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Katie Steele
Co-Author of The Price She Pays & Founder and Executive Director, Athletes Mental Health Organization
Katie Steele
Co-Author of The Price She Pays & Founder and Executive Director, Athletes Mental Health Organization
Biography
Alongside her colleague and friend Tiffany Brown, Katie Steele, LMFT, is co-author of The Price She Pays: Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women's Sports―from the Schoolyard to the Stadium. The book highlights the trauma and mistreatment of women in sports and serves as a blueprint for systemic change.
Katie is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Athletes Mental Health Organization, a non-profit organization dedicated to changing athletic systems and providing resources to support mental health in athletes. As a former highly recruited D1 athlete who ran track and cross country for the famed University of Oregon team, Katie’s dream of being a high-level college athlete was far from what she envisioned. She experienced severe mistreatment and exploitation during her college athletic experience, which impacted her mental and physical health.
Having first-hand knowledge of the trauma many women face on and off the field, Katie has dedicated her work as a licensed mental health professional to helping young athletes elevate their mental well-being and ensuring the athletic system has the framework to integrate mental health solutions.
In addition to her advocacy work, Katie is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, Co-Founder of Thrive Mental Health (an outpatient mental health clinic in Bend, Oregon) and, most importantly, a mom to three kids. Her goal is to continue to be a beacon of hope for athletes everywhere, striving to create a future where mental health is prioritized and supported for every athlete.
Speech Topics
The Price She Pays: Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women's Sports
No matter the sport, the message to girls and women is the same: Be aggressive, but not too aggressive. Win at all costs but be polite while doing it. Get strong but not too big. Female athletes have long been conditioned to perform under these standards, gracefully and without complaints. Yet, behind the scenes, female athletes are suffering from disordered eating and substance use; depression and anxiety; emotional and sexual abuse; racism and discrimination; self-harm and even suicide ideation. But there is hope. Through first-hand accounts and research, Katie Steele, an expert in mental health and sports, lifts the veil on the crisis in women's athletics, offering parents and coaches urgently needed advice and support and showing how female athletes can find joy in whatever sport they choose, at whatever level they compete. You'll learn how to recognize the signs of mistreatment and mental health issues and how to correct course. You can provide women and girls with the support they need to thrive in whatever sport they choose, at whatever level they compete. Katie will show you how to get started.
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