Staff Directory
- Title:
- Director of Behavioral Health and Performance
- Email:
- Phone:
- 336-758-5191
Javier Martin-Fernandez, PhD, is the Director of Behavioral Health and Performance and head of the Sport Psychology Department for Wake Forest University Athletics. Dr. Javi is currently responsible for the provision of psychological services to student-athletes and athletics staff. These services include individual and group mental health and performance sessions, team workshops, educational seminars for coaches and staff, crisis intervention, student-athlete mentorship, and outreach programming. He completed his doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from the APA accredited University of Akron in 2021. He completed his APA accredited doctoral internship and postdoctoral training at the Wake Forest University Counseling Center, where he served as the sport psychology intern and postdoctoral fellow respectively. Dr. Javi also earned a masters in Counseling with a specialization in Sport Psychology from Boston University in 2017, which continues to augment his generalist training.
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Dr. Javi has been practicing clinically since 2015, working in a variety of clinical settings with clients of various backgrounds and intersecting identities across the lifespan. He approaches therapy from an integrated perspective drawing on third wave (e.g., acceptance and commitment therapy), cognitive behavioral, interpersonal, strengths-based and multicultural perspectives. He has held licensure as a psychologist since 2023. He previously worked as a sport psychologist for Wake Forest University athletics before being hired as the Director of Behavioral Health and Performance in April of 2024. Dr. Javi holds memberships in APA’s Division 47 (Society for Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology) and CCSPA (Clinical/Counseling Sport Psychology Association). His most recent professional presentation was “Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Awareness Games” at CCSPA’s 2023 annual conference, which underscores his passion for mental health prevention, awareness, and literacy among student-athletes and stakeholders. Additional clinical interests include perfectionism, identity, family of origin issues, relationships, anxiety, mindfulness, disordered eating and pressures to perform.
