Performance & Sports Therapy
Athletes face unique challenges both in their sport and daily lives. The mental demands of training, competing, and maintaining peak performance can be just as intense as the physical demands. At Pursue You Psychotherapy, we understand that a strong mind is just as crucial as a strong body. Our tailored psychotherapy services are designed to help athletes overcome obstacles, strengthen resilience, and achieve their goals in sports and life.
Our Virtual Therapy Options for Athletes:
01:
Psychotherapy with our Sports Therapist
For athletes seeking consistent, personalized guidance, our 1:1 sessions with our registered sports therapist provide the ultimate level of support.
- What to Expect: Work closely with our sports therapist to address your unique challenges, whether they involve performance anxiety, injury recovery, balancing stress, or maintaining motivation.
- Ongoing Growth: Regular sessions allow for deeper exploration and continuous skill-building, ensuring long-term progress in both your sport and personal life.
- Tailored Strategies: Sessions are customized to align with your goals and adapt as you evolve.
Our individualized approach ensures you receive the focused attention and tools needed to thrive in your athletic journey.
02
Our 5-Session Sports Mental Performance Program
This program is a comprehensive mental skills training program designed for elite athletes aged 13 and up. This program was designed using evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Session Breakdown:
- Assessment & Goal Setting:
- Reducing Stress & Increasing Confidence
- Reducing Performance Anxiety
- Overcoming Mental Blocks & Self-Limiting Beliefs
- Enhancing Mental Toughness & Resilience
End of Program: Upon completion, each athlete is provided with a personalized mental imagery recording customized to address their individual requirements and goals. This is a powerful tool you can use to reinforce the techniques and strategies that you learned throughout the program.
In addition: when you sign up for the program, you will receive a 40+ page e-book containing everything covered in the sessions, including resources and worksheets.
Why Athletes Benefit:
From competitors to recreational players, athletes often encounter barriers that can impact their performance and well-being:
- Performance Anxiety: Pressure to perform at the highest level can lead to self-doubt, fear of failure, or burnout.
- Injury Recovery: Physical injuries often come with emotional challenges, such as frustration, isolation, or fear of re-injury.
- Balancing Stress: Juggling rigorous training schedules, personal life, and career aspirations can take a toll on mental health.
- Confidence and Focus: Staying motivated and focused during setbacks or high-pressure situations requires mental fortitude.
What You'll Learn
Sports therapy helps you build the tools you need to thrive under pressure:
- Better Coping Mechanisms: Sports therapy equips athletes with tools like relaxation, visualization, and mindfulness to manage anxiety, stress, and pressure, enhancing composure and overall well-being in high-pressure situations.
- Increased Motivation: Motivation strategies like guided imagery and mental rehearsal help athletes tap into their drive, visualize success, and stay committed to their goals.
- Enhanced Mental Toughness: Targeted sessions help athletes build resilience and mental toughness, enabling them to overcome challenges and perform their best under pressure.
- Enhanced Self-Awareness: Sports therapy fosters self-awareness through reflective imagery and activities, helping athletes understand their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours in sport and daily life.
Athletes We've Supported
We've had the privilege of supporting many different types of athletes:
01
Hockey Players
Pursue You Psychotherapy is partnered with organizations such as The Scout to support hockey players in their OHL draft year. We understand the common challenges a hockey player might face and offer tailored support.
02
Competitive Dancers
From the demands of perfectionism to performance anxiety, self-doubt, and the physical and emotional toll of constant training, dancers often face challenges that require specialized support. We’ve worked with many competitive dancers to help them manage stress, build confidence, and develop a healthier mindset around their craft.
03
Basketball & Volleyball Players
We recognize the unique mental demands that basketball and volleyball players face, from the pressure to perform under high stakes to managing team dynamics, injuries, and the pursuit of peak performance. We’ve supported athletes in developing strategies to maintain focus and confidence on and off the court.
04
Runners
We understand the mental challenges runners face, whether they’re training for their next race, recovering from injury, or striving to reach personal bests. The repetitive nature of running can amplify perfectionism, self-doubt, or performance anxiety, and we’ve worked with many runners to help foster a healthy mindset, build confidence, and find balance in both their training and personal lives.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I look forward to in each session in the program?
In each session, athletes can anticipate a structured and immersive experience tailored towards achieving specific objectives related to their mental skills and performance enhancement. For example, in Session 1, athletes will undergo assessment and goal setting to establish clear targets for improvement. In Session 2, the focus shifts to techniques for reducing stress and increasing confidence, while Session 3 addresses strategies for managing performance anxiety. Session 4 delves into overcoming mental blocks and self-limiting beliefs that may hinder performance, followed by Session 5, which concentrates on enhancing mental toughness and resilience. Throughout these sessions, athletes can expect to engage in a variety of activities, including relaxation techniques, visualization exercises, mental rehearsal, and personalized interventions aimed at addressing their unique needs and goals.
Which athletes have employed mental imagery and visualization to enhance their athletic performance?
Michael Phelps - The most decorated Olympian of all time, swimmer Michael Phelps, has utilized visualization techniques as part of his training regimen. Phelps reportedly visualizes every detail of his races, from his strokes to the sounds of the pool, to prepare mentally for competition.
Do I have to sign up for the full 5-session program?
When you sign up for the program, you will be enrolled in the five sessions as they build off of each other. Each session has been carefully created and designed to be completed in a specific order, ensuring a progressive and cohesive learning experience.
What if I enrol in the 5-session program and find that it doesn't meet my needs?
The 5-sessions will be booked in advance when you sign up for the program. However, if you find that after a few sessions the program isn't meeting your needs, we can cancel the remaining sessions and provide you with alternative options or a refund for the unused sessions. Your satisfaction and progress are our top priorities.
Is sports therapy covered by insurance?
Because our sports therapy services are provided by registered psychotherapists, it is likely that your private insurance plan will cover sessions with a sports therapist.
