Faculty
Difference MakersWilliam Parham: Overcoming Stigma to Promote Mental Health and Wellness
Message
from the DeanSOE
by the NumbersFaculty
Difference MakersVanessa Luna, M.A. ’16: Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ in Education
Luis Arriaga Valenzuela, S.J., Ed.D. ’16: New President of ITESO Jesuit University of Guadalajara
Ana Ponce, Ed.D. ’13: SOE Educator of the Year
Kevin Baxter, M.A. ’01: Appointed CIO of National Catholic Educational Association
Joy Ee: Exposing Educational Inequities
William Parham: Overcoming Stigma to Promote Mental Health and Wellness
Terese Aceves: Advocating for Families of Children with Disabilities
Paul De Sena: Changing Lives Through Counselor Education
Alumni
Change AgentsSpeaking
Their LanguageYvette Lapayese: Moving Toward a More Holistic View of Biliteracy
Center for Catholic Education: Partnership with Archdiocese Establishes Dual Language Immersion Network
Center for Equity for English Learners: Leading the Way in Advancing Bilingual Education
Going
GlobalPreserving Indigenous Culture: SOE Faculty Member Documents Schools’ Curricula and Practices
Global Classrooms: SOE Doctoral Student Visits Senegal on Fulbright Fellowship
Summer Study Abroad: Unique Learning
Experiences in New Zealand, Mexico and Spain
Teaching in Ukraine: Fulbright Award Allows SOE Faculty Member to Share Expertise
Fulbright Alums: Teaching Abroad
Innovation
at LMU SOECenter for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation:
Proactive Measures to Bolster the Pipeline of Educators
Innovation in Digital Education and Leadership Institute: Helping Teachers Use Technology for Maximum Benefit
Mathematics Leadership Corps: A Sustainable Solution to Transforming Pedagogy
SUCCESS Coaching:
A Win-Win for SOE Counseling Students and Partner Schools
Leadership,
Visitors and AlumniMessage
from the Dean
SOE
bythe Numbers
Faculty
Difference Makers
Speaking
Their Language
Going
Global
Innovation
at LMU SOE
Leadership,
Visitors and Alumni
Alumni
Change Agents
Vanessa Luna, M.A. ’16: Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ in Education
Ana Ponce, Ed.D. ’13: SOE Educator of the Year
Kevin Baxter, M.A. ’01: Appointed CIO of National Catholic Educational Association
Luis Arriaga Valenzuela, S.J., Ed.D. ’16: New President of ITESO Jesuit University of Guadalajara
Joy Ee: Exposing Educational Inequities
Terese Aceves: Advocating for Families of Children with Disabilities
Paul De Sena: Changing Lives Through Counselor Education
William Parham: Overcoming Stigma to Promote Mental Health and Wellness
Yvette Lapayese: Moving Toward a More Holistic View of Biliteracy
Center for Equity for English Learners: Leading the Way in Advancing Bilingual Education
Center for Catholic Education: Partnership with Archdiocese Establishes Dual Language Immersion Network
Preserving Indigenous Culture: SOE Faculty Member
Documents Schools’ Curricula and Practices
Summer Study Abroad: Unique Learning
Experiences in New Zealand, Mexico and Spain
Teaching in Ukraine: Fulbright Award Allows SOE Faculty Member to Share Expertise
Global Classrooms: SOE Doctoral Student Visits Senegal on Fulbright Fellowship
Fulbright Alums: Teaching Abroad
Center for Undergraduate Teacher Preparation:
Proactive Measures to Bolster the Pipeline of Educators
Mathematics Leadership Corps: A Sustainable Solution to Transforming Pedagogy
SUCCESS Coaching:
A Win-Win for SOE Counseling Students and Partner Schools
Innovation in Digital Education and Leadership Institute: Helping Teachers Use Technology for Maximum Benefit
Next
Terese Aceves: Advocating for Families of Children with Disabilities
Previous
Joy Ee: Exposing Educational Inequities
In the courses he teaches in the LMU School of Education’s School Counseling program, Professor William Parham emphasizes that context is everything.
Parham has devoted his career to sports psychology, multiculturalism/diversity and health psychology — in particular, promoting mental health and wellness in the African American community and among professional and collegiate athletes. He has played prominent roles working across organizations and sports for more than three decades, including his most recent appointment as the inaugural director of the National Basketball Players Association Mental Health and Wellness Program, following 10 years as a consultant to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lessons for SOE counseling program
Share
“Mental health and wellness are not uniquely athlete issues. Mental health and wellness are human issues played out within the contexts of athletics,” Parham notes. “But in considering how these issues manifest in athletics, it’s important to understand the contexts including gender, celebrity, culture, race, ethnicity and the larger political climate.”
A major factor intersecting the above contexts are the issues of stigma, public shaming, embarrassment and guilt around mental illness and mental wellness. While this, too, is a societal issue, the public spotlight on professional athletes tends to incentivize them not to come forward with their problems, Parham says. “For example, when viewed within the context of gender, men simply do not have the same permissions in our society to emote and share their feelings,” Parham notes.
The level of stigma tends to be higher among certain racial and ethnic groups, including African Americans. “There is a great deal of scholarship suggesting that racism and socially sanctioned structural inequities represent forces that dramatically impact an African American’s experience with mental health and wellness,” says Parham, who recently presented at the Men’s Empowerment Summit, a major conference presented by the African American owned Los Angeles radio station KJLH. “We need to advance the conversation in ways that honestly identify and reflect the factors that contribute to experiences of shame and denial.”
Parham says he brings the lessons he learns from his work in the community into his SOE classrooms, where he prepares candidates in the counseling program. “I want my students to leave the program knowing the importance of understanding the lived experiences of the people and communities where they want to render services,” he says. He also wants his students to understand and appreciate the innate healing energy in every person who comes to them for counseling. The challenge in every counseling relationship is to help persons struggling with life’s issues to discover that they have power to heal themselves, Parham says. Apropos to this goal, he invites his students to memorize up to 12 mantras, one of which asserts, “When you listen to your clients long enough, they will tell you what’s wrong with them. When you listen to them just a little longer, they will tell you what you can do to help them feel better.”
There is a great deal of scholarship suggesting that racism and socially sanctioned structural inequities represent forces that dramatically impact an African American’s experience with mental health and wellness.
The stigma of mental health within the context of athletics
In his role leading the NBPA’s new Mental Health and Wellness Program, Parham and former 13-year NBA player Keyon Dooling have established a network of mental health professionals working in every NBA city, which includes a system where players can access Parham and Dooling when needed for consultation regarding mental health issues, and a player access-only website with a focus on mental health literacy that is aimed at educating players on mental health issues and resources available to them. Click here to view Parham and Dooling’s work on NBA.com.
LMU School of Education
1 LMU DriveFollow LMU SOE
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
© Loyola Marymount University