Sport psychology consulting is coaching that focuses on
a variety of important mental skills; here's how it works.
We'd first talk by phone. In this free consultation, I'm hearing enough about what's bringing you to call to determine which next step I recommend. Possible next steps include:
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A 1-hour evaluation session. If I think I can help you, I'll email, send, or fax a self-evaluation and ask you to return it in advance of our meeting. It will take you about 15 minutes to complete. At the session, which we can do in person, by phone, or by video chat, I'll talk with you more in depth about the challenges you're facing and the factors that affect your experiences in your sport. By the end, I'll know whether or not to recommend further sessions.
If further sessions don't seem necessary, and I suspect your challenges can improve with self-study, I'll refer you to resources (books, articles, websites) that you can use on your own.
If it does seem that you can benefit from some work with me, I'll give you my initial understanding of what the goals of our work might be, get your feedback, and give you a rough estimate of how many sessions it might take for you to achieve those goals.
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A referral. If I'm booked up, or our schedules don't match up, or we can't work out a fee that works for both of us, or if I don't feel I have the appropriate expertise to work effectively with you, I'll refer you to another professional.
If we do decide to work together, we'll spend the first part of our next session refining and agreeing on goals, and reviewing the plan
I've developed for working with you. In our sessions -- which, depending on your needs, may be conducted on or off the playing field -- I'll give you guidance and coaching on how to get more control over your performance. I'll give you techniques you can use on your own, in training, and in competition. I'll ask you to practice the techniques and report back on the experience. I may also give you some reading that will accelerate your progress between sessions. Many issues respond to this work within 2 to 6 sessions.
There's no set schedule for sessions; it's up to you. Often, athletes want to spend the first few sessions meeting weekly or biweekly, in order to leave enough time between sessions to put into practice what we're discussing. Sometimes, athletes want to meet more or less frequently depending on whether they're in the midst of the competitive season or in the off-season. In any event, we'll work out a schedule that works for you.