ONE-URC with Dr. Danielle Parrish

October 21, 2024
Runners for ONE-URC

Dr. Danielle Parrish, professor, and director of Baylor Impact Lab at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work (GSSW), was awarded a University Research Committee Award (ONE-URC) from the Office of the Vice Provost for Research within Baylor University to study mental health of Collegiate and Olympic athletes. GSSW Ph.D. student Cali Werner (a former Collegiate and Olympic Trialist athlete) is being mentored by Dr. Parrish as they work to assess and develop evidence-based interventions for elite athletes. 

 

Growing out of their own experiences as elite athletes and witnessing firsthand the effects of Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and other mental health struggles athletes face, Parrish and Werner are surveying current Collegiate and interviewing current and former Olympic athletes in the United States. With over 140 survey responses from Collegiate athletes, they plan to understand better athletes’ mental health needs and the correlates of mental health symptoms, including the impact of NIL (name image likeness) deals on their mental health. They are now interviewing current and former Olympic athletes with the goal of understanding the phenomenon of the Olympic Blues, a common emotional experience that is believed to be common after participating in a peak athletic event. These findings, which will be disseminated in Werner’s three-article dissertation, will inform the future development of evidence-based treatment and prevention manuals for sport social work practitioners. Werner says, “I’m grateful to Baylor for this opportunity. There’s no way I would have the ability to recruit like I am now without this grant funding. So, it’s making a huge difference in the research. We have such incredible professors in our program. If you have a niche area you want to study, there is very likely to be someone you can work with as long as you are willing to reach out and make the connection. For me, that is Dr. Parrish; as a former elite athlete herself, she understands the mental health challenges and has been a huge advocate for me personally.” 

Elite athletes have increasingly become more open about their mental health struggles and social work behavioral health practitioners will benefit from this kind of evidence-based intervention implemented out of direct research. The GSSW is excited to see our faculty and students work together to improve the lives of their clients through Baylor’s OVPR internally funded research grants.

 

Learn more about Dr. Danielle Parrish