Our Philosophy About Service | Center for Sport Psychology and Athlete Mental Health

Our Philosophy About Service

Our sport psychology consultants and licensed sport psychologists work closely with each athlete, team, coach/leader, or organization to design individualized programs to address their specific needs. Because performances do not occur in a vacuum, we take a holistic approach and consider other life factors whenever we develop a sport psychology intervention. For example, an athlete's, team's or organization's performance can be influenced not only by physical (e.g., strength, speed) or technical (e.g., motor skills) factors, but also by personal (e.g., relationships, job stress) factors. By considering all these areas, and all the other ways in which an athlete's or team’s performance might be affected, we can assist them in reaching their potential as both performers and human beings.

The Initial Meeting - whether working with an individual athlete/performer or sport team/business organization, we begin any sport psychology consultation with an assessment to determine the specific needs of the individual or group. We start each assessment by meeting and talking with the individual who has requested our services, such as the athlete, coach, parent, or manager. Generally, these first meetings are held at our Center, though subsequent sessions might be held at the playing field or office. The purpose of this first meeting is to begin to establish a trusting, positive relationship and to learn about your current situation and performances. We also may have you complete a variety of performance assessments that will help us better understand your approach to competition and identify the areas in which you can improve. When needed (and with your permission), we may observe you at practice/competition or at your job, or talk with other individuals (e.g., athletic trainers, coaches, parents, coworkers) who have information that may shed some light on your current performances and help us get a better understanding of how we can help you.

Developing a Game Plan - following the assessment we conduct during the initial meeting, we provide you with an individualized plan in which we detail how we can help you achieve your performance goals. Throughout the planning process, we will work collaboratively with you, drawing on your strengths as well as your knowledge of yourself and your performance abilities. Through this collaboration, we establish challenging, but realistic goals that will help you make the necessary changes to be more satisfied in life and successful in your performances.

What To Expect When Working With Your Sport Psychology Consultant - this collaborative, individualized and positive approach underlies all the work we do. Once we have established and you have agreed to the “game plan,” we continue to work closely with you so you can develop the mental skills and strategies that will help you attain the desired level of performance excellence. Throughout our work together, we will monitor your progress and evaluate the success of our plan. As needed, we will help you make adjustments so you can reach your goals in the desired timeframe which, for individual athletes, often is between 5 and 8 sessions. For our work with you to be successful, it is essential that you (a) stay actively involved and invested in all aspects of the intervention plan, (b) always follow through on homework assignments given, (c) provide honest and timely feedback to your sport psychology consultant regarding your performances and the changes you are making in your life, and (d) be willing to share openly about yourself, your performances, and your goals.