Dr. Dani Pecar, EdD - Director of Student-Athlete Mental Health Services - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Dr. Dani Pecar, EdD

Title:
Director of Student-Athlete Mental Health Services
Email:
Phone:
419-372-3747

With a passion for the interaction between physical and mental health and supporting the life goals of student-athletes, Dr. Dani Pecar enthusiastically joined the ranks of BGSU Athletics in October of 2022 to provide mental health and mental performance services.

As Director of Student-Athlete Mental Health Services, Dr. Pecar provides individual and group mental health counseling services, mental performance sessions, and mental skills training to student-athletes. She also coordinates mental health initiatives, workshops, and trainings for athletes, coaches, and staff.

Prior to joining BGSU Athletics, Pecar graduated Summa Cum Laude with honors from BGSU in 2015 with her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Art History. Her honors research on the use of art as a diagnostic tool for schizophrenia won the Outstanding Research Award. While at BGSU, Dr. Pecar was a Writing Consultant and Mentor in the Learning Commons and a P.E.A.K. Peer Advisor for first-year students.

Pecar went on to earn her M.S. in Counseling Psychology from Chatham University in Pennsylvania and interned with the University of Pittsburgh as a Career Counselor and received the Student Practitioner Award. Pecar has worked in community advocacy and mental health with survivors of domestic abuse and at-risk children and families before joining higher education as a counselor in Allegheny College’s Counseling Center.

Pecar was promoted to Counselor, Athletics and Wellness Specialist at Allegheny College where she specialized in coordinating wellness initiatives, such as the Work-Out Your Stress program: group fitness classes to help students manage symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety while building confidence. In this role, Pecar also began to specialize with student-athlete mental health and provided therapeutic and mental performance services through an integrated office in the athletics center.

In 2021, Pecar became the Director of the Counseling Center and in 2022, she graduated with distinction from University of Western States with her doctorate in Sport and Performance Psychology. During her time at Allegheny College, Pecar built and executed Mental Skills Training programs with Women’s Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer, and Lacrosse. She also ran a variety of mental health and mental performance training courses for coaches, staff, and the Tennis, Cross Country, and Track & Field teams.

Pecar holds her independent professional counseling license in PA and OH. She is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and a member of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), the Clinical/Counseling Sport Psychology Association (CCSPA), and the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD).