Athlete Mental Health & Sports Performance Counselling
Athletes face unique pressures that can affect both mental health and performance.
We provide supportive, evidence-based counselling for athletes experiencing performance anxiety, confidence struggles, burnout, injury-related stress, perfectionism, pressure to succeed and challenges balancing sport with the rest of life.
Our therapists can help athletes develop practical mental skills, strengthen emotional resilience and build a healthier relationship with performance, competition and achievement.
You Do Not Have to Be Performing Poorly to Need Support
Athletes can appear confident and successful while privately experiencing anxiety, self-doubt, exhaustion or intense pressure. Counselling can support both mental wellbeing and the psychological demands that come with training and competition.
Who This Support Is For
Performance anxiety before or during games, competitions or events
Loss of confidence, overthinking mistakes or difficulty bouncing back after setbacks
Burnout, emotional exhaustion or losing enjoyment in a sport you once loved
Stress related to injuries, rehabilitation, returning to play or fear of reinjury
Perfectionism, fear of failure or feeling that mistakes are unacceptable
Difficulty separating your identity or self-worth from athletic performance
How Counselling Can Help
Athlete counselling can address both mental health concerns and the psychological factors that influence performance, confidence and recovery.
✓ Develop strategies for managing performance anxiety and pressure
✓ Strengthen confidence and recover more effectively from mistakes
✓ Improve focus, emotional regulation and mental resilience
✓ Navigate injury, rehabilitation and returning to competition
✓ Build a healthier relationship with achievement, competition and self-worth
Understanding Athlete Mental Health
Athletes may experience many of the same mental health concerns as anyone else, while also navigating the added demands of training, competition, team dynamics, coaching expectations, selection decisions and public performance.
For some athletes, sport can become closely tied to identity and self-worth. A difficult performance, injury or change in playing time can then feel much bigger than a single setback.
Counselling can create space to address these pressures while supporting both emotional wellbeing and sustainable athletic performance.
Mental Skills for Sports Performance
Athletic performance is influenced by more than physical preparation. Attention, confidence, emotional regulation, expectations and responses to pressure can all affect how an athlete performs.
Counselling may help athletes develop skills for staying present under pressure, managing unhelpful thoughts, responding constructively to mistakes and maintaining confidence when performance does not go as planned.
Injury, Recovery & Returning to Sport
An athletic injury can affect much more than physical ability. Athletes may experience frustration, isolation, fear, uncertainty, loss of routine or concern about losing their position, progress or identity.
Returning to sport can bring its own psychological challenges, including fear of reinjury or difficulty trusting the body again. Counselling can help athletes process these experiences and approach recovery with greater confidence and flexibility.
Our Approach
Our therapists use a client-centred, trauma-informed approach grounded in evidence-based and evidence-informed practices.
Support is collaborative and individualized. Depending on your goals, counselling may focus on anxiety, confidence, perfectionism, emotional regulation, stress management, self-esteem, identity, coping with injury and developing practical mental skills for competition and performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
In-Person & Online Athlete Counselling
Calgary: In-person and virtual counselling
Red Deer: In-person coming soon and virtual counselling based on therapist availability
Across Alberta: Secure virtual counselling
Ontario: Secure virtual counselling for clients ages 13 and older
Getting Started
Whether you are struggling with performance pressure, confidence, injury, burnout or the mental demands of sport, support is available. You can review our therapists, book online or contact our office for help choosing the right service.
Important Time Zone Notice
Appointment times default to Mountain Time (MT). If you are booking from Ontario or another time zone, please adjust the time zone at the top of the booking page before selecting an appointment.