Written by Elvin Walker
It's an exciting but very busy time for 2010 U.S. Women's Champion Rachel Flatt.
Since stepping away from competitive skating 10 years ago, the 31-year-old has approached life with the same enthusiasm she once had as an athlete. Ms. Flatt is currently a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), where she is on track to receive her doctoral degree in August.
The 2010 Olympian has juggled the rigors of earning an advanced degree with a packed schedule of speaking, volunteering, and advocacy for positive change in sports regarding mental health. I did.
“I spent most of my undergraduate degree intending to go to medical school, but when I graduated and made it through the first round of medical school applications, I realized that I had no intention of going to medical school at all. ” Flatt admitted. “It just wasn't the right thing for me at the time, so it took me a few years to figure out what I ultimately wanted to do.”
During that time, Fratto had the opportunity to be involved in digital mental health research at Stanford University, primarily focused on eating disorder interventions for college students. Filled with what she calls her “light bulb moment,” her future vision for the flat quickly began to come into focus.
“Given the enormous travel demands that athletes often face, and the particular types of pressures associated with sport regarding mental health, it is clear that athletes could benefit from highly customized digital tools. ” she explained. “She adds a lot of value as someone who comes from an athlete background and is trained in clinical psychology and can bring these two interests and experiences together to provide some value both on the research and clinical side. can make it, right.”
Flatt's research in the digital marketplace includes studying a globally used self-monitoring app that tracks behaviors related to eating disorders and adapting it to the Apple Watch to collect passive data. It was included. That data is used to help control behaviors that may ultimately lead users down the path to an eating disorder.
“We will collect passive heart rate and step data to see if we can predict eating disorders in real time,” Flatt said. “The goal of the basic research was to ultimately be able to predict those behaviors and intervene in the moment to prevent them from occurring in the first place.”
As an elite skater, Flatt faced extreme ups and downs as he navigated the competitive environment, which he quickly parlayed into his studies at Stanford University. She was part of a sport at a time when it was taboo to openly discuss injuries, let alone the mental health issues that often pervade the lives of athletes in judged sports. Luckily, her parents were in the flat and they tried to keep her as normal as possible outside of sports. They encouraged healthy eating, going out with friends and pursuing interests outside the rink. Still, Fratto was not immune to the pressure of competing on such a big stage.
“There were times in my competitive career when certain body image concerns came up, and it certainly would have helped if I had someone to help me address those issues head-on,” she said. . “As a kid growing up in the public eye, I had someone there to make sure I was okay.”
She continued, “For the last few years of my career, I was chronically injured and reached a point where I needed to understand what my body was telling me when I was injured. I was under a lot of pressure to compete for a variety of reasons, but I didn't feel like I could talk about it much outside of the medical team, so my mother took on a huge role as a gatekeeper. I'm very grateful for that and I think it really saved me in many ways.”
Despite her experience, Fratto sees progress in the sport, especially in terms of athletes being honest and open about their struggles.
“Looking back on my career, I was told many times in media training not to talk about physical injuries, but now athletes are talking about not only their physical health, but also very important things. We also started talking about “mental health,'' she noted. “The more we have open conversations about mental health concerns to the extent that they are appropriate, and the more people feel comfortable sharing their experiences, the less they are swept under the rug and stigmatized. You can avoid getting caught.”
Ms. Flatt is currently completing a clinical internship at Duke University, where her training focuses on eating disorders with an emphasis on treating people with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). After completing that study in July, Ms. Flatt returned to UNC to hold a doctoral program across three groups: the UNC Eating Disorders Center of Excellence, the UNC Suicide Prevention Institute, and the Carolina Athletics Mental Health and Performance Psychology Program. Start of researcher system.
Upon completion of the fellowship, Fratto will be eligible to take the national and state licensing exams, which, if passed, will allow him to officially practice medicine without having a licensed person sign patient records.
“I'm excited to combine all these interests. I'm really lucky that things ended up working out so well for me that I was able to complete all the hours required to get my license,” Flatt said. .
In the sports world, Fratto has already begun to give back by combining his experience as an athlete with intensive research in psychology. The 2008 World Junior Champion will work closely with U.S. Figure Skating as a member and chair of the Athlete Advisory Committee and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) Federation to establish athlete representation across all committees. contributed to ensuring compliance with the Directive.. She was also one of the first athlete representatives on the USOPC Her Mental Health Task Force.
“Holy smokers. It's been busy,” Flatt said of the task force. “Before we had the task force, the OPC had a psychology department, and now we have a psychological services team made up of a number of people with different specialties. We helped form the founding principles about how digital tools can support a range of mental health outcomes, helping us hire Site Services Director Jessica Bartley (who does a phenomenal job at her job). Helped you think about what concerns.
For now, Fratto has put some non-school-related work on hold, but plans to take some time off once things start to calm down. She will remain in North Carolina after her graduation, where she plans to spend time with her husband Eric, who will celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary in August.
“My husband works here, so we plan to stay in North Carolina for the time being,” Flatt said. “I really enjoy my advocacy work with USA Figure Skating and the USOPC. I know it can be difficult to find a position that has both a clinical and research focus, so I am flexible in that regard. You may have to do it, but I really hope you can do at least two of those three things. (Advocacy, clinical, research) I have a full-time job. ”
