48 & Forward · Mental Health & Wellness
Program
Mental Health & Wellness
We refer out. We pay for it. And every therapist has worked with athletes.
If you are in crisis right now, do not wait on us. Call or text 988 in the US for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Our program is not an emergency service and is not staffed around the clock.
What this is
A referral program that removes the two things that stop people.
48 & Forward is not a clinic and does not provide clinical care. What we do is remove the two obstacles that keep athletes from getting help: finding someone who understands the life, and paying for it.
Every clinician we refer to is licensed and has real experience working with athletes. That matters more than it sounds. Retirement, deselection, injury, and identity loss do not look like ordinary career change, and a therapist who has never sat with an athlete tends to treat the wrong thing first.
When we make a match, the foundation covers the cost of care. The athlete does not receive a bill, and does not need insurance to start.
Who can use it
Athletes at any level and at any stage, currently competing, recently finished, or years past the last game. Immediate family members are eligible as well, because the transition rarely happens to one person alone.
What stays private
Your clinical sessions are between you and your therapist. We arrange the match and handle payment, and we do not receive session notes or clinical detail. We report participation to funders in aggregate only, with no names attached.
How it works
Five steps, and none of them involve a bill.
You reach out
A short confidential form or an email. You do not need a diagnosis, a referral, or a reason that sounds serious enough.
Intake conversation
A brief call to understand what you are dealing with and what you want from care, so the match is right the first time.
We match you
We connect you with a licensed therapist from our network who has worked with athletes, in person or virtual, in your state.
The foundation pays
We handle the cost directly with the provider for the covered course of care. No invoice comes to you, and no insurance claim is required.
We check back
One follow up to confirm the fit is working. If it is not, we rematch. If you need care beyond the covered window, we help you plan for it.
The standard
What "sports specialized" has to mean.
Anyone can add athletes to a website. These are the criteria a clinician meets before they join our network.
- Current license in good standing in the state where care is delivered
- Documented clinical experience working with competitive athletes
- Familiarity with athletic identity, deselection, injury, and retirement transition
- Understanding of team, agency, and family dynamics around an athlete
- Willingness to be paid by the foundation without disclosing clinical detail to us
- No commercial relationship with agents, financial firms, or recruiters
- Re-verified on a set schedule, not vetted once and forgotten
Request a match
Tell us as much or as little as you want.
This form goes to one person at the foundation. It is not shared with your team, your school, your agent, or your family.
Or email resources@48andforward.org. We respond during business hours. This is not an emergency service. In crisis, call or text 988.
Cover somebody's care.
A gift to this program pays a licensed clinician to sit with an athlete who would not have called otherwise.