Episode #207 - Normalizing the Conversation: Mental Health and Caring for Our Most Vulnerable Youth with Mike O’Connor

In this episode, we’re joined by Mike O’Connor, Chief Relationship Officer at New Hope Treatment Centers, a family owned and operated behavioral healthcare company serving adolescents with complex trauma and other psychiatric and behavioral challenges. Since 2008, he has helped New Hope connect kids and families with the services they need, and built relationships with the systems, providers, state agencies, payers, and professionals around them. Mike talks about New Hope’s mission-driven work, why open conversations about mental health and suicide matter, and how his family shaped his path. Both his mother and grandmother worked in the mental health field. In this episode, we talk about: * Mike’s journey from wilderness-based juvenile justice work to behavioral healthcare leadership * How New Hope supports adolescents facing psychiatric illness and complex trauma * Why normalizing conversations around mental health and suicide is so important * The role of families, systems, and community partners in getting kids the right care * Growing up around the mental health field and how it shaped Mike’s career Connect with Mike on LinkedIn here Learn more about New Hope here Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here

Michelle Hammer is a mental health advocate, speaker, designer, and founder of Schizophrenic.NYC. A four-year NCAA lacrosse player at SUNY Oneonta, All-Conference honoree, and senior-year team captain, she was misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder in college and later diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 22. Michelle shares how the structure, teammates, and a supportive coach helped her get through college, and why she believes athletes need open conversations about mental health. We Talk About: * Playing college lacrosse while living with a misdiagnosis * How structure and a supportive coach made a difference * Lessons in discipline and resilience that carry into mental health * Breaking the stigma around schizophrenia Connect with Michelle: * Connect with Michelle and learn more here * Follow Michelle on IG here * Follow Michele on YouTube here Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here If this episode resonates with you or someone you know, Morgan's Message resources are available — you don't have to navigate this alone.

Rebecca Smith, MA, is a recovering perfectionist, former gymnast, coach, and parent of athletes. She has spent more than 20 years helping high achievers thrive under pressure. In this episode, she shares how mental blocks derailed her own gymnastics career, and how that experience shaped her mission to help fearful young athletes trust themselves again. Rebecca talks about teaching athletes to use their voice, make good choices, and advocate for others, and about what it takes to push back on the toxic culture that has long existed in youth sports. In This Episode, We Talk About: * Rebecca's journey as a gymnast and how mental blocks ended her career * Living as a "recovering perfectionist" * Why an evidence-based approach to mental performance matters * Helping fearful athletes rebuild self-trust * Empowering athletes to find their voice and stand up to toxic youth sports culture * Navigating sports as a parent of an athlete * Building a positive athletic culture that supports mental health and resilience Connect with Rebecca on IG here Connect with Rebecca on her site here Listen to Rebecca on PerformHappy with Rebecca Smith Podcast Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here

In this episode of The Mental Matchup, Kat sits down with Angelique Cauterucci — a former competitive gymnast turned collegiate acrobatics and tumbling captain — to talk about the pressures athletes face around body image, perfectionism, and identity. Angelique opens up about her journey through competitive gymnastics, where messages about her body eventually contributed to an eating disorder and a loss of identity outside of sport. She shares how stepping into a healthier team environment helped her rebuild her sense of self — and how that experience led her to found You Define Beauty, a nonprofit that has since reached over 9,000 students nationwide through school presentations, affirmation campaigns, and community events. We dig into: * The pressure athletes place on themselves to look and perform a certain way * How body image struggles show up in sport — and often go unspoken * Finding identity beyond competition * Turning a difficult chapter into purpose and advocacy * Why mental health deserves the same attention as physical health * The mission behind You Define Beauty and its growth into a national movement Angelique's message is simple but powerful: setbacks don't define you, and every athlete has the power to write their own story. Connect with Angelique: * Connect with Angelique on IG here * Connect with Angelique's non-profit on IG here * Learn more about You Define Beauty here * Listen to Angelique's Podcast You Define Beauty here Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here If this episode resonates with you or someone you know, Morgan's Message resources are available — you don't have to navigate this alone.

