Therapist. Coach. Athlete.
Psychotherapy.
The one thing I’ve learned from both my own experience as an athlete and working with hundreds of others as a therapist and coach is that our mental health is integral to our physical health and performance. If we want to compete at the highest level or if we want to just go out and have a good long run, we need to be working on our mind.
But…it’s so easy to neglect until it’s front and center and bites us, and that bite hurts.
Whether it was an injury, a problem in a relationship, burnout from training or work, or trying to balance a gazillion other things, or a loss, that extra load effects how we respond to everything around us.
I help you to take the time to look deeply at your personal values. Help you to discover who you are at the core and learn to move forward with acceptance, self-compassion and a willingness to get vulnerable.
If you are willing, I can help you get there.
Mental Performance.
I learned long ago as a young student on an Outward Bound course carrying a pack that was more than half my weight over mountain passes, and learning to rock-climb that we can do more than we think we can. That we each have this amazing ability to dig into a well of fortitude and rise to the occasion. Later, watching my own students climb mountains and raft rivers in Oregon, California and Colorado doing things they never thought possible it became apparent to me that these mental skills are trainable. The athletes I work with now know this first hand.
Optimal performance is about doing the best you can in whatever environment you find yourself in, whether in the mountains or on the track. When we learn to adapt, persevere and thrive with persistence, tenacity and fortitude we become resilient and tough.
A big part of performing optimally is knowing we can, that takes time and experience. But also, it takes knowing how to develop it. We can hone it faster with training. Like the athletes and students at Outward Bound, I can help you get there.
The CliffNotes Version.
Licensed Clinical Social Worker - Colorado
Second Graduate Degree in Applied Sport Psychology
Applicant for Certification as a Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology ( expected fall 2024).
Over 50+ Hours of mentorship and 350 hours of direct athlete contact towards earning a Certification as a Mental Performance Consultant.
Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement Instructor
UESCA Certified Ultra-running and Cycling Coach
Member, Association for Applied Sport Psychology
The Longer Version.
I likely fell in love with the power of challenge and adversity when I took that Outward Bound course when I was seventeen. The first time away from home, plopped into a group of complete strangers in the mountains of North Carolina and headed into the wilderness with a pack that was more than half my weight. I was shy, (read - lacking confidence) all I knew is that I liked being outside and this rock-climbing thing was kind of fun.
I didn’t know at time that that 23-day course was going to change my life. What I learned there I put into practice today whether or not I’m working with athletes in mental health or mental performance.
So, What Did I Learn?
First and foremost, self-compassion is key. We can’t bounce back without it. If we beat ourselves up with shame we’ll never get vulnerable, will never take risks and grow.
Two, acceptance isn’t about lying down and giving in, it’s about opening up to discomfort, sometimes it’s physical, a lot more times it’s emotional. When we see pain as a normal part of the human process it takes the power away from it and allows us to have a choice in how to respond.
Three, connecting with our personal values, who we are and how we want to show up in the world gives us a bearing on where and what to head towards in the dark.
Four, in-order to grow … in order to become resilient -you’ve got to get vulnerable. The feeling of confidence isn’t going to magically happen because of a magic word or wand…it’s going to happen because you take step-by-step progressive challenges (and that may be getting vulnerable in therapy talking about it.)
Fifth, connection with nature, being present on the trail and on the rock can be healing in of itself.
Finally, physical activity is essential not just for physical health but for mental and spiritual health.