One-Hour Complimentary Webinar on Thursday, October 14, 2021, 1:00-2:00 pm
After high-profile Olympians Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles upended the world’s long-held notion of athletic grit by taking mental health time-outs in the midst of competition, their actions sparked heated debate over the benefits and dangers associated with the traditional sports strategy of powering through adversity.
On October 14, 2021, a panel of Albizu University psychology professors and mental health professionals convenes for a one-hour webinar, free and open to the public, to analyze the no pain-no gain concept of the winning at all costs and how to determine where to draw the line in the quest for championship, whether in sports or other competitive endeavors.
The discussion will center on the importance of prioritizing mental and physical health and the stigma that persists around admitting exhaustion.
Moderated by Albizu Assistant Professor Dr. Scott Bauer, Psy.D., M.Sc.PP., M.S., L.M.H.C., who also serves as Practicum II Supervisor for Albizu’s Master’s in Psychology Programs, the panel includes:
Dr. Isaac Tourgeman, Ph.D., M.S. ClinPharm, Faculty Member and Professor-Doctoral Program Psychology at Albizu University
Dr. Jessica Popham, Ph.D., LMFT, Faculty and Practicum Coordinator for Albizu Master’s in Psychology Programs
Assistant Professor Yamila Lezcano, LMHC, Assistant Professor for Albizu’s Undergraduate Psychology and Education Program
Albizu Graduate Orlando Castro, LMHC, Private Practice Family Counselor and Director of the Adolescent Unit at Larkin Hospital of South Miami.
“Mental health challenges with individuals must be addressed. When an individual with these challenges makes a boundary that they are feeling overwhelmed, stressed and not balanced… I believe that the individual is acting in the best interest of their mental health limitations. A good example of this is the young Olympian who made a boundary for her mental health. It’s about time that we acknowledge this. Ignoring our mental health needs can lead to real and lasting negative consequences. This is especially true for children and adolescents. Where did become ok to stress out the individual until they break?” Dr. Bauer emphasized.
Indeed, a recent Harvard Business Review report noted “ . . . an important shift in the narrative of mental health in sports . . . increased awareness of the numerous career dynamics that pose mental health risks to athletes: unsustainable expectations for perfection and constant improvement, enormous public pressure to win, pervasive demand to outwork or outlast an opponent, and relatively short career spans that can end in the blink of an eye due to injury.”
