Dr. Aaron Goodson - Director of Mental Health and Performance - Women's Tennis Support Staff

Dr. Aaron Goodson

Title:
Director of Mental Health and Performance
Email:
aaron.goodson@duke.edu

Aaron Goodson earned a Ph.D. in Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology from West Virginia University in 2018. During his time as a doctoral student, Aaron worked with teams within the West Virginia University Department of Athletics as well as the counseling center at Fairmont State University. During his time at West Virginia University, he completed a M.S. in Sport and Exercise Psychology, a M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and a graduate certificate in University Teaching. Prior to that, he completed a B.A. in Sociology from Davidson College in 2011, where he was a member of the tennis team during his first two years.

Goodson is currently responsible for providing psychological services to the Duke University Athletic Department student athletes. These services include mental health issues as well as those focused on other topics that address mental sport performance and different psychosocial aspects of the collegiate student-athlete experience.

Prior to coming to Duke, Goodson spent the previous 3 years at Mississippi State University (MSU), where he started as Assistant Director and rose to the Assistant Athletic Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology for MSU Athletics. Goodson also worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Winston-Salem State University during the 2018-2019 academic year where he taught sport psychology and his research focused on collegiate student-athlete psychosocial development, performance enhancement and mental health, as well as issues of diversity in sport, exercise, and performance psychology.

Goodson is a licensed professional counselor and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). Throughout his time as a graduate student and as a professional, Aaron has presented nationally on several topics around the collegiate student-athlete psychosocial experience, the Black student-athlete experience, and professional issues in sport psychology around diversity, equity, inclusion, and related topics.

Goodson is a North Carolina native, born and raised in Fayetteville, NC.