Welcome!

How can I help?

I am a social worker at heart. I am the founder of PINK Concussions as well as a therapist and an international speaker/consultant. My work spans:

  • Brain Injury/Concussion and women

  • ADHD

  • How Technology can help build connections

Therapist

Katherine Snedaker Counseling and Consulting

Licensed in California, Connecticut and Virginia

My approach to therapy is both person-centered and trauma-informed. As a neurodiverse therapist, I center my practice on supporting clients with ADHD or non-neurotypical clients and their families. I have experience working with children, teens and adults in individual, couples, and family therapy. I also have experience working with veterans, clients who identify as LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups. I can work across several different video platforms and can integrate play therapy, video games such as as Minecraft, Roblox, etc. or art (coloring or clay) into our session.

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with a MSW from Fordham University School of Social Service. I have training in ADHD, anxiety, depression, PTSD, relationship issues, life transitions, school issues, self-esteem, substance use, concussion and brain injury/TBI.

With my clients, I take a non-judgmental approach; using openness, transparency, honesty, humility, and kindness. I use a cognitive behavioral approach with my clients as well as motivational interviewing and mindfulness techniques to help my clients reach their own goals.

Contact me for a free 15 minute session to see how we might work together

ADHD and the 128 Questions

During 2020-2022, I created and moderated online support groups for people with ADHD across the world. We held 384 sessions with people from the US to Australia, Japan, UK, EU as well India and Arab Emirates. With the Blessing of Dr. Ned Hallowell, And in those sessions, the 128 questions were discussed, picked apart and praised by hundreds of people from all over the world. And we found these questions transcended culture, religion, age, gender, and bought people with ADHD together into a safe, loving community.

With Dr. Hallowell’s approval, I have updated the 128 Questions for a new generation of people with ADHD, with more inclusive language and issues that come along with today’s world and technology. This would not have been possible without my experience with everyone who took part in the Clubhouse rooms from 2020-22.

Contact me for a free 15 minute session to explore how ADHD might show up in your life

Founder and Leader

Executive Director & Founder, PINK Concussions, 2013 - present

  • Founded the first ever non-profit on female brain injury including concussions from sports, accidents, domestic violence, or military service.

  • ·Provided mental health support and education on brain injury to hundreds of women and families of teens through the crisis of prolonged concussion symptoms.

  • Created and currently moderate Facebook support groups for over 8,500 women and girls with brain injury as well as groups for caregivers, professionals, and veterans.

  • Recruited PINK board of directors, 80+ professional advisory board as well as 100+ volunteers and interns.

  • Produced 11 international PINK Concussions medical summits with a total of 210 speakers, 4,550 live participants, thousands of online participants, plus poster sessions on sex/gender differences in TBI.

  • Responsible for all aspects of the events including the site visit, speaker selection, social media, scientific programming, marketing, press releases, presentations, IT, event app, and all speaker management and travel.

  • Designed site and produced content and video for PINKconcussions.com website and YouTube channel.

  • Developed and maintained social media for Facebook, Twitter (10k followers), and Instagram.

Founder, Sports CAPP (Sport Concussion Aware and Prepared Program) 2010 – 2015

  • Created Concussion Education Program and website for Players-Coaches-Parents.

  • ·Produced 4 Connecticut state conferences, 80 speakers providing professional training to 660 CT school nurses and MDs.

  • Presented to schools, parent and community groups as well as medical professionals.

The Concussion Advocacy and Consulting, Social Worker Consultant, 2012-2017

  • Co-founded private practice to support and advocate for students with concussions and their families.

  • Helped with modifying student’s schoolwork, addressing comorbid issues with referral to appropriate specialists as needed.

  • Facilitated bi-weekly support groups for teen girls with Prolonged Concussion Symptoms (formerly called Post Concussion Syndrome) and provided educational training on concussions to school nurses/staff and youth sports teams.

Researcher

PUBLICATIONS - in Peer Review Journals  

  • Sanderson, Jimmy, Melinda Weathers, Katherine Snedaker, and Kelly Gramlich. "“I Was Able to Still Do My Job on the Field and Keep Playing” An Investigation of Female and Male Athletes’ Experiences With (Not) Reporting Concussions." Communication & Sport (2016): 2167479515623455.

  • Daugherty, J., Waltzman, D., Snedaker, K.P., Bouton, J., Zhang, ,X. and Wang, D. (2020), Concussion Experiences in New England Private Preparatory High School Students Who Played Sports or Recreational Activities. J School Health, 90: 527-537. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12899

     

  • Dana Waltzman CDC, Jill Daugherty CDC, Katherine Snedaker, Jason Bouton & David Wang (2020): Concussion reporting, return to learn, and return to play experiences in a sample of private preparatory high school students, Brain Injury, DOI: 10.1080/02699052.2020.1793388

     

  • Brain Injury Professional Magazine - July/August 2020, Katherine Snedaker was guest editor for this issue and responsible for curating articles & author of the feature article

     

