Performance Anxiety
Recognize pressure-driven thoughts and physical tension, and practice ways to remain present before and during competition.
Athletes & Performance
Perform With Confidence. Compete With Perspective.
Sport can be a source of purpose, joy, and connection. It can also bring pressure, self-doubt, and difficult setbacks. Psychotherapy can help athletes develop mental skills to navigate competition, respond to challenges, and protect their well-being beyond the scoreboard.
Experience Informed by Sport
Understanding the Athlete Behind the Performance
My background in physical therapy and athletic training includes working with collegiate, professional, and international athletes. That experience informs my understanding of competitive demands, team culture, injury, and return-to-play uncertainty. Today, I use that perspective in psychotherapy, not as a separate performance coaching or physical therapy service.
Areas of Support
Mental Skills for Sport and Life
Our work is individualized to the athlete and may include the following areas.
Confidence & Self-Talk
Challenge harsh self-criticism, build balanced expectations, and separate your worth as a person from any single result.
Breathing & Regulation
Use intentional breathing, mindfulness, and relaxation skills to manage arousal and recover focus after mistakes.
Visualization & Preparation
Practice realistic mental rehearsal of routines, challenging moments, and effective responses rather than focusing only on ideal outcomes.
Responding to Setbacks
Develop a more balanced explanatory style after a disappointing performance, injury, or unexpected change in role.
Identity & Team Connection
Navigate the emotional impact of injury, reduced playing time, or leaving sport while maintaining connection and a sense of self.
A Different Way to Explain Setbacks
One Performance Does Not Define You
After a disappointing race or game, an athlete might think, “I always fall apart under pressure. I am just not good enough.” Together, we can examine that interpretation and consider a more balanced one: “That performance was disappointing, but it was one event. I can identify what was within my control, learn from it, and prepare for the next opportunity.”
The aim is not forced positivity. It is learning to describe setbacks in ways that are less personal, less permanent, and less pervasive, while still taking useful responsibility for what can change.
Beyond the Result
Rediscovering the Joy of Competition
Achievement matters, but it should not be the only source of meaning in sport. We can work toward reconnecting with the challenge, relationships, personal growth, and enjoyment that made athletics meaningful in the first place.
Skills That Travel With You
Building Skills Beyond Sports
In Competition
Practice pre-performance routines, attentional resets, balanced self-talk, and visualization so that difficult moments become more manageable.
Outside Competition
Use the same tools to navigate academic pressure, relationships, transitions, and uncertainty. A healthy athletic identity leaves room for the rest of your life.
For support with the emotional challenges of injury and surgical recovery, see Orthopedic Recovery & Chronic Pain.
Getting Started
Let's Talk About Your Goals
Whether you are managing performance pressure, working through a setback, or reconsidering your relationship with sport, we can begin with a brief conversation about what matters to you.
Request a Brief Consultation