Outsports hosted a webinar recently to talk about maintaining mental health and building good mental-health practices while isolating during the coronavirus pandemic.
With so many people social distancing, and with sports suddenly leaving a hole in the lives of so many athletes, coaches and fans, we wanted to provide some hope and insight into how we can all stay healthy.
Featured on the webinar are two mental-health professionals from the Outsports family, both former college athletes and members of the LGBTQ community.
KC Cross is a mental health and performance clinician with the Univ. of Arkansas athletics department. They played college basketball at Moberly Area Community College and Columbia College in Missouri. KC has multiple college degrees, including a Masters degree in clinical mental health counseling. They identify as queer nonbinary and use they/them pronouns, and they are in a relationship with former college athlete Megan Pearson.
You can read about KC Cross by clicking here.
Taylor Vanderlaan is a social worker in the Grand Rapids, Mich., area. He is currently working to help local families with needs through the coronavirus pandemic. He was formerly a youth group facilitator at the Grand Rapids Pride Center, where he is still a volunteer. Taylor has a Bachelors degree in Social Work from Ferris State University, where he played rugby. He identifies as gay and uses he/him pronouns. He lives in Michigan with his fiancé, fellow athlete Brenden Moon.
You can read about Taylor Vanderlaan by clicking here!
KC and Taylor talk about not just keeping good mental health in this time of isolation due to coronavirus, but also how to support others who may need help in that space. In addition, they talked about coping with suddenly finding sports and athletic activity out of your life.
Plus they took questions on anything you might find yourself needing help with in regards to your mental health or that of others, from the potential of LGBTQ youth finding a lack of support at home, to the importance of grieving.
You can watch the webinar above, or by clicking here.
