Athlete’s Corner
I am happy to see that sport psychologists and general advocacy for mental health in sport has expanded from the Olympics all the way down to youth sports. When I was an athlete, (not thaaat long ago) there weren’t a lot of resources for us athletes to seek out, outside of short lived on-campus mental health resources or community resources. Also, we were broke, we couldn’t afford consistent therapy…so we just sucked it up and figured it out ourselves.
This was a big reason why I chose this field, because in my day, there just wasn’t a sport psychologist (or therapist that ACTUALLY understood what you were going through as an athlete) right next to you waiting to help, and in some instances, that still isn’t the case.
So how does a mental health therapist help athletes? We not only help with skill development, goal setting, motivation, identity, burnout, and mental toughness, but we also help with all other mental health concerns and diagnoses sport psychologists can’t assist with i.e., trauma, anxiety, eating disorders, depression, grief, etc. Many of our athletes come for both sport and mental health – and I LOVE that about them. Just because you are an athlete, does not mean you are exempt from problems in your personal life…you are more than your sport.
I think the greatest takeaway from working with a therapist for sport and other concerns is that you can do both applied skill training and work through performance anxiety, injury recovery, the loss of a loved one, prior trauma, feeling depressed outside of sport, etc. at the same time.
It is a one stop shop! Us athletes don’t have time for a million appointments outside of practice, film, games, workouts, classes, and other obligations anyway. So, it is refreshing when one person just…gets it.
Holistic care is what we stand for here at TLPC. Our physical body needs wellness just as much as our brain, feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. They work in tandem, and both are needed to succeed long-term. Life happens – and we are here for you when you are ready to make healthy changes so that both you and your sport can thrive consistently.
