Reach Your Peak Performance Level
You’re not where you dreamed you would be.
You thought you would be performing better at this point in your sport or with your instrument. You practice and practice but cannot seem to get to the level that you dream of being.
You may be stuck in your thoughts and worried about messing up or making a mistake, so you avoid playing or performing in front of others. You may have had an injury, even a small one, that you mentally can’t seem to come back from. You notice that your body just won’t do the things that it did before the injury and you can’t will your body to cooperate. This may have led to performance anxiety and further overthinking.
Maybe you’re a parent that is seeing your child stress and lose interest in something that they used to love to do and you are not sure how to help. You may have had an experience with a coach or another player that left you feeling vulnerable and unsure of where you stand.
Many athletes and performers experience a time in their lives in which they experience mental blocks which can be caused by the following:
Lack of confidence in your ability
Injury or even seeing someone else get injured
Concussions
Embarrassing experiences while playing or performing or even seeing someone else go through an embarrassing experience
Mental health struggles (depression, anxiety, ADHD, substance abuse)
Conflict with teammates or coaches
Bad experiences with coaches
Changes in the team or level you are playing
Getting a scholarship or being offered a position on a professional team
Family struggles
Relationship conflict
Changes in your body as you mature
You don’t know how to reach your peak performance level.
When you first started to struggle with your performance and mindset, you thought it would pass, it was just a phase. When it didn’t, or other people started to comment on your change, you looked for help online or maybe talked to your parents or a family member. When that didn’t help, you reached out for help from your coach, or athletic director, or maybe, as a last-ditch effort, you sought help from a traditional sports therapist. These people can all be helpful, but oftentimes, the feedback and advice do not address the issue in your mind.
The problem with good intended “just have a positive mindset”, “let It slide off you”, or even “visualize yourself without this problem”, is that it does not release the performance block from the part of your brain that is creating it in the first place.
Sports and performance traumas are stored in the part of your brain that does not allow you to think your way out of the situation, you can’t visualize your way around it. No matter how many times you shoot the basket, swing the bat, kick the ball, or practice a piece you keep getting stuck on, the problem will persist. Due to this problematic issue with traditional approaches to performance blocks, I utilize a form of therapy, called Brainspotting, which uses the part of your brain that is creating the problems, so you can work through them and get back to where you want to be, or even reach a new level of performance you have yet to get to.
The first few sessions with me will be for obtaining information on your performance struggles, your experiences within your sport, your history of injuries (including concussions), and information regarding all other aspects of your life. You can involve whomever you would like in the process and sometimes family participation will be encouraged to address issues related to those dynamics or to obtain more information or support. We will also focus on creating a strong relationship in which you can feel safe to process your struggles. We will also set goals for therapy, and discuss how you can get to those goals.
Don’t get me wrong, reaching peak performance is not easy. We will talk about things that you may not openly talk about with others, or look at things you may be doing in your life that are making your performance struggles worse. I can say that my clients have not regrated the work they have done and already work hard enough at their sport, instrument, and performance, to know that hard work pays off in the end.
You finally realize YOU are capable of peak performance.
Imagine stepping up to bat without overwhelming fear of striking out, or going for a goal without hoping it won't shoot high. Maybe you will complete passes without overthinking it, or shoot a free throw with a calm mind. You could pick up your instrument and just play from the heart, or finish your dance without hoping you trip up on your moves.
Or maybe you are a parent that just wants to watch your child enjoy their sport or activity again. These things are all possible, and I can help you create a plan to reach your goals. You hear so many coaches tell you that your performance is mostly mental but they do little, if not nothing, to teach you how to improve your mental game.
I can teach you how to perform with a calm and determined mindset, operate from your flow state, and feel confident overall with how you are showing up.