  • Eric G. Post, Traci R. Snedden, Katherine Snedaker, Jason Bouton, David Wang, Differences in Sport-Related Concussion History, Reporting Behavior, and Return to Learn and Sport Timelines in Public versus Private High School Student Athletes, Brain Injury, 10.1080/02699052.2021.1890217, (1-8), (2021)

     

  • Valera, Eve M. PhD; Joseph, Annie-Lori C. BA; Snedaker, Katherine LCSW; Breiding, Matthew J. PhD; Robertson, Courtney L. MD; Colantonio, Angela PhD; Levin, Harvey PhD; Pugh, Mary Jo PhD; Yurgelun-Todd, Deborah PhD; Mannix, Rebekah MD, MPH; Bazarian, Jeffrey J. MD; Turtzo, L. Christine MD, PhD; Turkstra, Lyn S. PhD; Begg, Lisa DrPH; Cummings, Diana M. PhD; Bellgowan, Patrick S. F. PhD Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury in Females: A State-of-the-Art Summary and Future Directions, Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation: January 2021 - Volume 36 - Issue 1 - p E1-E17 doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000652

     

  • Katherine Price Snedaker, Jennifer P. Lundine, Angela H. Ciccia, Mohammad Nadir Haider & Katy H. O’Brien (2022) Gaps in concussion management across school-aged children, Brain Injury, DOI: 10.1080/02699052.2022.2034954

     

  • Katherine Snedaker Letter to the Editor Special Topical Issue on Brain Injury and Intimate-Partner Violence in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation (JHTR)

International Speaker

 MEDIA APPEARANCES

Print New York Times, Scientific American, Women’s Health Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, US News and World Report, The Washington Post, HEALTH, STAT, AP the Big Story, Neurology Advisor, WebMD, The Irish times, UK Times, Scottish Daily Mail, The Sunday Daily Mail, and in most major city papers worldwide.

 Television Good Morning America, BBC (multiple times), BBC-Scotland, NBC-CT News, Fox News, ESPN's Outside the lines (twice), and Aljazeera News

PRESS HIGHLIGHTS

2025

WOMEN’S HEALTH Magazine – January 2025 https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a63545678/concussions-in-women/

2024

COSMOPOLITAN – August 2024 In-print and online - https://www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a61694731/women-concussions/

BBC - Interviewed on camera by the BBC on June 6, 2024, Snedaker calls for more funding for research and care for women in sport and concussion

PUBLIC SPEAKING AND RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS 

Presentations on the Topic of Female Brain Injury – Sex and Gender Differences in TBI

Invited Keynote Presentations  

2025

·       Montreal - IBIA World Brain Injury Congress = Keynote for the entire congress

2024

·       Los Angeles - 21st Annual World Brain Mapping Congress "Addressing Health Concerns of Women Veterans" – in-person

·       Aotearoa New Zealand - 1st International TBI Conference "The Hidden Cost of Violence"– in-person

·       Melbourne - “Seminar on Concussion/ “Mild” Traumatic Brain Injury" – in-person

·       International Women’s Day Cannonade Bikes – in-person

·       USBIA Webinar “Sex and Gender Differences in Brain Injury and Why it Matters”

·       London Canada’s 27th Annual Brain Injury Conference - Virtual

2023

·       TIME FOR CHANGE SUMMIT in Manchester, UK – in-person

·       The Canadian Annual Concussion Research Symposium - virtual

·       Brain Injury & Domestic Violence ECHO Program of Brain Injury Association of Virginia webinar

2022

·       University of Kansas Medical Center Concussion Conference, Kansas City

·       American Association for Justice’s Traumatic Brain Injury - Essential Skills and Advanced Techniques, Atlanta

2021

  • Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) Caucus – Domestic Violence Training

  • West Virginia Brain Injury Conference

  • National Injury Prevention Foundation’s “ThinkFirst” Conference on Injury Prevention

  • Society for Neuroscience in Anesthesiology & Critical Care (SNACC) 

·       11th Annual Traumatic Brain Injury Conference – Washington DC

2020                                

·       King’s Daughters Health System Sports Concussion Conference and Concussion Community Night

·       Fordham University School of Social Work – Live presentation to graduate students & webcast

2019

·       Boston Children’s Hospital Conference co-hosted with PINK Concussions, Harvard Medical School

·       Ohio State University’s 4th Brain Health Summit, Ohio

·       West Virginia State TBI Conference

·       NY Harbor VA’s Post Concussion Dysautonomia/POTS Conference, New York City

·       Western University’s See the Line Conference, London

·       7th Annual Concussion Research Symposium & 2nd Concussion in Women & Girls Conference, Toronto

·       Rowan’s Day 2019, Sunnybrook Medical Center, Toronto

2018

·       Santa Clarita Valley Concussion Conference, Los Angeles

·       US Army Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, 2018 Brain Injury Day, Germany

·       6th Annual Canadian Concussion Research Symposium, Toronto

 

Invited Conference Presentations “Sex and Gender in Brain Injury and why it matters”

