Why do I do this work?
This work inspires me as a former competitive soccer and softball player into my young adulthood. As such, I am accustomed to the intoxicating experience of connection in sport – to the moment, to the game, to the players, to the team, to the outcomes, and ultimately, to the self. As with all athletes, I, too, have felt the excruciating emotions and disconnection that accompany a loss, an injury, a demotion, or a promotion, and ultimately deciding to retire from the sport. These moments were equally impactful. I was coached to push away the emotions, try harder, do better, and leave it all on the field at any cost.
Professionally, in my clinical work with young athletes, I have witnessed a high prevalence of sport-related mental health concerns including, but not limited to, emotion dysregulation (under- and over-regulation), disordered eating/eating disorders, body image concerns, interpersonal challenges on and off the field/court, trauma resulting from hazing, and non-suicidal self-injury. Often, the primary intention of our work initial therapeutic work together (i.e., goal setting) takes a backseat to these more pressing and detrimental mental health concerns. In other words, we are playing ‘catch-up.’
Providing individualized, evidence-based research, strategies, and practices to these communities serves me (and the communities I serve) three-fold: by fulfilling my passion for supporting people in addressing their mental health struggles, by re-connecting me to the powerful atmosphere of competition, I knew personally, and by providing protective factors for athletes and their systems in developing symptoms and related mental-health concerns within this world of sport and performance.
