How LaTonya McCurry and Latrice Mason use football to make therapy feel approachable.
Behind “Therapy for Eagles Fans” are two licensed counselors with decades of clinical experience who believe mental wellness can start with something as familiar as a Sunday game. LaTonya McCurry and Latrice Mason, co-founders of Embracing Life Transitions, LLC, are using their shared love of the Birds to make therapy feel less intimidating
Two Counselors, One Practice
LaTonya McCurry, LPCMH, NCC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health and co-founder of Embracing Life Transitions, LLC. She has more than 20 years of behavioral health experience and specializes in helping individuals and couples navigate life’s transitions, strengthen emotional wellness, and develop healthier coping strategies. She is also an author, a speaker, and a recurring mental health voice on WURD and iHeartRadio.
Her co-founder, Latrice Mason, LPCMH, LCDP, CAADC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Professional. With more than 15 years of experience supporting individuals and couples, she focuses on anxiety, depression, relationships, life transitions, and substance use. Mason is also the author of Hey Sis, I See You, a coloring and activity workbook that promotes self care, reflection, and emotional wellness.
How a Fan Base Inspired a Series
The idea grew out of friendship and fandom. Mason is a devoted Eagles supporter, and as the season approached, the pair recognized something familiar. “I have to get myself ready to go for this rollercoaster for this year,” McCurry recalls. “Let’s put it out there, because you’re not the only one.”
The result is a lighthearted series in which Mason plays the fan and McCurry plays the therapist. Viewers get what McCurry calls a peek behind the curtain of a real session. It isn’t diagnostic, but it does introduce practical tools
A Breathing Exercise Built for Football Fans
One of those tools is a breathing technique designed with fans in mind. Participants picture holding a football and wrapping their hands around it. The top of the ball becomes the inhale, and the bottom becomes the exhale. It’s simple, memorable, and, as McCurry points out, portable. The tools can be translated to “any other area of your life,” from work stress to family tension
Why Sports Hit So Hard
The counselors don’t dismiss the intensity of fandom. McCurry says fans feel it personally because “we see ourselves in our players. They represent the city, that means they represent us personally.”
That connection can bring real emotional weight. She notes that fans can experience depression after losses, anxiety before kickoff, and a tendency to isolate. Disappointment is normal, she says. The question is how long it lingers. A rough afternoon is one thing, but “if it’s lasting four and five days, a week, a month, that’s when it becomes excessive.”
Knowing When Support Is Needed
McCurry offers clear warning signs: withdrawing from the people who care about you, arguing or throwing things in a way that comes across as aggressive, hearing concern from loved ones, or gambling money away to the point of missing bills. “Those are the signs that it’s an issue, and some support is needed.”
Therapy Before the Crisis
A central message of the series is that therapy shouldn’t be reserved for emergencies. “Therapy isn’t just for a crisis, because by the time a crisis happens, it may be too late,” McCurry says. She compares it to a pot on the stove: “You want to catch it while it’s boiling up, you don’t want to have to pick up the mess when it boils over.”
She encourages people to reach out when they notice they aren’t managing things the way they used to, and to find support that is “not judgmental” and genuinely supportive
Building Community Beyond the Couch
For fans who want healthier ways to enjoy the game, McCurry points to community. Text friends, take a deep breath, step away from the TV, or even skip the game for a day and do something different together. Leaning on one another, she says, means “you can have the extra support.”
Where to Find Them
Fans can find Embracing Life Transitions on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, with the “Therapy for Eagles Fans” series on TikTok and YouTube. The co-founders sister practice, LaTonya McCurry Counseling Services, is also on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook
I didn’t have the earlier parameters from your first article, only what’s in this message. If it had other requirements (a byline, a word count tolerance, a closing line), tell me and I’ll adjust. I also used “LaTonya” throughout to match your bio, though the transcript spells it “LaTanya” in places
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