Welcome To Las Vegas Sport Psychology

What Type Of Athlete Uses A Sport Psychologist?  The athletes with whom I work with are usually very talented and accomplished competitors who are seeking every advantage they can get to help them move from the category of “good athletes” to the category of “exceptional athletes.” Contrary to popular conception, my clients are not “head cases” or “nut jobs.” They’re good athletes who want to become better athletes.

How Does Sport Psychology Work?  The cornerstone of my work with athletes is what I refer to as Mental Skills Training.  Mental Skills Training involves teaching athletes how to take much better control over how and what they think, which leads to better control over their emotions and their performances.  Although Mental Skills Training can be extremely beneficial, there is nothing “magical” about it. Learning new ways of thinking to improve performance is really very similar to learning new physical skills.  It takes a lot of practice, repetition, and a willingness to learn new things.

How Do You Decide What To Work On With Each Athlete?  Every competitor that I work with will complete a several page assessment form that covers virtually every mental aspect of competition.  We go over the assessment very carefully and I develop a summary of what I believe are the most important mental game challenges for that particular athlete.

So, Where Do You Go From There?  Once we’ve agreed on the issues to be addressed, I typically meet with my clients once per week for several weeks.  For each meeting I will have developed an individualized Mental Game Plan that details the content we will be working on and the strategies we will use to cover that content.  Each session also typically involves a “homework” assignment to ensure that the client begins to put into practice the things we have covered in each session. My goal is to have my clients learn proper mental skills as rapidly as possible, and then to be able to utilize them independently for the rest of their competitive career.

Do You Work With Entire Teams? I do provide occasional  presentations to entire teams, but I do not work with whole teams on an ongoing basis.  My specialty is in working with individual athletes, whether they compete only as an individual, or if they compete as one member of a team.

Do Athletes Generally Benefit From Mental Skills Training? Absolutely! If a competitor is motivated to improve and is willing to put in the effort to develop solid Mental Skills, the degree of improvement can be significant.