254: Transforming Team Culture with Sports Psychologist Dr. Kate Bennett

Lindsey Elizabeth Cortes, host of the Female Athlete Nutrition Podcast, welcomes returning guest Dr. Kate Bennett, a clinical sports psychologist, licensed Way of Champions trainer, and multiple-time national champion, to discuss her new venture, Full Send Consulting. Bennett explains that while her mental health practice (Athlete Insight) continues, Full Send was created to address the systemic gap between education about eating disorders/RED-S and rising prevalence rates by shifting from individual treatment to team- and coach-focused culture change. She outlines the Way of Champions philosophy—rooted in Eastern thought, mindfulness, values, and transformational (rather than transactional) coaching—emphasizing psychological safety, purpose, belonging, and eliminating fear-based scarcity mindsets to help teams become protective factors for athlete wellbeing.

Lindsey connects these concepts to nutrition, RED-S prevention, and team-wide fueling standards, sharing an example of value-based work with a university equestrian team. They discuss how teammates and coaches influence culture, the importance of trust and accountability, and how athletes—including alternates—contribute to team success through relationships.

Bennett describes how Full Send Consulting works with teams and one-on-one with coaches in customizable formats (one-day intensives to season-long support) and serves youth, high school, college, and professional teams in person, virtually, and via travel.

Kate Bennett, PsyD, is a clinical sport psychologist. She is the reigning 2024 Downhill Masters National Champion in addition to being a two-time national track cycling champion. Prior to her clinical training, Dr. Bennett was an athletic trainer and cycling coach. She combines her sport experiences and clinical expertise to treat athletes recovering from eating disorders, disordered eating, exercise dependency, and REDs. Dr. Bennett authored "Treating Athletes with Eating Disorders."

Episode Highlights:

• 01:22 Wave Bye Period Relief
• 03:00 Meet Dr Kate Bennett
• 05:41 Why Full Send Exists
• 10:38 From Awareness to Action
• 14:40 Why Rates Keep Rising
• 17:14 Way of Champions Method
• 20:30 Transactional vs Transformational
• 24:26 Fear and Scarcity Mindset
• 29:49 Trusting Teammates to Win
• 31:23 REDS Reality Check
• 32:03 Fierce Fit Fueled Support
• 33:55 From Rivalry to Girl Power
• 37:07 Olympic Alternates Matter
• 40:18 Team Nutrition Culture
• 41:33 Values Into Standards
• 43:01 Equestrian Team Case Study
• 47:53 Influence Is Never Neutral
• 48:48 Coaches Words About Food
• 53:43 Collaboration Circle Culture
• 54:45 Full Send Consulting Options
• 59:03 Final Resources and Farewell

Resources and Links:

• FANP 215: Treating Athletes with Eating Disorders with Downhill Cycling Champion & Clinical Sport Psychologist Dr. Kate Bennett
• Full Send Consulting
• For more information about the show, head to work with Lindsey on improving your nutrition, head to: http://www.lindseycortes.com/
• Join REDS Recovery Membership: http://www.lindseycortes.com/reds
• WaveBye Supplements – Menstrual cycle support code LindseyCortes for 15% off: http://wavebye.co
• Previnex Supplements – Joint Health Plus, Muscle Health Plus, plant-based protein, probiotics, and more; code CORTES15 for 15% off: previnex.com
• Female Athlete Nutrition Podcast Archive & Search Tool – Search by sport, condition, or topic: lindseycortes.com/podcast
• Female Athlete Nutrition Community – YouTube, Instagram @‌femaleathletenutrition, and private Facebook group

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