Authors

Mena Mirhom, MD, FAPA

Dr Mirhom is past president of the New York County Psychiatric Society, an assistant professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, a Forbes contributor, and Chief Wellbeing Officer at Athletes for Hope.

Latest Article

Sports Psychiatry and ADHD: A Vital Link in Neurodevelopment and Performance

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) is among the most prevalent neurodevelopmental conditions in both childhood and adolescence. ADHD is associated with significant academic, emotional, and functional impairment. In clinical practice, pharmacotherapy and behavioral interventions remain foundational. However, physical activity and structured sports participation represent underutilized, evidence-based adjuncts for symptom regulation, emotional resilience, and long-term health. Meta-analytic evidence demonstrates that exercise improves attention, executive functioning, and core ADHD symptoms. Newly emerging literature highlights the moderating role of family context and access disparities. Sports psychiatry provides a translational framework integrating mental health treatment with performance optimization, injury recovery, and psychosocial development. Adopting a neurodiversity-informed, biopsychosocial lens allows clinicians to leverage movement as a regulatory and strengths-based intervention rather than solely a symptom target. This article synthesizes epidemiologic trends, exercise science, parenting influences, and sports psychiatry principles to offer practical clinical strategies for psychiatrists counseling families and youth. Emphasizing physical activity as a core component of holistic ADHD care may enhance resilience, engagement, and lifelong mental health trajectories.

Dr Aga is a geriatric psychiatrist at the Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Neurology at Oregon Health and Science University.

Dr Noonan is a physician, mental health and wellness coach; author of 5 books on managing mental health and mood disorders with a print and video blog; consultant; group facilitator; and Certified Peer Specialist. She has a unique perspective having lived with a mood disorder and bridges that space between provider and recipient of mental health services, which resonates with many people. Dr Noonan is the inaugural recipient of the national Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Peer Support Specialist of the Year 2022. Her most recent books, published by Johns Hopkins University Press, include: Take Control of Your Depression: Strategies to help you feel better now (2018); Helping Others with Depression: Words to Say, Things to Do (2020); and Reconnecting after Isolation: Coping with Anxiety, Depression, Grief, PTSD and More (2022).

Dr Gauld is a pediatric psychiatrist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychopathology at the Hospices Civils de Lyon, and at the Institut Des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod.

Rajesh R. Tampi, MD, MS, DFAPA, DFAAGP

Dr Tampi is professor and chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Creighton University School of Medicine and Catholic Health Initiatives Health Behavioral Health Services. He is also an adjunct professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, and a member of the Psychiatric Times editorial board.

Anita H. Clayton, MD

Dr Clayton is chair of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences and professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Virginia. She has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and was named to the 2019-2020 Best Doctors in America list.

Awais Aftab, MD

Dr Aftab is clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. He is the editor of Conversations in Critical Psychiatry (Oxford University Press, 2024) and writes online at Psychiatry at the Margins.

Brian Miller, MD, PhD, MPH

Dr Miller is professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia. He is on the Editorial Board and serves as the schizophrenia section chief for Psychiatric Times. The author reports that he receives research support from Augusta University, the National Institute of Mental Health, and the Stanley Medical Research Institute.

Cynthia M.A. Geppert, MD, PhD, MA, MPH, MSBE, DPS, MSJ

Dr Geppert is professor emeritus of psychiatry and internal medicine and director of ethics education at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in Albuquerque. She is an adjunct professor of bioethics at the Alden March Bioethics Institute of Albany Medical College. She serves as the ethics editor for Psychiatric Times.

David N. Osser, MD

Dr Osser is an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School; a psychiatrist at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System, Brockton Division; and codirector of the VA National Bipolar Disorders TeleHealth Program. He is also a Psychiatric Times editorial board member.

H. Steven Moffic, MD

Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specializes in the social, cultural, ethical, spiritual, and religious aspects of psychiatry, and since 2012 is in retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekdays column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. Among his diverse and rare combination of major awards for psychiatrists, he was selected to receive the international Oskar Pfister Award for his contributions to religion, spirituality, and psychiatry at the American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting in May 2026. Previously, he was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry; the 2016 Administrative Psychiatrist Award from the American Psychiatric Association; in 2002, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA; at the turn of the new millennium, an APA Art Association award at the annual meeting for his displayed collage “Any Point of View (of Rusti) is Pure Delight”; and in 1991 the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. He also presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He has been an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physical burnout, and xenophobia, among other social justice causes, serving on many related local and national community and professional Boards. He has edited the requested 5-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, The Eastern Religions and Spirituality, and in 2026, the Second Edition of Islamophobia and Psychiatry. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.