2026 UTHealth Houston Sports Psychiatry Conference
Date: Saturday, March 28, 2026
Time: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Location: TMC3 Collaboration Building
Address: 7255 Helix Park Ave, Houston, TX 77030
Register Here
Course Description
The Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, along with our chair, Jair Soares, MD, PhD, and co-course directors, Nesreen Ibrahim, MD, MBA and Summer Ott, PsyD, invite you to join us for the 2026 UTHealth Houston Sports Psychiatry Conference: Mind of the Game.
The 2026 Mind of the Game: Global Sports Psychiatry Summit is a landmark event bringing together leaders in psychiatry, sports medicine, and performance science to advance the dialogue on athlete mental health, resilience, and peak performance. Coinciding with the excitement of the FIFA 2026 World Cup matches in Houston, this summit offers a powerful platform to showcase how the mental side of performance can and must stand on equal footing with the physical game.
This full-day program will feature cutting-edge discussions and practical strategies for optimizing athlete care. Attendees will learn to apply trauma-informed and culturally sensitive frameworks, integrate neuroscientific principles, and leverage data-driven tools such as sleep metrics, neurofeedback, and virtual reality. The summit emphasizes collaborative care models that prioritize psychological safety and athletic outcomes.
Learning Objectives:
- Apply trauma-informed and culturally sensitive approaches to athlete care.
- Integrate neuroscientific principles and advanced technologies into performance strategies.
- Develop collaborative care models that enhance psychological safety and athletic success.
Audience: Sports psychiatrists, sports medicine physicians, psychologists, athletic trainers, mental health professionals, and researchers.
Join us for the inaugural sports psychiatry conference! Breakfast, lunch, refreshments, and opportunities to network and meet new colleagues will be provided at the conference. For any questions, please contact Senior Marketing Coordinator, Aaron Zapata.
Presentations and Speakers
Dr. Nesreen S. Ibrahim, MD, MBA
Co-Chair
Dual Board-Certified Adult & Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist | ISSP Certified Sports & Performance Psychiatrist
Program Director, Sports and Performance Psychiatry, UTHealth Houston
Nesreen S. Ibrahim, MD, MBA leads the innovative Sports & Performance Psychiatry Program at UTHealth Houston, where she is pioneering a multidisciplinary model that unites psychiatry, sports medicine, orthopedics, and neuroscience to advance holistic care for athletes.
A dual board-certified and ISSP certified psychiatrist, with extensive experience in treating elite NCAA and professional athletes, Dr. Ibrahim approach emphasizes prevention and performance enhancement through evidence-based Psychiatric interventions, including medication management, sleep optimization, mindfulness-based strategies, and cognitive skill development. In addition Dr. Ibrahim mental rehab services to those recovering from injury—helping them restore confidence, rebuild focus, and achieve emotional and cognitive readiness for a successful return to sport. Her leadership reflects a deep commitment to reshaping the culture of athlete mental health through collaboration, education, and innovation.
Dr. Ibrahim currently provides psychiatric services to athletes from multiple universities and professional organizations, including the University of Houston, St. Thomas University, Texas Southern University, and the Houston Dynamo and Dash professional soccer teams.
Dr. Summer Ott, PsyD
Co-Chair
Associate Professor, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, UTHealth Houston
Director, UTHealth Houston Concussion Program | Memorial Hermann | Rockets Sports Medicine Institute
Dr. Ott is a nationally recognized neuropsychologist specializing in sports-related concussions. Dr Ott has received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health, The Moody Endowment, and Mission Connect to study concussive injury in adolescent athletes. She has co-authored publications on sports-related concussions. She was a member of the task force that developed verbiage for a sports concussion bill in Texas known as Natasha’s Law, which established return-to-play guidelines for school-aged athletes with concussions.
In addition, she serves as the neuropsychological consultant for Houston’s professional sports teams—including the Texans, Rockets, Dynamo, Dash, and SaberCats—and directs multidisciplinary concussion research and care.
