to fuel honest dialogue about the challenges faced in professional sports.
Community engagement represents another key component, with in-person events planned to raise awareness about mental health in women’s sports. These events will connect with local communities to expand the conversation beyond the teams themselves.
Breaking Down Barriers to Professional Support
The initiative addresses common questions about accessing quality mental health care, particularly for high-profile individuals who may face unique challenges in finding appropriate support. BetterHelp’s network of over 30,000 licensed therapists provides a substantial pool of professionals with diverse specializations and approaches.
Each therapist in the BetterHelp network undergoes comprehensive vetting, including verification of state licenses, educational credentials, and a minimum of 1,000 hours of hands-on experience. This ensures that athletes and community members accessing services through the partnership receive care from qualified professionals who meet established standards.
The platform’s matching system, which achieved a 93% success rate in fulfilling client preferences in 2024, helps connect individuals with therapists who understand their specific needs and circumstances. For athletes dealing with performance pressure, public scrutiny, or career transitions, finding a therapist who understands the unique aspects of professional sports can be crucial for effective treatment.
Evidence of Success in Mental Health Support
This initiative’s potential impact is supported by BetterHelp’s track record of successful outcomes. The platform’s 2024 data shows that 72% of clients experienced symptom reduction in their first 12 weeks of therapy, with 69% achieving reliable improvement and 62% reaching symptom remission.
These outcomes are tracked through standardized assessments administered every 45 days, providing objective measures of progress. For athletes who often focus on measurable performance metrics, this data-driven approach to mental health progress can be particularly valuable.
Client satisfaction metrics further support the platform’s effectiveness. Live therapy sessions received an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on more than 1.7 million client ratings in 2024, with 82% of clients reporting they would recommend their therapist to others.
Professional Perspectives on Online Mental Health Support
The BetterHelp collaboration reflects growing recognition among mental health professionals of online therapy’s effectiveness and accessibility benefits. BetterHelp’s platform offers multiple communication options—video sessions, phone calls, live chat, and asynchronous messaging—allowing clients to engage in ways that feel most comfortable and convenient.
This flexibility is particularly valuable for athletes whose schedules may not accommodate traditional office hours or who may be traveling frequently for games and training. The ability to maintain consistent therapeutic support regardless of location can be crucial for managing the stresses of professional sports careers.
The platform’s approach to between-session support, including messaging capabilities and access to therapeutic resources, provides ongoing mental health tools that complement scheduled therapy sessions. This comprehensive support model addresses the reality that mental health challenges don’t occur only during scheduled appointment times.
Community Impact and Educational Outreach
Beyond direct therapeutic services, the program includes educational components designed to empower the next generation of female athletes with mental health skills. These resources will help young athletes develop healthy coping mechanisms and normalize conversations about mental wellness from the beginning of their athletic careers.
The initiative kicked off with a Brooklyn basketball clinic hosted by the New York Liberty, where approximately 75 middle school girls participated in activities focused on both physical and mental health. A local BetterHelp therapist spoke with participants about the importance of mental wellness and shared practical tools for everyday life.
This community-focused approach extends the partnership’s impact beyond professional athletes to reach young people who may be developing their relationship with competitive sports and mental health. By introducing these concepts early, the program aims to prevent stigma from taking root in the next generation of athletes.
Addressing Stigma Through Authentic Storytelling
This initiative’s emphasis on authentic storytelling represents a strategic approach to reducing mental health stigma. By featuring real athletes and coaches sharing their experiences, the initiative provides relatable examples of how mental health support can enhance rather than detract from athletic performance.
“As the visibility of women’s sports, especially the WNBA®, continues to grow, so does the pressure these athletes face,” Brooks explains. The partnerships with the New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, and Dallas Wings recognizes that female athletes are particularly vulnerable to judgment and criticism, making authentic representation crucial for encouraging others to seek help.
The digital content series will showcase raw mental health stories from the locker room, designed to create honest dialogue about the challenges professional athletes face. This approach moves beyond generic mental health awareness to provide specific, relevant examples that resonate with the target audience.
Expanding Access to Underserved Communities
The BetterHelp program builds on the platform’s broader commitment to expanding mental health access to underserved communities. In 2024, the platform donated the equivalent of $14 million in therapy services through partnerships with over 100 nonprofits, demonstrating ongoing commitment to removing financial barriers to mental health care.
The partnerships specifically address gaps in mental health support for female athletes and communities that may have limited access to specialized care. By partnering with teams that have strong community connections, the initiative can reach populations that might not otherwise access mental health resources.
This community-focused approach recognizes that mental health stigma often varies by demographic and cultural factors. By working within established sports communities, the partnerships can address specific barriers and concerns that may be unique to these populations.
Long-term Vision for Mental Health in Sports
The multi-year nature of this collaboration allows for sustained impact rather than one-time awareness campaigns. This long-term approach enables the development of comprehensive programming that can evolve based on participant feedback and changing needs within the sports community.
The partnerships represent part of a broader movement toward integrating mental health support into athletic programs at all levels. By normalizing mental health conversations in professional sports, the initiative may influence policy and practice changes that benefit athletes throughout their careers.
BetterHelp’s involvement in these partnerships demonstrates how mental health platforms can move beyond individual client services to create systemic change in how communities approach mental wellness. The collaboration shows that accessible, professional mental health support can be integrated into existing structures and communities rather than requiring separate systems.
Building a Foundation for Future Growth
The success of this collaboration may serve as a model for similar initiatives in other sports and communities. By documenting outcomes and refining approaches based on real-world implementation, BetterHelp and its basketball partners are creating a blueprint for how mental health support can be effectively integrated into professional sports environments.
The initiative’s focus on both direct service provision and stigma reduction addresses multiple barriers to mental health care simultaneously. This comprehensive approach recognizes that making therapy accessible requires both removing practical barriers and changing cultural attitudes about seeking help.
As the initiative continues to develop, its impact on mental health conversations in women’s sports and broader athletic communities will provide valuable insights for future mental health initiatives in professional sports settings.
WNBA®, New York Liberty®, Las Vegas Aces®, and Dallas Wings® are registered trademarks of the Women’s National Basketball Association. March Madness® is a registered trademark of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. These partnerships are between BetterHelp and the individual teams (New York Liberty®, Las Vegas Aces®, Dallas Wings®), and do not imply official sponsorship or endorsement by the WNBA®.
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