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Katie Steele & Tiffany Brown
Co-Authors of The Price She Pays, Mental Health Advocates & Licensed Experts
Katie Steele & Tiffany Brown
Co-Authors of The Price She Pays, Mental Health Advocates & Licensed Experts
Biography
For Katie Steele and Tiffany Brown, sports have always been a means of connection. And when they witnessed first-hand the mental health crisis facing athletes, they could not look away. As friends, mental health experts and sports enthusiasts, Katie founded the Athletes Mental Health Foundation, with Tiffany serving as its chief science officer. The non-profit organization is dedicated to changing athletic systems and providing resources to support mental health in athletes.
Together, they are also co-authors of the new book The Price She Pays: Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women's Sports―from the Schoolyard to the Stadium. The book details how female athletes behind the scenes suffer from disordered eating, substance use, depression and anxiety, emotional and sexual abuse, racism and discrimination, self-harm and even suicidal ideation. Their groundbreaking research and reporting in the book not only reveal these deep layers of trauma and mistreatment women experience in their pursuit of excellence in sports but also provide tangible solutions. Their work presents parents, coaches and athletes with tools to recognize the signs of mental health issues and shows that by focusing on the well-being of the whole person, not just the athlete, we can provide women and girls with the support they need to thrive.
Katie is a former highly recruited D1 athlete who ran track and cross country for the famed University of Oregon team. After experiencing trauma as a college athlete, she dedicated her career to the integration of mental health care in athletics. She is now a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and co-founder of Thrive Mental Health.
Tiffany, PhD, is an award-winning, senior faculty member at the University of Oregon Couples and Family Therapy graduate program, and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She works with student athletes and provides mental health education for coaches and staff.
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 and Tiffany Brown--two experts in mental health and sports—lift 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 and Tiffany will show you how to get started.
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