Therapy for athletes Managing Self-Criticism, Pressure + Burnout
For clients in Longmont + Boulder and across Colorado
You push hard enough.
The voice in your head just hasn't gotten the memo.
Managing self-criticism, pressure, and burnout — so you can stop running on empty and start running on your own terms.
The sport you love is starting to feel like something you owe.
It started as drive. The early mornings, the extra miles, the willingness to suffer more than anyone else in the group. That part of you is real. But somewhere along the way, "I want to do this" became "I have to" — and then "I'm never enough."
The criticism doesn't come from your coach or your training partners. It comes from you. And it is relentless.
You finish a race and immediately start cataloguing everything you did wrong
Rest feels like weakness, not recovery
You dread training but can't stop — stopping feels like failing
The fear of not performing well runs every decision
You're exhausted, hollow, and not sure who you are outside of your sport
Other people's results feel like a verdict on you
"Burnout isn't laziness. It's what happens when a person who cares deeply has been running on self-criticism for too long."
Self-compassion isn't soft. It's the hardest thing most athletes have ever trained. Here's what we'll work on together.
1
UNHOOK FROM THE INNER CRITIC
Using ACT, we'll learn to notice the self-critical voice without being run by it. You'll stop arguing with it — and start choosing what you actually want to do.
RECONNECT WITH WHY YOU STARTED
We'll get clear on your values — not the ones that come from fear of failure, but the ones that were there before you had anything to prove. That's the engine that doesn't burn out.
2
BUILD A SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIP WITH PRESSURE
Pressure isn't going away — you wouldn't want it to. We'll work on responding to it rather than being consumed by it, so it becomes fuel instead of weight.
3
RECOVER YOUR IDENTITY
When sport becomes the only thing that defines you, every bad race is an identity crisis. We'll build a broader, more stable sense of who you are — one that holds through hard seasons.
4
ABOUT THE APPROACH
🧭 Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) doesn't ask you to think more positively or silence the critical voice. It teaches psychological flexibility — the ability to have hard thoughts and feelings and still move toward what matters. For athletes, it's a game changer.
You don't have to keep earning your place.
A free 15-minute consultation to see if we're a good fit. No pressure, no commitment — just a conversation about where you are and what's possible.