12/05/2024
RENOWNED JAMAICAN SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST, DR. JASON SCOTT HAMILTON RECEIVES COVETED CREDENTIALS FROM INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC)
(Kingston, Jamaica) Dr. Jason Scott Hamilton, Jamaican licensed clinical and sports psychologist and the Founder and CEO of Elite Sports Psychology, LLC (ESP), has made history as the first Jamaican PhD to receive a diploma in the Treatment of Mental Health in Elite Athletes from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In the recent graduation ceremony held at the IOC Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Dr. Hamilton stood proudly among his peers, comprising 42% of successful programme completers. He now joins the ranks of 66 graduates from 34 countries since the programme's inception in 2021. This 16-month programme caters to sports medicine physicians and other healthcare professionals working with athletes, and licensed practitioners qualified to offer mental health services. These include clinical psychiatrists or clinical psychologists, sports psychologists, clinical social workers, licensed mental health counselors, and psychiatric mental health nurses. Upon certification, clinicians are equipped to address mental health symptoms and disorders in elite sports comprehensively, recognise major stressors and environmental factors impacting athlete mental health, and implement effective prevention strategies. Since earning his Ph.D. and clinical psychology license in 2003, Dr. Hamilton has been dedicated to his passion for sports psychology. Beginning his academic career in South Florida, he served as the Director of Research for the McNair Programme and the Associate Dean of the College of Medicine at Florida International University. In 2008, he founded Elite Sports Psychology, shifting his focus to enhancing the performance of athletes, entertainers, sports franchises, non-athletic organisations, and high-performance individuals through psychological/psychiatric techniques and coaching.