In this episode, Kat sits down with Patrick Devenny — former football player at the University of Colorado Boulder — for a raw conversation about what happens when the sport that defines you disappears. In this episode: * How deeply his identity — and his parents' identities — were wrapped up in football * Going undrafted to the Seahawks, a career-ending wrist injury, and the jarring transition to working as a restaurant host with a cast on his hand * The unexpected loss of his mother and how it accelerated a downward spiral * How disordered eating became a way to reclaim control — and how it nearly cost him his life * The random podcast episode that became his lifeline * Why he decided to speak publicly about an issue so stigmatized in men's sports * His take on disordered eating rates among athletes and why so few talk about it * A broader conversation on college athletics, coaching turnover, and what support for student-athletes should actually look like A note on this episode: This conversation includes discussion of eating disorders and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988) are both available 24/7 Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here

Scott Roussell was a Division I soccer player at UVA until two knee surgeries ended his career — and, unknowingly, took his only sense of identity with it. Years of quiet unraveling followed, masked by outward success, until alcohol became his coping mechanism. It led him for years until the moment he finally admitted he couldn't do this alone. In this episode, Scott shares his recovery, the questions it raised about how athletes are prepared for the game but not for life after it, and how that led him to found After We Play, a mental performance platform for competitive youth and college athletes. Learn more about After We Play here Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here

This week on The Mental Matchup, Kat's joined by Suzanne Potts, the new Executive Director of Morgan's Message. Suzanne brings a career built at the intersection of sports, mental health, and nonprofit leadership. She's a licensed social worker with a master's in both social work and public health, a former soccer player and has spent nearly a decade in non-profit leadership. She's also taught in the School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin and previously served as Executive Director of the Autism Society of Texas. In this conversation, we cover how Suzanne got here, what drew her to Morgan's Message, and where she sees the organization headed under her leadership. If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that Morgan's Message and resources like it exist for exactly this reason. You don't have to go through it alone. Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here

This is episode 200 of The Mental Matchup — and to mark the occasion, we're doing something we've never done before: bringing the co-founders of Morgan's Message together (well, sort of together) to reflect on how we got here. In this milestone episode, the co-founders look back on the earliest conversations after Morgan's passing, the moment they knew her story needed to become something bigger than grief, and how "eliminate the stigma" and "treat mental health equally with physical health" became the core of the mission. They talk about watching Morgan's Message grow beyond their own circle, what they've learned about grief and legacy along the way, what they'd do differently if they were starting over, and the people behind the scenes who made it all possible. If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that Morgan's Message and resources like it exist for exactly this reason. You don't have to go through it alone. Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here

Morgan Maxwell DiPrimo is the Founder & CEO of ALIGN33 Media, Inc., a national organization using documentary storytelling, public health education, and policy work to change how eating disorders are understood and treated in the U.S. A former NYC film and television professional (Pace University-trained), Morgan draws on her own experience with disordered eating and more than 300 global interviews to build ALIGN33 into a lasting platform — not a single project, but a movement. In this episode: * Morgan's path into media * Her personal story with disordered eating * What sparked ALIGN33 and her vision for national, systemic change Links: Morgan's Substack here Connect with Morgan on IG here Connect with Morgan on LinkedIn here Connect with ALIGN33 Media here Note: This episode discusses disordered eating. If you're struggling, the National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline can help: 1-866-662-1235.

"Your story is someone else's survival guide." That's the phrase Julian Bell holds onto — because Morgan's story was hers. Julian's injury story starts in 7th grade, with pain she still manages today at 22. In this raw, unfiltered conversation, Julian opens up about developing an eating disorder tied to that injury, the moment medical retirement entered the conversation, her healing journey, and the road back to rebuilding a relationship with her body, her sport, and herself. Through it all, Morgan's story was Julian's throughline. Now, Julian is ready to be that for someone else. In this episode: * Living with a chronic injury since 7th grade * Developing an eating disorder tied to injury and identity loss * Medical retirement and recovery * How Morgan's story became Julian's survival guide * Julian's vision for advocacy moving forward Content warning: this episode discusses disordered eating and suicidal ideation. If this episode brings up anything difficult: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call/text 988). You are not alone. Connect with Julian on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message on IG here Connect with Morgan’s Message here