Youth Athlete Mental Health ft. Dr. Mai Uchida, MD- Shrinking It Down

Youth Athlete Mental Health ft. Dr. Mai Uchida, MD – Shrinking It Down

By Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director, Gene Beresin, Executive Director and Mai Uchida, MD

At what point are we pushing our young athletes too hard? We all watched 15-year-old Russian Olympic skater, Kamila Valieva, exit the ice in tears after a doping scandal. Where did the adults in her life fail her? What can be done to make sure situations like this don’t happen again?

These are the questions Gene and Khadijah try to answer this week, with the help of former competitive skater turned child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Mai Uchida, MD. Dr. Uchida is passionate about supporting youth athlete mental health and has written about Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, and interviewed Mirai Nagasu. This week, she shares her perspective and ideas of how to move the athletic world in a healthier direction for our young people.

Media List

Follow along with the conversation.

Figure Skating’s Identity Crisis: Supporting Our Young Athletes – (MGH Clay Center)
Naomi Osaka – Shining Light on Athlete Mental Health – (MGH Clay Center)
Simone Biles – Choosing Mental Health Over Defending Olympic Gold – (MGH Clay Center)
Chapter 1: Teen Champion (A Mental Health Conversation With Mirai Nagasu) – YouTube
What If My Child Is Prescribed an SSRI? – (MGH Clay Center)
Is age 27 the new 18? – Shrinking It Down (MGH Clay Center)
Stop Asking Why America Doesn’t Win Olympic Medals in Women’s-Singles Skating – (The Cut)
How victims like the US gymnasts move forward after years of sexual abuse – (ABC News)
10 Important Steps for Parenting Young Athletes – (MGH Clay Center)
Ted Lasso Season 1 Trailer – (Youtube)

Episode produced by Bianca Dempsey

Edited by Sara Rattigan

Music by Gene Beresin

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Khadijah Booth Watkins, Associate Director

Khadijah Booth Watkins, MD, MPH, is associate director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and the Associate Director of the Child and...

To learn more about Khadijah, or to contact her directly, please see Our Team.

Gene Beresin, Executive Director

Gene Beresin, MD, MA is executive director of The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, and a staff child and adolescent psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also...

To learn more about Gene, or to contact him directly, please see Our Team.

Mai Uchida, MD

Dr. Mai Uchida is a board certified child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist and the Director of the Child Depression Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She is the Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and Attending...

To read full bio click here.