Mindfulness & Meditation –Research has continually shown that guided imagery, mindfulness and meditation decreases stress hormone within the body, improves performance and helps athletes overcome hardships in life and in their sports. By practicing in the mind how to overcome certain situations (whether athletic or in difficult areas of your life), you can develop different coping skills to manage emotions during intense, important events. If athletes practice how to perform during crisis situations, the response becomes second nature. Furthermore, these new skills adapted through sports can be translated into everyday life.
Resiliency Training Map – With the client, we will complete an inventory of strengths and resources – highlighting the already present resilience within the athlete. Together, we will develop a practical “map.” This map traces the positive impact of our athletic ability, achievements and perceived failures.
Cognitive Behavioral Thinking – It is common for many athletes to have negative self-beliefs; many struggle with depression, anxiety, negative self-talk with the overwhelming attempts to succeed. This impacts their ability overcome adversity on the field and in their lives. Often, we are not even aware of how we talk to ourselves during times of struggle. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a systematic approach used to challenge negative self-beliefs, reframing your thoughts to believe that you are doing the best you can.
Dialectical Behavioral Thinking (DBT)– DBT is a set of skill developed for mindfulness. These include: emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness. These skills are essential in high stress sporting events. More broadly, these skills will aid athletes in overcoming challenges in life. DBT skills help manage common mental challenges athletes face – negative comparisons and negative self talk. Instead, the focus shifts towards how the individual can better confront challenging situations.