Meet Our Team

Full Professor, SEWP Lab Director, uOttawa

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Dr. Natalie Durand-Bush is a sport psychology professor, scientist, and practitioner in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada. She is the Director of the SEWP LAB (https://www.sewplab.com/). Her areas of specialization include psychological skills training and assessment, mental health, coaching psychology, and smartphones/social media. As a Mental Performance Consultant for the past 25 years, Natalie has helped amateur and professional athletes and coaches of all ages, sports, and levels achieve their performance and well-being goals. A relentless advocate for the field of sport psychology, she has co-founded and chaired the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA) and has served as the Vice-President of the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP). Natalie is currently the President of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) and is an AASP Fellow. In her role as AASP’s immediate past Publications and Information Division Head, she is co-editing AASP’s forthcoming Essential Guide for Mental Performance Consultants.

Throughout the years, Natalie has always been physically active. She enjoyed doing martial arts, playing softball, and curling. She has watched her daughter and son engage in variety of competitive sports and has supported their specialization in hockey and soccer in their teenage years. She was also a big fan of her late husband’s hockey game. She has witnessed firsthand the positive impact of sports on family members and friends who have experienced mental health challenges.

Mental Health Manager, Game Plan

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Dr. Krista Van Slingerland is currently serving as Game Plan’s Mental Health Manager. She completed her doctoral studies within the SEWP Lab in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. Her research focused on mental health and mental illness in competitive and high-performance athletes. Krista became interested in this area of study following her own struggles with mental illness as a university athlete, which illuminated harsh realities about the sport system and culture that can deter help-seeking and diminish the importance of mental health. Krista co-founded the Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiative (SAMHI) in 2013, a charity devoted to promoting and protecting the mental health of Canada’s university athletes. A conference All-Star for the uOttawa Gee-Gees, Krista received the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Tracy MacLeod Award for her determination and unwavering spirit. Now retired from competitive sport, Krista is enjoying giving back to the sporting community through coaching, advocacy work, and research. As an integral member of the SEWP Lab, Krista designed, implemented, and evaluated a sport-focused collaborative mental health care model within the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport (CCMHS) to improve mental health services for competitive and high-performance athletes and coaches.

Board Chair | Director, ESG Program, Export Development Canada

Board Vice-chair | Investor & Strategic Advisor, Freelance

Board Treasurer | Digital Transformation Lead, ADGA Group Consultants

CCMHS Board Member | Lawyer, Merchant Law Group

Board Member | Vice President, RBCx Banking (Québec) | Retired Speed Skating Athlete

Board Member | Director,
High Performance Sport Programs, Queen’s University

Board Member | Professor & Scientist, University of Ottawa

Professional Hockey Player

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I am a German/Canadian Professional Ice Hockey Goaltender Playing in Germany. Born and raised in New Germany and Halifax, Nova Scotia, I am currently in my 5th season in Germany, and my 6th as a professional. Prior to leaving North America, I played a year in the ECHL and AHL, with a brief taste of the NHL with the San Jose Sharks. Before turning Professional, I received a full scholarship to play NCAA Division 1 Hockey at American International College in Springfield, MA, graduating in 2013 with a 3.9 GPA and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology.

Growing up, I had a hard time fitting in. I was bullied and tormented constantly. It led me to pull away from the world and go down a dark path and develop mental illness. I became a compulsive worrier riddled with anxiety about anything and everything and hockey was my escape. Through the years, I developed full blown anxiety, depression, and later obsessive compulsive disorder. The stress, fear, anxiety, and depression was so heavily rooted in me that despite playing a children’s game for a good living, I was ready to take my own life. One day after practice, I found myself preparing to die; getting things in order for the action I was planning to take. I was ready to take my last breath and end my life. All I had to do was step off the chair on which I was standing.

It was in that moment of geing seconds from death that I stepped down and decided to get help. It was because of this help that I am here today. Today, I am a healthy and happy man, living a life I never knew could exist for me. After beating my mental illness, I wanted to speak up and stop hiding as both a professional athlete and a human being. I published my story for millions to read on The Players' Tribune in August of 2018 and have been overwhelmed with love and support ever since.

I am now a proud mental health advocate and have loved meeting new people, spreading hope, and helping to save lives. I have partnered with numerous groups, foundations, and do public speaking to help end the stigma surrounding mental health, not just for athletes, but for everyone.

Canadian National Team Boxer

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I am a national team 51kg boxer and an Own the Podium athlete. I am on the pathway to representing Canada at the 2024 Olympics. I have competed internationally for events, including Youth Continentals, Youth Worlds, and several other events in Europe and Asia. I am also an undergrad student at the University of Ottawa, where I am studying Human Kinetics with a minor in Psychology.

I have had anxiety symptoms since I was around 12-years-old. I delt with disordered eating, body image issues, and a very low stress threshold. With that being said, it wasn’t until my second year of university that I understood that I was struggling with severe depression and anxiety. I was having panic attacks anywhere from a few times a week to a few times a day. It was during that period where I felt helpless, guilty, and alone. I felt like I was not in control of my own life, and as a result, I turned to self-harm and suicidal thoughts to distract me from the cancerous emotions that were invading my mind. I often thought about how long I would be able to continue living that way.

It wasn’t until I stopped in for a professor’s office hours and was asked, “how are you” that it began to sink in how desperate I was for help. I broke down and cried in his office until I finally found the courage to express the dark emotions that I was feeling. I was fortunate enough to have been directed to the CCMHS. Since then, I have been able to open up about my mental illness and talk to a professional for help. I now have a sense of control and happiness that I would have never thought to be possible. I continue to struggle with anxiety, but I do so in a way where I have the power. I have learned to accept my emotions, and in turn, I have learned to control them. I can honestly say that I am a happy person now, and I am so proud of the individual I have become.

I am not done working on my mental health. I know that there are always ways to be better and more that I wish to learn about myself. This process with the CCMHS is why I have become an advocate for mental health. I wish I found them sooner, as I feel it would have saved me a lot of suffering, but I am thankful that I found them nonetheless. I am deciding to speak out about my story to help give others that extra push they might need to get the help they deserve.

Olympic Weightlifting Masters Athlete | MPC | Certified Fitness Coach