HOF Behavioral Health Broadens Reach, Adds Nation's Largest Telebehavioral Health Provider to Enhance Services for Athletes, Veterans

Array Behavioral Care, the largest provider of telepsychiatry services in the country, will be the exclusive national telebehavioral health partner of Hall of Fame Behavioral Health under an agreement the entities announced Tuesday.

Additionally, Hall of Fame Behavioral Health will partner with the Special Forces Foundation (formerly the Green Beret Association), founded in 2016 by active Green Berets, to assist in its efforts to provide timely, focused and relevant assistance to members of the Special Forces Regiment and their families during times of crisis and transition.

Array Behavioral Care brings more than 20 years of experience in telepsychiatry to the partnership. Its hundreds of clinicians, including psychiatrists, nurse practitioners and therapists, engaged clients in hundreds of thousands of telehealth encounters in 2020.

Hall of Fame Behavioral Health and Array, which together operate in more than 50 major markets (and growing) across the country, share the mission of making mental health and the treatment of issues surrounding current and former athletes and those who care for them more accessible, more widespread and less stigmatized.

“Current and retired athletes may face an uphill battle in seeking and receiving behavioral health services,” said Dr. Nicole Christian-Brathwaite, Senior Vice President and Medical Director of Scheduled Care and AtHome Care for Array Behavioral Care. “With this partnership, Array aims to reduce the stigma around behavioral health treatment for athletes, their families and friends. Our goal is to partner with Hall of Fame Behavioral Health to support their players in achieving mental health and wellness.”

Hall of Fame Behavioral Health, an affiliate of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was launched in May. Its service providers address such themes as post-career transition, identity, addiction, anxiety, depression, PTSD, mindfulness, the culture of sports and mental health crises. Their network consists of providers who understand athletes and can customize care to meet their specific needs. Services will complement existing programs and assistance available to players through the National Football League and its affiliated partners.

Array will provide online psychiatric evaluations, counseling and medication management, among other services.

“The narrative surrounding athletes’ mental health and wellness is changing thanks to strong voices in the athlete community and programs like Hall of Fame Behavioral Health,” said Calais Campbell, a 13-year NFL defensive lineman currently with the Baltimore Ravens. “Performing at a high-level means more than just perfecting physical strength and endurance, it also means making mental wellness a priority. Beyond talking about it, we must provide easily accessible mental wellness resources — a counselor or life coach must be as simple to access for an athlete as the weight room.”

Campbell, the 2019 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, also serves as an Ambassador for Hall of Fame Behavioral Health, along with numerous other current and former players, including Adrian Peterson, Robbie Gould, Solomon Thomas and members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, such as STEVE ATWATER, TIM BROWN, BRIAN DAWKINS, RONNIE LOTT and ANDRE REED.

The Special Forces Foundation (SFF) is a nonprofit organization that offers a variety of programs aligned with the U.S. Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM) Preservation of The Force and Family (POTFF) program, designed to address the fraying of the force after nearly two decades of sustained combat.  Having served in Special Forces for decades across the globe, the nonprofit’s founders understand and recognize the hardships and unique challenges that Special Forces members and their families face.

SFF programs include support for the wounded, maintenance of the current warrior’s mind, body and family, as well as providing acute and ongoing support in resolving psychological, emotional and relationship issues before they become chronic. Finally, after a life-changing knock on their door, the SFF provides immediate and long-term support to the Gold Star Families of the fallen.

“If Special Forces is to continue to successfully accomplish what our country asks of us, then we must take care of our most precious asset: our people,” said Ignacio Garza, Founder/Executive Director of the Special Forces Foundation. “By partnering with Hall of Fame Behavioral Health, we are able to access providers who understand us and can tailor treatment to our needs. Humans are more important than hardware, and we hope this initiative can bring more awareness and mental wellbeing to the veteran community as a whole.”

Wes Cain, President & CEO of Hall of Fame Behavioral Health, said many similarities exist between current and former athletes and current and former members of U.S. Armed Forces.

“The Hall of Fame Behavioral Health ecosystem of providers is well-positioned to serve the veteran community in addition to athletes, as we recognize the commonalities between these two populations,” Cain said. “With the addition of Array Behavioral Care's provider resources, we become a more diverse, national and comprehensive program that can continue to improve upon existing solutions. We are excited to make a bigger difference.”

Hall of Fame Behavioral Health has partnered with these providers across the country:

• Array Behavioral Care (National)
• Ashley Addiction Treatment (Baltimore, Md.)
• Aultman Health Foundation (Canton, Ohio)
• Baylor Scott & White Health (Dallas)
• Emory Healthcare (Atlanta)
• Free By The Sea (Ocean Park, Wash.)
• Lighthouse Recovery (Dallas)
• Lindner Center of HOPE (Cincinnati, Ohio)
• Nashville Recovery Center (Nashville)
• New Method Wellness (Southern California)
• Sabino Recovery (Tucson, Ariz.)
• Serenity Light (Houston)
• The Becoming Counseling & Wellness (National)
• The Menninger Clinic (Houston)
• UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences (San Francisco)
• Vanderbilt Health (Nashville)

Additional providers, player ambassadors and strategic partners are expected to join the Hall of Fame Behavioral Health network in coming months.

For those needing financial assistance, Hall of Fame Behavioral Health has partnered with the HART Foundation to provide grants and funding to ensure those who need help can receive it – no matter their economic situation.

Anyone experiencing a mental health emergency or requiring emergency assistance should call the HOFBH Crisis Line at 866-901-1245, or call 911, or head to the nearest hospital emergency room.