Do you take insurance?
We do not take insurance at Athletic Mind. Athletic mind is a private counseling/sports performance practice accepting all major credit. As a healthcare provider we also accept Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
What is your cancellation policy?
At Athletic Mind we understand life happens, plans change, and people get sick. Our cancellation policy is 24 hour prior to scheduled sessions. If you need to cancel within 24 hours you can either reschedule your session to another time in the same week or utilize a one time late cancel pass. If you have used your one time pass and need to cancel again within 24 hours you will be charged the full amount for the session.
Do you do general counseling as well as sports psychology?
Yes, while my main focus and areas of expertise are in helping athletes improve their mental performance around their sport, I am clinically trained, licensed, and have spent many years helping athletes and non athletes with mental health counseling. My experience with counseling focuses on the topics of generalized anxiety, OCD, ADHD, Anger, & Depression. Working with athletes in performance is a form of counseling itself. Getting to the root causes, unpacking unhelpful belief patterns, and helping clients shift their behaviors and thoughts to something productive is based in counseling skills.
What does a mental performance coach do & how does it benefit athletes?
A mental performance coach is essentially a coach, but for the mind. Just like a skills coach a mental performance coach is trained to identify any deficiencies relating to one’s inability to achieve success. A mental performance coach can help an athlete identify what thoughts, beliefs, mindsets, and behaviors are limiting their capacity for success.
During sessions a mental performance coach can slowly modify these limitations with either surface level mental skills or deep work with cognitive behavior therapy and counseling. This work allows athletes to attain a new mindset leading to less internal distractions and higher focus on relevant information with the end goal being overall improved performance and enjoyment of their sport.
Can mental performance be beneficial outside of athletics?
Yes, mental performance is generalized to many areas outside of sport as well. Daily challenges such as relationships, school, work and adversity can all improve with similar application of mental skills. Athletes who develop mental skills through sports or working with a coach are likely to be more confident, focused, motivated, and productive than without it.
Do you only work with competitive athletes?
No, Eric works with anyone who is looking to improve performance in their life in many different domains. Eric has helped doctors, lawyers, business executives, parents, coaches, students, and musicians all improve their performance though addressing their limiting mindsets.
What types of issues do you help athletes and parents with?
Most common areas of focus for Athletes include: Performance anxiety, Anger, Self-Criticism, Dwelling, Comparison, Failures, Motivation, Fixed Mindsets, Quitting, Overthinkers, Underperformance, Pre and Post Injury, Mental Blocks (Yips), Relationships, Feeling Stuck, Over Training, Burnout, and Perfectionism.
Do you offer in-person sessions or just virtual?
At this time Eric is working with clients through virtual appointments only.
How do you tailor your approach to different ages and sports?
Each age, sport and person receives a tailored experience. Eric is able to relate and create an understanding with ages and sports. Eric has a unique skill to take complex psychological concepts and modify them for anyone to understand and apply.
Do you work with coaches and parents or just athletes?
Yes, coaches and parents are able to set up a session with Eric. Many coaches and parents are amazing at their role, but working with Eric can help alleviate a lot of the stress and confusion of motivating, understanding amd connect with youth and teen athletes.
How do I schedule a consultation?
Head to schedule and make an appointment on the homepage of our website. Once there you can click on a new client and choose any open time to book your free initial 15min intake call with Eric.
What does the intake call look like?
Your intake call is a great opportunity to ask questions about sessions and treatment. Eric will ask you to talk about yourself, your son or your daughter and what you’re looking to achieve. After some follow up questions Eric will provide a rough idea of what you will work on and how this can help you achieve the goals you strive for.
What should my child expect during their first session?
Session one is broken up into two parts. Part one focuses on building rapport and comfort for the client. Eric knows that without a strong and trustworthy relationship asking clients to be vulnerable becomes challenging. The second part of session one will be most information gathering about the client. Questions about goals, sport history, mental health, current mental strengths and weaknesses, family dynamic, coaches etc.
How long does a session last?
Sessions are booked for 55min. Depending on content and flow of conversation some sessions are likely to be a few min shorter or longer than the 55min estimation.
How many sessions to see a change or improvement?
While each person is unique considering their age, sport, area of concern or goals the amount of sessions to see improvement can vary. A general answer to this question is around 8 to 10 sessions. It takes about 6 to 8 sessions for clients to gather an understanding of how the brain works and more importantly how their brian is working to either help them or hinder them (See “How is Works” Tab to learn more). We call this stage building conceptual knowledge (the understanding of theories and concepts though models and reflection). Sessions from this point on will focus on building procedural knowledge (the ability to develop a task through experience and practice). A few sessions is certainly better than none, but to truly adapt and change one’s mindset takes time. There is no “quick fix” to anything whether it be a skill, strength or improving a mindset.