Sarah Kovan, MD, is a psychiatry resident at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, specializing in the treatment of individuals with complex behavioral health needs within publicly supported healthcare systems. She has been honored with the U.S. Public Health Service Excellence in Public Health Award and studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. Additionally, Sarah was a collegiate athlete at Michigan State University, where she co-captained the Women's Soccer Team. During the episode, we cover lots of topics central to supporting others’ mental health from Sarah’s professional perspective, including the value of asking people what they need, how to approach someone who is resistant to care, and build community within sport. This episode is the foundation for the rest of the other episodes in the miniseries, thanks to Sarah’s expertise.

#139 - This week, Kat sits down with Rohan Piple on The Mental Matchup. Rohan grew up in Maryland and played varsity basketball at Southern Vermont College. He then went on to become a Behavioral Health Specialist with a Master's in Sports Industry Management from Georgetown University. During the episode, he discusses the performance wellness company, AŠVA, he created and why he decided to focus on this aspect of an athlete’s overall health. Rohan has so much knowledge and we are excited to share it with all of you!

This week, Vanessa Kara joins Kat on the podcast. Vanessa is from Burlington, New Jersey and went on to play college soccer at Drexel University then the University of Florida as a grad transfer. After college, she competed professionally in Finland and walks us through creating a career in the NWSL. She also touches on achieving her dream of playing for the Dominican Republic women's national soccer team! During her time as a student-athlete, Vanessa experienced 3 ACL tears and opens up about her recovery process and how she was able to bounce back after each injury. Vanessa recently retired from soccer and opens up about embracing working as an engineer. She also talks about specific mental health practices that helped get her through these difficult times and we can’t wait for you to hear Vanessa’s story!

#138 - This week, Bill Kvalheim, joins us on The Mental Matchup. Bill is a a former varsity football player at Kean University who has since become an educator and has also served as a college football coach. Bill is the founder of Tackle Depression, a non-profit organization providing knowledge, insight and resources for anyone battling mental illness. In the episode, he shares how his own struggles with mental health inspired him to create something to help others and highlights the importance of a strong support system. Overall, he wants to spread awareness to students, athletes, programs and school districts to let anyone know who is struggling that you are not alone!

#137 - This week, Sarah Spaeth joins The Mental Matchup. Sarah is from Bel Air, Maryland and went to the Catholic University of America where she played softball. Sarah notes that she listened to her first TMM podcast episode during the fall of 2023 and was immediately impacted by other’s sharing their story. Now in her very own episode, Sarah is opening up about her own experience moving from being a student-athlete to existing in the working world, the journey of getting to college and the importance of self-talk. We know that this episode will resonate with many and we are excited to have Sarah join us!

#136 - In this episode of The Mental Matchup, we sit down with Riley Walker, an At-Large Ambassador and mental health advocate. Struggling with anxiety and witnessing her sister's battle with depression, Riley made it a point to advocate for mental health and through seven years of dedication, including therapy and mindset shifts, she emerged stronger than ever. Now, she advocates for mental health, inspiring others through her speaking engagements and community initiatives. Thank you to Riley who shares her transformative journey from anxiety to becoming a powerful advocate for mental well-being!

#135 - During this episode, Bella Raymond, a rising sophomore on Nazareth University's field hockey team, shares her inspiring journey of resilience. Diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at 10 and hypothyroidism on her second day of college, Bella walks us through how she was able to continue her goal of playing a collegiate sport. She also discusses the impact of hypothyroidism on her physical and mental well-being, shedding light on its often-overlooked symptoms. Through her story, she advocates for athletes with autoimmune diseases and emphasizes the importance of self-care and support systems.

This week, Kat is joined by Brooke Lynch. Brooke plays college lacrosse at Scranton University and started playing at a young age. During the episode, she touches on her relationship with lacrosse and how it has changed over the years as well as her experience navigating COVID during her senior year of high school. Brooke is a great resource for talking about mental health, how sport can play an important role in your life, and sharing advice that has helped her get through difficult times!

In today's episode MJ Renaud sits down with Kat to discuss her experience with mental health as a student-athlete. MJ plays lacrosse for Canisius University, and is majoring in both Criminal Justice and Philosophy, and minoring in Forensic Psychology. MJ lives with OCD interlaced with social and generalized anxiety, along with bipolar depressive disorder and ADHD. She speaks about her tools she uses to help manage her mental health, utilizing her sport as an outlet and how important her support systems have been in her life.

