Member Spotlight: Chelsi Day, PsyD, CMPC

We are excited to feature Dr. Chelsi Day, the Director of Mental Performance and Wellness for the NBA team, Memphis Grizzlies, and a National Register member since 2016. She is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist by training and a Clinical Sport and Performance Psychologist by specialty. She is embedded in a professional sports team full time and her role includes individual counseling and consultation, group psychoeducation, individual and group performance enhancement consulting, and organizational psychology.  

After an injury due to being a college athlete, she recognized the need for psychological support for athletes’ overall well-being and performance. “If I had had access to clinical and performance support, I think my personal and sport experience would have been more adaptive and positive. The applied clinical side of sport psychology was just emerging as a viable field at the time, and I knew I had to be a part of it.” 

Despite Dr. Day’s initial intentions to stay within the collegiate space, meeting with the Memphis Grizzlies staff changed that. Immersing herself into one team with 17 athletes was a perfect fit, allowing her to make a more profound impact on the lives of the players.  

“The access that the members of the organization have to me means that small changes pile up quicker and I get to work dynamically within them. It also allows for milieu work that shifts entire cultures and has diminished the stigma of mental health in this sport space which historically promotes toughness, machoism, and suffering in silence.” 

Dr. Day acknowledges the immense sacrifices professional athletes make, and her non-judgmental and supportive approach preserves the person that resides within the athlete, benefiting both the players and the masses entertained and inspired by their performance. “Professional athletes have long been misunderstood as entitled and privileged. However, what they must give up to do what they do is beyond what most of us can fathom. I might argue that the cost more often outweighs the money most of us consider a fair trade for what they’ve sacrificed.” 

Dr. Day continues to honor the connection between psychological support and performance, leaving a lasting impact on the sports industry and beyond.