Performance Anxiety
Performance Anxiety Therapy for Athletes
You train your body for hours, but the brain running all of it deserves the same care. If nerves, pressure or replaying mistakes are getting in the way of the sport you love, we can work on it directly and efficiently.
Nerves that follow you home
Some nerves before competition are normal, even useful. Performance anxiety is when they stop staying in their lane. You lie awake replaying every mistake, dread the next game more than you look forward to it, or feel your body tighten the moment you think about letting people down. Your touch disappears in the moments that matter most. None of that means you are weak or not cut out for your sport. It means the pressure has outgrown the tools you have for carrying it, and new tools can be built.
Pressure from every direction
Pressure rarely comes from just one place. It comes from parents and family who have invested time and money, from coaches deciding playing time, from teammates competing for the same spot, and from social media, where everyone else's highlight reel plays on a loop. Then there is the pressure you put on yourself. When drive becomes tied to worth, rest starts to feel like failure. That pattern overlaps with perfectionism, and we can work on both at once.
- Parent and family expectations
- Social media and constant comparison
- Playing time, your spot and your role
- Difficult coaches or teammates
- The fear of letting everyone down
Brief, solution focused and efficient
You came here to work on the issue and get back to competing. Seriously, I get it. With athletes I keep the work brief, solution focused and efficient. We might use CBT to notice the thought, test the rule and practice a response that serves you better, so one mistake can stay one mistake instead of predicting the whole game. We might practice grounding from mindfulness-based therapy that brings you back into your body when your mind has raced ahead to the scoreboard.
Because I am a licensed therapist, we can also work on what sits underneath performance, like anxiety, trauma, perfectionism or relationship strain, in the same place. But only if that is what you want. If you want the practical tools and nothing more, that is a completely legitimate way to use our time, and I will respect it without trying to talk you into more.
Looking at the whole team around you
So much of what an athlete carries comes from relationships. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, I look at the issue through a systemic lens: the parental pressure, the coach with the blind spot, the personalities of the teammates around you, the partner or friends who do not get it, and your faith, only if you want that in the room. Sometimes the most useful work happens in a conversation at home rather than on the field. When family patterns are part of it, family therapy can bring the people around you into the work.
Therapy in Texas, coaching around the world
There are two different ways to work with me, and the difference matters. Therapy is licensed clinical care for athletes located in Texas, in person at my Southwest Austin office on Fridays and some select other times and days as schedules allow, on a walk-and-talk, or by telehealth anywhere in the state. Athletic mental health coaching and mentoring is a separate service. It is non-clinical, future-focused and not therapy, and it is available in all 50 states and globally. The athletes page explains both, and the free consultation can help you choose.
An athlete on this side of the room too
I have loved soccer since I was 5, played on the University of Texas club team, and still compete in an over-40 league today. I picked up Ultimate Frisbee at 26 and have medals from national and world masters championships. I have done triathlons and a marathon, and I am a lifelong Lionel Messi fan. So when you tell me about a game you cannot stop replaying, or a season that hinges on one tryout, you will not have to explain why it matters so much.
Common Questions
Is this therapy or coaching?
They are separate services. Therapy is licensed clinical care for athletes located in Texas. Athletic mental health coaching and mentoring is non-clinical, is not therapy, and is available in all 50 states and globally.
How long will it take?
With athletes I keep the work brief, solution focused and efficient. Deeper work on what sits underneath performance is available only if you want it, and we review progress openly as we go.
Can my family be part of the work?
Yes, if it would help. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist I look at the relationships around a problem, including family, coaches and teammates, and family sessions are available.
Can I do sessions around my training schedule?
Telehealth by secure video works anywhere in Texas, as long as you are located in Texas during the session. In-person sessions are at the Southwest Austin office on Fridays and some select other times and days as schedules allow.
The consultation is free and there is no obligation on either side.
Request a Free Consultation