CW: Suicide, Sexual Assault and Self-Harm

Kat is joined by Erica Curry, LMFT. A former student-athlete who suffered a career ending injury at a young age and shifted her focus to diving. This led to a collegiate career in diving at Wagner College. Her athletic experience is what drove her into her work with mental health. This coupled with watching a family member struggle with multiple suicide attempts strengthened her passion to support athletes and others struggling to build a life they want to live. In the episode, we chat about her journey and DBT, dialectical behavior therapy. When discussing DBT we focus on three different topics: distress tolerance and emotional regulation, mindfulness and interpersonal effectiveness.

This week, Bunny Nazari joins Kat on The Mental Matchup. Bunny is from Aldie, VA and currently in school at the College of Charleston. She played soccer in college for two years before deciding to take a step away for the remainder of college. Bunny opens up about this decision to stop playing collegiate athletics, her story of recovering from an injury and her goal of helping break the stigma that athletes must be “tough” in all aspects of life at all times. Bunny hopes to get her Masters in Sport Psychology after graduating this May and we can’t wait to see what she does in the future!

This week, Vanessa Scaringi joins The Mental Matchup. Vanessa is a licensed psychologist and mental health professional who currently co-owns a group therapy practice in Austin, TX called CALM Counseling. She was also a collegiate athlete in swimming and water polo. During the episode, Vanessa talks about how there is space for growth for talking about nutrition and eating disorders specially in student-athletes. She also touches on seeing higher levels of anxiety in the current student-athlete population, finding identity outside of your sport and the positive impacts of journaling.

In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Josh Carlson joins the podcast. Josh is a former student-athlete and college coach at McKendree University for the water polo team. As an athlete, he opens up about experiencing anxiety and the pressures that he put on himself to do well. Josh touches on the importance of having transparency between coaches and athletes when it comes to mental health and the battles we are all fighting.

This week, Kat sits down with Sophia Dzwonkowski. Sophia is a junior at Middletown High School North in New Jersey and opens up about her story battling performance anxiety in sport as she became older. She also touches on experiencing burnout, perfectionism, and how her mental health shifted after quitting basketball.

On this episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat is joined by Emily Cumberland. Emily is a junior at Rollins College and a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team. Throughout the episode, Emily talks about her experience with a major knee injury and how impactful it can be to have a positive mindset. She also touches on the recruiting process and we know this episode will be helpful for anyone going through a difficult time as an athlete!

Mary Beth Hurley joins The Mental Matchup this week! Mary Beth went to undergrad at Ohio State and played tennis all four years. As someone who has struggled with mental health in the past, she wanted to come on the podcast to share her story with other student-athletes. Mary Beth touches on topics such as the ongoing pressure to perform in all aspects of life and overcoming injury. She also discusses the importance of breathwork and journaling to help manage her anxiety. Mary Beth is currently in her second year at Johns Hopkins for graduate school doing a Master of Science in Nursing.

On today's episode, we welcome Collette Herring to The Mental Matchup! Collette is a senior at Kennett High School in Kennett Square, PA. She shares her unique story of dealing with complications with her brain health and how social isolation can contribute to depression and anxiety. Collette grew up playing field hockey and lacrosse and is also helping to coach younger girls while also spreading the message that being an athlete does not make up your entire identity. Additionally, she is an active Morgan's Message Ambassador who relies on the MM community for strength, camaraderie and expresses how it has been a key piece of her healing journey!

Episode #124: On today’s episode, we are joined by Glenn Østen Anderson. Glenn has been a professional media producer for over 20 years and is now an Associate Professor of Media and Communication Studies at Catholic University. He grew up as an athlete and competed at some of the highest levels for race walking. He saw firsthand how the experience of mental health can alter an athlete’s performance and how identity can be tied to your sport. Glenn is working on a documentary that focuses on mental health in student-athletes. We are so excited to have him on the podcast and we can’t wait to watch his film in the future!

#123: In this week’s episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat sits down with Jerry Dorneker. Jerry lost his daughter to suicide in 2020 and speaks candidly about the grief you experience as a parent after losing a child. He also opens up about finding strength through faith and how he has ultimately found purpose in pain. In addition to him sharing his own side of the story as a parent, he shares what he would tell someone having suicidal thoughts in order to express that they are not alone.

#122: In our second episode of Season 7, Emily Monahan-Morang, M.Ed., LPCC joins The Mental Matchup. Emily shares her journey working with athletes and performers and helps talk through the difference between mental health services and sport and performance. She also helps talk through how student-athletes can help others who are struggling and how to find a therapist that is best for you.