The SuiteSpot
SuiteSpot Interview Series: Part Two: Mykal Manswell, M.S.,LPC- Athletics Counselor, Mental Health and Performance Specialist. Resilient. Authentic. Purpose-Driven
Guest interview, Part Two of two — see Part One for the opening conversation
Listen on BuzzsproutAbout this episode
Part two of the interview with Mykal Manswell, M.S., LPC, continuing the conversation from Part One about mental health and identity in college athletics. Here the discussion moves from Manswell’s personal story into his clinical practice, describing how he uses short first sessions to build trust, boundaries, and accountability with the athletes he works with, and how a presenting problem often hides a deeper root issue underneath it. He and Dr. Suite talk through why being benched can trigger anxiety, perfectionism, and shame, how to separate an athlete’s own responsibility from the responsibility that belongs to the surrounding system, and the real difficulty of handling clinical needs when coaches are reluctant to allow rest or emotional safety. Manswell also distinguishes mental performance coaching from psychiatric or medical care in plain, practical language, and discusses how he places athletes’ experiences of race in historical and present-day context. The episode returns to masculinity, reframing vulnerability as strength, and closes on identity: naming the loss of an athletic identity as a real form of grief, and the importance of building multiple identities early, through school, work, and community, so there’s more than one foundation to stand on when a sports career ends.
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Now, stay tuned for this weeks special interview series.-- Part two with Mykal Manswell.
Science Soul Success
Today, continue our interview with Michael Manswell. We will finish hearing about what college athletics looks like when performance is not the whole story and life hits harder than the scoreboard. His path from Division I football to counseling shows how identity, grief, and healing can become a foundation for real mental strength. We also dig into identity, race, masculinity, and grief and how athletes can build a life that holds up when sport ends. Tune in:
Suite Spots • seeing college athletics through the lens of player, coach, and clinician • using short first sessions to build trust, boundaries, and accountability • recognizing how the presenting problem often hides a deeper root issue • understanding why being benched can trigger anxiety, perfectionism, and shame • separating athlete responsibility from ecosystem responsibility in performance culture • handling clinical needs when coaches resist rest, treatment, or emotional safety • protecting confidentiality with a clear need-to-know standard • screening for mental performance coaching versus psychiatric or medical care • explaining mental health versus mental performance in plain language • placing athlete experiences of race in historical context and present-day safety • challenging masculinity norms by reframing vulnerability as strength • naming identity loss as a real form of grief after sport • building multiple identities early through school, work, and new communities • facing the emotional cost of NIL-era roles as athlete, student, and brand • defining legacy as pride, impact, and the hope you leave behind
Thank you for joining us for our interview series and I invite you to go back and listen to this brother's journey.
#STAYAMAZING
Read the full episode transcript on Buzzsprout (automatically generated; may contain transcription errors)
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