ATHLETE MENTAL HEALTH

Elite athletes have a unique life experience. They are exposed to general stress from relationships, school, work while juggling sport responsibilities and pressures like performance demands, physical pain, extreme time management. For many athletes, it can be important to have a place where their unique challenges and stress is understood and respected. Our providers are fully aware of athletic demands and are specialty trained to support athletes’ mental health.

 SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

Sport psychology focuses on the application of psychological concepts to achieve performance enhancement. We can provide a variety of sport psychology services, listed below. Also, we can work with you on the mental side of the game in a variety of locations — We can meet you at your individual or team sporting location, in our office, via teletherapy, at your home, or anywhere else that seems appropriate.

MENTAL SKILLS TRAINING

Just like you train physically to perform your sport to the best of your abilities…you need to train mentally in the same manner! There is a fine line between being a good and a great athlete, and a lot of time it is being better mentally trained that separates you from others when performing at a high level. Topics addressed in mental skills training includes: goal setting; imagery and visualization; biofeedback; relaxation training and stress management; self-talk; preperformance preparation; energy management; self-confidence; excelling under pressure; and concentration. We will tailor the experience based on your needs.

TEAM BUILDING + TEAM DYNAMICS

Having healthy team dynamics is often that necessary “X-factor” that differentiates good teams from great teams. Team chemistry is that buzz-word that is thrown around when a team is firing on all cylinders or when they are falling apart at the seams. Sport psychology can help with the team building process and allow your athletes to develop strong skills as an individual and as a unit. Topics addressed in team building sessions include: healthy communication; team goals; team values; team rules; team culture; trust; cooperation; reliability; and leadership. We will tailor the experience based on your team’s unique needs.

RECOVERING FROM INJURY

We often solely focus on physical rehab of an injury in an attempt to get back to your sport quickly and better than before. But, not focusing on the mental of injury recovery can increase the length of recovery of your sport and can make it harder to perform successfully once you transition back. Topics addressed include: imagery and visualization; managing fear of reinjury; develop modified ways to still engage in sport specific skills; athletic identity; self-talk; confidence; goal setting; and motivation. Incorporating sport psychology into your injury recovery can help you to more easily overcome that setback!

USING SPORT PSYCHOLOGY IN COACHING

A lot of us coach how we were coached, and a lot of “old” school coaching techniques did not incorporate evidence-based psychological principles. Implementing sport psychology into your coaching style can allow you to get more out of your athletes and increase your likelihood of success. We can work with you from a consulting standpoint to help you better communicate with your athletes, find optimal ways to motivate them, provide feedback and instruction in an effective manner, identify and develop your desire team culture, and so on. Let us help you get the most out of your athletes and build a winning culture!