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Counseling for Athletes

You love your sport, and sometimes it also feels heavy.
It can be a source of joy, purpose, pressure, and stress all at once.
Who are you within it — and who are you outside of it, too?

Athletics shapes identity in powerful ways.

For many athletes, their sport becomes more than something they do — “athlete” becomes who they are. Performance, discipline, achievement, body image, social status, relationships, and self-worth can all become deeply tangled together. And when things get hard — injury, burnout, mistakes, conflict, transitions, or even the thought of life after sports — it can feel existential, not just confusing or disappointing.

Because it’s never only about the game.

If you’re an athlete, one thing is certain: the experience is going to shape you.
You may not realize it yet, but you have agency in how.

Let’s make meaning of this experience together.

My Counseling Approach

When Viktor Frankl entered a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, nearly every part of his former life was taken from him — his freedom, his work, his family, and the future he had imagined for himself. Amid profound suffering and loss, he became deeply curious about a question that would later shape his work:

In difficult circumstances, why do some people maintain a sense of hope and meaning, while others lose their footing entirely?

What Frankl noticed was that even when people cannot control what happens to them, they can still retain some agency in how they relate to it, understand it, and carry it forward. Out of his question and observations, Frankl developed a therapeutic approach centered around meaning-making.

Logotherapy was born.

To be clear, I am not comparing athletics to the horrors of the Holocaust. But I do believe that Frankl tapped into something deeply human in his work:

The stories we tell ourselves about our lives matter.
The meaning we make out of our experiences influences the quality of our lives.

Therapy is not just about reducing symptoms.

It’s also about helping people notice the narratives they’ve inherited, absorbed, or unconsciously built over time — and taking the time to ask whether those stories are actually true, helpful, or complete.

This can be particularly powerful for athletes because sports are full of storytelling.

Somewhere along the way, many athletes begin absorbing stories like:

“My worth depends on my performance.”
“Rest is weakness.”
“If I disappoint people, I lose value.”
“I have to earn belonging.”

Over time, those stories can become so deeply ingrained that they stop feeling like beliefs and start feeling like facts.

Narrative work helps create a little distance between you and the story you’ve been carrying. It allows us to ask questions like:

Who taught you that?
When did you start believing it?
Did that belief help you survive something?
Is it helping you now?
What happens if the story is incomplete?
If the story could be anything, what would you want it to be?

Because the goal is not to erase your ambition, intensity, competitiveness, or drive. The goal is to help you build a relationship with yourself that is bigger, steadier, and more compassionate than performance alone.

Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation Call

Athlete Counseling FAQs

Sports counseling is a specialized form of therapy that helps athletes navigate the mental, emotional, and relational aspects of sports and performance. Athletes often seek counseling for concerns such as anxiety, perfectionism, confidence, burnout, injury recovery, identity struggles, stress, and balancing athletics with the rest of life.
Sports counseling and sports psychology share many similarities, and both focus on helping athletes thrive!
Sports psychologists often focus heavily on performance enhancement, mental skills training, motivation, goal-setting, and competitive performance. As a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and former Division I athlete, I bring a counseling perspective that addresses both performance concerns and overall mental health.
This means we may work on topics such as sports anxiety, confidence, perfectionism, burnout, identity, relationships, life transitions, injury recovery, and emotional well-being. We can also address clinical mental health concerns that may be impacting an athlete's life and performance, including anxiety, depression, chronic stress, grief, and other emotional challenges.
Because athletic performance does not exist in a vacuum, my approach focuses on supporting the whole person. Often, when athletes better understand and care for their mental and emotional health, performance benefits naturally follow.
Absolutely, and I am grateful to see how this trend has grown over the last decade or so!
Athletes at every level—from youth sports to high school athletics, college athletics, and professional sports—work with mental health professionals. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. In fact, many athletes find that improving their mental and emotional well-being helps them perform more consistently and enjoy their sport more fully.
I can work with middle school, high school, collegiate, and adult athletes across a variety of sports. While every athlete's experience is unique, common concerns include performance anxiety, perfectionism, confidence, burnout, injury recovery, recruiting stress, team dynamics, and navigating life both inside and outside of sport.
Before becoming a therapist, I was a Division I athlete at Clemson University. Athletics shaped many of my most meaningful experiences, relationships, successes, and challenges. Because of that, I understand firsthand many of the unique pressures athletes face.
I know what it feels like to balance high expectations, navigate setbacks, perform under pressure, and have a significant part of your identity tied to your sport.
Today, I combine that lived experience with my clinical training as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor to support athletes facing challenges such as sports anxiety, perfectionism, confidence struggles, burnout, injury recovery, and life transitions. Helping athletes thrive both in and outside of their sport is some of the most meaningful work I do.
Not at all. Many athletes begin counseling before a major problem develops. Counseling can be a valuable space to strengthen coping skills, build self-awareness, improve emotional regulation, develop confidence, and create a healthier relationship with competition and performance.
Yes. Many athletes experience intense pressure related to competition, expectations, playing time, recruiting, injuries, or fear of failure. Counseling can help you better understand your anxiety, develop practical coping strategies, and build confidence in high-pressure situations.
Yes. Perfectionism is one of the most common concerns I see in athletes. While high standards can sometimes be helpful, perfectionism often creates excessive pressure, fear of mistakes, self-criticism, and difficulty enjoying the sport. Together, we can work toward maintaining excellence without becoming trapped by unrealistic expectations.
Yes. Parent involvement depends on the athlete's age, developmental needs, and treatment goals. For younger athletes, parents often play an important role in supporting progress. For older teens and young adults, counseling typically becomes more independent while still maintaining appropriate communication and collaboration when helpful.
Both! I provide in-person counseling for athletes in Davidson, North Carolina, and serve athletes from the surrounding Lake Norman area, including Huntersville, Cornelius, Mooresville, and nearby communities. I am also licensed to provide virtual counseling for anyone in North Carolina.