LOS ANGELES & ACROSS CALIFORNIA
Mental Health Support for Athletes: thrive on and off the field
You’ve been on the podium — why do you now feel so defeated?
Being an athlete means a few things - you know what it means to show up and work hard, to push your body to its limit; to put in the work even when you’re tired. You know how good it feels to take home a win and how painful it can be, after all that work, to end with a loss.
It also means you are vulnerable to things that non-athletes are not - the pain of losing a season or a career to injury, the pressure to perform for yourself and others, how tough it can be to navigate relationships with coaches or teammates, or losing your sense of self when you retire.
You experience things non-athletes don’t — some are good, some are bad, some can be both:
Attention and status on campus and/or in the community - that also comes with pressure to perform
A deeply intimate, powerful connection with your body - a body that can often frustrate you when you suffer injuries or underperform
A rigid structure to your days/weeks/seasons/years that can organize your life - but also feel stifling and cost you experiences your peers enjoy (parties, trips, etc)
The ability to earn money through NIL or professional play- which can also bring an expectation to provide for your family financially through your sport
A community in your team, athletic department, or even competitors…that is also a host of tricky, delicate, and demanding relationships to navigate
A sense of your own power and strength - which can make it harder to move into parts of your life outside of sport where you are inexperienced, weak, or overwhelmed because this isn’t “what the real you feels like”
It doesn’t have to feel like this — sometimes we all need to team up.
Maybe you are dealing with a difficult relationship with your family, your coach, or your significant other. Maybe an injury or loss is hitting you really hard mentally, or anxiety and depression are creeping into your life and you can’t seem to shake it. . You know something isn’t right and it is not supposed to feel like this.
You don’t have to be alone or figure it out yourself. I am here to meet you where you are at and appreciate the whole athlete, the whole PERSON that you are to get you back into a version of you — the real you-that is ready to take action together and make some changes.
Your therapist, in action!
Athletes are different and they deserve someone who gets you. I got into this work to help people like you — because I am one.
Most therapists don’t know what it’s like to live an athlete’s life. From being tired and sore all the time, saying no to parties and trips my other friends are going to, and sacrificing for my team. You know what it is to put in the work, to compete, to win. You know inside your body how nothing else feels quite as satisfying – or thrilling.
This feels great when the shots are going in, the matches and races are being won, and your body feels good. When a season — or career — is tainted or even ended by injury or other setbacks it can be devastating in a way that is hard for non athletes to understand if they haven’t been there.
I HAVE BEEN THERE.
I also know what it is like to train and compete year in, year out, and the feeling when it gets taken away by injury, getting cut, or graduation out of collegiate sport. I also know what it’s like to not be understood by therapists who, despite trying to help, just did not appreciate me, my life, and my relationship to sport like I do. It’s time to work with someone who does.
I will work with your life, your training schedule, the strengths you have built and experiences gained as a competitive athlete to help you address the challenges in your life that bring you to therapy, even if they have nothing to do with competing.
Therapy for athletes can help you…
Make peace with the painful losses, injuries, or disappointments
Experience closer, deeper relationships with less conflict
Use your experiences in sport to solve the challenges off the field
Knowing, trusting, and maximizing your strengths
Disrupt and reduce your performance anxiety in sport
Unlock potential in sports, career, or relationships
Seeing yourself as a whole, complicated, and powerful self
Frequently Asked Questions about Therapy for Athletes
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No— my approach is infused and informed by performance psychology, but this is psychotherapy and focused on mental, emotional, and relational health. I am a licensed clinician who specializes in this work for the athlete population because when I was competing, and after retirement, I could see how impactful it would have been to work with someone who had also lived it.
There is a spectrum for athlete mental health work: on one end is pure Mental Skills aka tools, plans, and hacks for how to prepare your mind for performance, and on the other is Clinical Mental Health/Psychotherapy for Athletes which is a broader more foundational approach how your whole life informs who you are as an athlete and a person. This is often where many performance issues start, and if you want the problem actually fixed you have to go where it actually is.
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I see athletes of all genders in all sports.
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I focus my work on Athletes 15 and older. If your child is younger than this I am happy to provide referrals. Here is a list of the types of competitive athletes I specialize in:
Elite High School or College-Bound athletes
Collegiate athletes
Professional athletes
Elite Amateur athletes (especially endurance sports)
Outdoor/Adventure Athletes
Retired Athletes of all ages
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If you are interested in only doing work that is non-clinical mental skills, please refer to the Performance coaching on this page. During the consultation we can discuss your situation and goals and determine what is the best path for us to work together. I strongly recommend an openness to deeper work as we can still integrate skills work into it.
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I am glad you asked because I love talking sports AND playing sports. Growing up in Morro Bay, CA was spent playing organized basketball, wrestling, and 4 years of pop-warner football; when I wasn’t at practice I loved being outside building bike jumps and catching waves down at the beach. I started distance running in high school in Portland, Oregon, competing in both Cross Country and Track. I ran 4 seasons each of XC and Track for Pomona College; Highlights include 2x SCIAC 5000 Meter Champion and being named 1999 NCAA All American in Cross Country. Since graduation I have run 5 marathons (including Boston 2018) and am passionate about road and gravel cycling, skiing, snorkeling, and anything to do with the mountains. I am a huge Dodgers fan and love watching EPL, European Cycling and anything having to do with winning a championship.