Keynote Speaker
Dr. David R. McDuff, MD
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine
Author, Sports Psychiatry: Strategies for Life Balance & Peak Performance
Dr. David R. McDuff is a pioneer and a nationally recognized expert in Sports Psychiatry with more than three decades of experience as Team Psychiatrist and Performance consultant for professional and collegiate teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, Baltimore Ravens, and Indianapolis Colts. His integrated, on-site model addresses performance enhancement, recovery, stress management, and comprehensive mental-health care across Olympic, professional, and collegiate athletes.
Beyond his professional team work, Dr. McDuff has served extensively with Olympic, Division I–III collegiate, elite club, and high school athletes and teams. At the Olympic and professional levels, he has worked with athletes in golf, tennis, football, baseball, soccer, rugby, windsurfing, and pentathlon. At the collegiate level, his collaborations include the Universities of Maryland (College Park and Baltimore County), Johns Hopkins, Loyola, Towson, Stevenson, McDaniel, and Coppin.
From his Ellicott City, Maryland practice, he continues to work with track, cross country, hockey, soccer, and lacrosse teams, as well as athletes from a wide range of sports, including distance running, golf, tennis, baseball, basketball, football, rugby, figure skating, swimming, gymnastics, and ice hockey.
As a Professor and a founding director of the University of Maryland’s Sports Psychiatry Program and Addiction Psychiatry Fellowship, Dr. McDuff has helped define the educational and clinical standards of the sports psychiatry field nationwide.
Pricing
Physician/Psychiatrist/Psychologist: $175
UTHealth Houston Physician/Psychiatrist/Psychologist: $100
Social Workers, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Counselors, Allied Health Professionals: $100
UTHealth Houston/Memorial Hermann Social Workers, Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Counselors: $80
Athletic Trainers, Physical Therapists, Strength and Conditioning Coaches: $100
UTHealth Houston/Memorial Hermann Athletic Trainers, Physical Therapists, Strength and Conditioning Coaches: $80
Residents/Fellows: $100
UTHealth Houston/Memorial Hermann Residents/Fellows: $50
Research Assistants, Interns, Students, Professionals (Other): $75
UTHealth Houston/Memorial Hermann Research Assistants, Interns, Students, Professionals (Other): $50
Exhibitors/Sponsorships
In 2026, Houston will stand at the crossroads of global health and global sport. As home to the world’s largest medical center, Houston offers an unparalleled environment for advancing the science and practice of athlete mental health. The timing could not be more powerful—with the FIFA World Cup coming to Houston and the NCAA now mandating mental health services for student-athletes, there is a growing recognition that mental wellness is as critical as physical training for elite performance. This conference will bring together leading clinicians, researchers, coaches, and sports professionals to drive forward a holistic, evidence-based approach to supporting the mental health of athletes on and off the field. We invite you to join us as a sponsor in shaping the future of sports psychiatry at this pivotal global moment.
Opportunities to be an exhibitor or sponsor the conference are available. Please contact Senior Marketing Coordinator, Aaron Zapata for more information.
Parking
Parking is located at the TMC3 Collaboration Building, located at 7255 Helix Park Ave, Houston, TX 77030. Parking will not be validated or reimbursed.
Educational Information
PHYSICIANS – McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston designates this live activity for a maximum of 6.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
PSYCHOLOGISTS – The Louis A. Faillace, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences maintains responsibility for this program and its content. This activity provides 6.00 hours of psychology continuing education credits.
NURSING – UTHealth Houston Harris County Psychiatric Center is an approved provider of nursing continuing professional development by the Louisiana State Nurses Association Approver Unit, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. LSNA Provider No. 4002179. This activity provides 6.00 contact hours of nursing continuing education.
SOCIAL WORKERS – This program has been approved for 6.00 credit hours in accordance with the requirements of the Texas State Board of Social Work Examiners. Provider Sponsor: UT-Harris County Psychiatric Center/Provider Number: CS1177.