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Counseling for Athletes:
What Is It and Could It Help Your Child?
Does your young athlete thrive physically during games but struggle with the mental aspect of their sport? Do they fixate on mistakes in their performance—whether or not you noticed them yourself? Have they been experiencing sleep issues, stomach aches, headaches, or suddenly resisting practice or games? While some of these challenges may be a normal part of an athlete’s development, they could also be a sign that your child is facing mental challenges that impact their physical performance. Sports-related mental health concerns can be overwhelming for both athletes and their families, and many parents feel unsure about how to help. Fortunately, there are many ways to support your athlete, including psychotherapy.
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What Does Counseling for Athletes Look Like?
When young athletes initially seek counseling, their primary focus is often on enhancing their speed, performance, or ability to score goals. However, underlying these topic areas may be deeper challenges such as anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem. Athletic counseling can be an effective approach to address these mental health concerns, helping athletes improve both their well-being and overall performance.
There are various forms of anxiety (which can be found HERE) that can be addressed in therapy. In young athletes, worries and concerns can look like:
Sometimes, these anxieties are just related to the sport; however, they are often more pervasive and show up in other aspects of life as well. Therapy can help young athletes by learning coping strategies, processing through fears, and providing psychoeducation about sports-related anxiety; they are also empowered to utilize their “tool belt” in all environments.
- Fixation on small details of their performance while missing the larger, positive performance
- Blaming themselves for aspects of the game that are outside of the control. Sometimes, this blame can be directed toward others in the form of intense negativity.
- Constantly feeling like they are not doing enough. This can look like expressing they need more time on the ice/turf/field/etc., more time in the gym, more time doing skills work, or improving their diet.
- Fear of speaking to their coaches or placing intense weight on their coaches feedback. Often, this can look like personalizing negative feedback given to the entire team.
- Being concerned about what team they will make next season far in advance.
- Difficulty sleeping before games or tournaments.
- Stomach aches or headaches before practices or games.
- Tearfulness, anger, frustration, irritability, and sadness.
Sometimes, these anxieties are just related to the sport; however, they are often more pervasive and show up in other aspects of life as well. Therapy can help young athletes by learning coping strategies, processing through fears, and providing psychoeducation about sports-related anxiety; they are also empowered to utilize their “tool belt” in all environments.
Anxiety
Additionally, our therapists use a collaborative approach and work with schools in developing accommodations for our clients. When appropriate, we can consult with teachers, advocate for 504 plans or IEPs, and encourage accommodations for standardized testing.
