Our Team In The News

Athletes desire to be driven, confident, and successful. Our team of psychologists and sports dietitians are experts in their field of practice and are regularly interviewed by media outlets for their input on relevant mental health topics for athletes such as eating disorders, anxiety, and performance improvement. Follow on Instagram.

Athletes and Body Acceptance

Athletes and Body Acceptance

An athlete’s heightened attunement to their body and associated body cues are both critical for sport performance, but the increased awareness to one’s body can also pose notable difficulties for athletes with an eating disorder.

KMOV: College Athletes on Pressure to Perform and Mental Health

KMOV: College Athletes on Pressure to Perform and Mental Health

Dr. Riley Nickols is interviewed by KMOV on the pressure athletes feel to perform and succeed and the negative impact on mental health. “A lot of athletes I work with, are high functioning, driven, committed individuals and perfectionism is usually off the charts.
Specific mental health challenges can also accompany this disposition,” Nickols said.

Triathlete Magazine: The Race-Weight Trap

Triathlete Magazine: The Race-Weight Trap

Triathletes who place too much emphasis on body weight and weight loss can be at a greater risk for adverse sport performance and health implications. It’s an issue that is perhaps more widespread than triathletes realize.

Riley Nickols Appointed to EDCare’s Scientific Advisory Board

Riley Nickols Appointed to EDCare’s Scientific Advisory Board

EDCare is pleased to announce the appointment of Riley Nickols, Ph.D., CEDS, to its Scientific Advisory Board. A highly experienced counseling and sports psychologist, Dr. Nickols provides specialized expertise in treating high-performance athletes with eating disorders.

Eating Disorders and Men

Eating Disorders and Men

Dr. Riley Nickols is interviewed by KCUR, the NPR affiliate in Kansas City, about the stigma and stereotypes around men and eating disorders which can hinder males seeking and receiving treatment.

RED-S for Runners: Article in Runner’s World

RED-S for Runners: Article in Runner’s World

RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport) is a serious condition for athletes, especially runners, and often accompanies eating disorder behaviors and has long-term risks—osteoporosis, heart disease, muscle loss, reduced immunity, and depression.

Women’s Running Magazine: What is Healthy Body Image?

Women’s Running Magazine: What is Healthy Body Image?

Body image is often framed as a black-and-white issue: Either you feel good about your body, or you don’t. The reality, however, looks more like a spectrum, eating disorders specialist Riley Nickols, PhD, CEDS says. Learn more in this article for Women’s Running Magazine.

Coaching Athletes Responsibly

Coaching Athletes Responsibly

Unfortunately, many coaches, administrators, and training systems are the product of misinformed, outdated, and dangerous training practices. As a member of AASP’s Eating Disorder Special Interest Group, Riley Nickols, and other esteemed eating disorder in sport experts, contributed to this commentary concerning how coaches treat athletes in the pursuit of peak performance.

Running on Empty

Running on Empty

Similar to other athletes, runners often underestimate the negative implications that losing weight can have on one’s health and sport performance. In this article, sport psychologist Riley Nickols addresses these concerns.

Interview with Strong Runner Chicks Podcast

Interview with Strong Runner Chicks Podcast

Strong Runner Chicks is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting female competitive runners in developing strong and healthy nutrition, mindset, body image, and self-care practices that allow them to both improve performance and enjoy healthy relationships, mental health and the joy of running.

Dr. Riley Nickols speaks with Strong Runner Chicks in this episode of their podcast about eating disorders and mental health topics.

Photos courtesy of Unsplash