2024

  • NYC’s Hospital Special Surgery Staff Training

  • NATA Panel - NATA National Conference with Ashton

·       Brain Injury Panel in Chicago - Abbott Meeting

2023

·       IBIA’s World Brain Injury Congress, Invited Speaker, Ireland – in-person

·       Palo Alto Veterans Administration Medical Center Conference – in-person

·       Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence (TBICoE) webinar for the US Military

2022

·       Brain Injury Australia 2022 Conference

·       The Joint Brain Injury Conference, NYC

·       35th Annual Conference on Legal and Medical Issues in Brain Injury, NYC

2021

  • SOAR Conference - Domestic Violence and TBI – Canada

  • Columbia University Synapse 2021 Conference - Moderator

2020                                

·       33rd Annual Conference on Legal and Medical Issues in Brain Injury

·       North America Brain Injury Society 2020 NABIS Conference – 3 presentations

·       Fordham University School of Social Service, Lecture for MSW Students  

  • Toronto - Domestic Violence/TBI Training - University of Toronto

  • Pennsylvania’s BrainSTEPS: Concussion Return to Learn 

  • CA Dept of Vet Affairs - Brain Injury in Women in the Military-Active Duty and Veterans

  • Women’s Brain Project Annual Conference - International

  • Columbia Univ. Synapse/Pink Concussions conference 2020 - “Domestic Violence during the COVID Pandemic: Women, IPV and Brain Injury”                             

2019

·       IPV Toolkit Launch, University of Toronto

·       Boston Children’s Hospital Conference co-hosted with PINK Concussions, Harvard Medical School

·       Stanford U Sports Concussion Summit

·       PA’s Brain STEPS: Concussion Return to Learn Community of Practice, Team Leader Webinar, 2019 & 2020

2018

·       4th Federal TBI Conference, Presenter on Domestic Violence and Female Brain Injury, DC

·       2018 VA’s Women Veterans, PTSD, and Post-Military Health, Invited presenter on Domestic Violence, Boston

·       VA’s IPV & Strangulation/TBI Webinar

·       ELEVATE Tech Fest HEALTH, Invited presenter on Female Athletes in Sport, Toronto

·       Utah State Brain Alliance Conference, Invited presenter, Salt Lake

·       The Milken Institute: Future of Health Summit, Invited presenter, “Importance of Women in Brain Banks,” DC

2017

·       VA Brain Trust, Invited Speaker on PINK Concussions’ Collaborations with the VA, Boston

·       IBIA’s World Brain Injury Congress, Invited Speaker, New Orleans

2016

·       IBIA’s World Brain Injury Congress, presented Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion, The Hague

·       Canadian Brain Injury Conference, Presenter, Female Brain Injury and Concussion, Toronto

·       Defense & Veterans Brain Injury Center’s (DVBIC) Webinar, 2016

·       Brain Injury Association of American’s (BIAA) Webinar, 2016

2015

·       UMass Concussion Conference, Presenter, Female Concussion, Lowell

·       American Society of Neuroradiology Conference, Poster presenter Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion

·       Santa Clara Valley Brain Injury Conference, Presenter, Female Athletes’ Experience of Concussion

·       American Academy of Neurology Sports Concussion Conference, Poster presenter, 2014, 2015

 

Presentations on Youth Sports Concussion, the Norwalk Concussion Project, and School Return to Play/Return to Learn

2019

·       Harvard Medical School Co-hosting PINK Concussions with the Boston Children’s Hospital Conference

2018

·       Brown University Concussion Education Conference, Invited presenter, Concussion Education Programs

·       Santa Clarita Valley Concussion Seminar, Invited keynote speaker, Youth Sport Prevention, Los Angeles,

2017

·       International Olympic Committee’s World Conference on the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, one hour workshop presenter, Youth Sport Concussion, Monaco, 2017

·       International Brain Injury Associations’ World Brain Injury Congress, Poster presenter, Youth Sports Concussion Program, New Orleans, 2017

2015-2016

·       The State of Connecticut Commission on Women, Children and Seniors (CWCS), Invited presenter, Hartford

·       University of Connecticut, Stamford, 2014 and 2015, and Storrs Campus, 2016, Presenter

·       Sports Concussion & Technology National Council on Youth Sports Safety Tour, 2015-2016, Presenter, Sports concussion and technology in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and DC

2014

·       Sacred Heart University, Athletic Trainers of East Coast Conference, Invited presenter, NCAA DII, CT  2014

·       Quinnipiac University School of Medicine, The Concussion Conference, Host and presenter, CT 2014

2013

·       Sacred Heart University, invited presenter, College Concussions and Return To Learn, 2013

·       The Institute of Medicine, Youth Sport Concussions Effect on Families, Invited presenter, DC, 2013

 

School Nurse and Parent Educational Presentations

  • Professional Trainer for School Nurses: Norwalk, Darien, Trumbull, Cheshire, Norwalk Public Schools, New Canaan, The Country School, 2010-2017

  • Parent Concussion Educator: Fairfield Prep 2015, Darien’s Oxridge 2015, Cold Spring Harbor 2014, and KING, 2010-2014, Norwalk Junior Soccer Association, Rowayton Community Soccer, Weston Youth Lacrosse