CBT for Athletes and Sports Anxiety, Performance and Performance Anxiety

CBT Sports, Sports Performance Therapy and Other Performance Anxiety

Online CBT and EMDR Therapist for Sports Performance, Performance Anxiety Therapist – Powerful Tools for Success!

CBT has been used for decades, to support performers in various industries. Whether you’re a professional athlete, or you want to return to compete, using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in sports performance and to support you in the lead up to your performance, is an excellent way to combat any nerves, anxieties, saboteur tendencies, or feelings of self-doubt.

Applying evidence-based principles from CBT in sports anxiety or other performances, and using proven techniques in Performing Anxiety, can be a great help with performance anxiety, training, pre-event planning, as well as post-event analysis and recovery. Athletes all over the world are known to have trusted therapists who work with them in their professional careers and who are a crucial part of the sports team, so it’s always worth exploring this avenue – whether that’s in direct therapy or through online therapy for sports anxiety and performance.

peak performance therapy

Online CBT for performance anxiety is ready accessible wherever you are, and whenever you need it.

Perhaps you’re a musician, and you can write, produce and perform your songs like a true artist… but when you get on that stage, something happens to your nervous system and you just freeze. This is such a common problem with creatives, and it’s OK to feel anxious in the spotlight – it’s completely normal to experience this kind of response, but rest assured that Online CBT is a wonderful therapy for performance anxiety, and it’s a powerful tool to help you through those moments of fear, to ease your anxieties and insecurities, and give you the confidence you need to find your voice. Whether you work in-person with your CBT Therapist, or you choose to have Online Therapy for Performance Anxiety, there are numerous techniques that have been proven to support performers in their creative projects, events and careers.

Similarly, CBT is recognised worldwide as a very effective therapy for performance anxiety in public speaking. There are so many amazing inspirational speakers who provide a much-needed service to people who take great comfort in their words, stories and wisdom. These performers are here to uplift and inspire their audiences, providing a unique therapy of their own to their listeners, but even motivational speakers need support with stage fright! You’d be surprised at the amount of public speakers that hire a CBT Therapist to help them with their own Therapy for Performance Anxiety. So, whether you need to speak at a large event, a small meeting, or whether you want to feel confident in delivering a heartfelt wedding speech, using CBT and Performance Anxiety Therapy is an excellent way to help you succeed in achieving your public-speaking goals!

Performance in sports, music and public speaking has been, and continues to be researched in recent times (Leeds Becket University, 2017). Sports Anxiety Therapy & CBT Therapy for sports performance are shown to be highly effective at managing stress and anxiety in these areas, and it makes perfect sense that CBT for sports, music or public speaking performance can be a powerful tool for professional athletes, musicians and speakers, as well as anyone who would like to simply overcome nerves and improve their general performance skills.

CBT for Performance Anxiety is tailored-made to the needs of each individual client. It uses powerful techniques and skills that have been proven to be a success in many areas of Psychotherapy, CBT Therapy and Mental Health Support.

During sports anxiety therapy, we use various methods and techniques to set clear intentions and goals that feel comfortable and personal for you, as the client. Once we’ve established your aims, we then we work together to build trust, confidence and clarity, to help you feel ready to take action and improve your chances of success.

This approach is well-suited for athletes as it blends very well in their training routine. If performance is affected by traumatic experiences, we are trained in EMDR and regularly practice it, and deliver CBT for PTSD and trauma.

In practice

In practice, we may use cognitive behavioral strategies in athletic performance enhancement to build on the unique strengths of each person. We use a model of personal strength, and work with the person to identify different people or situations that have in the past, do in the present and will in the future potentially cause a stress response in the body and mind, and be an anxiety-producing trigger for the clients. Once we’ve identified these triggers, we then work together to create a safe space where we can explore these triggers, develop coping methods to help clients self-soothe and change perspective, and eventually overcome the negative effects that these triggers may have.

We do this through performance enhancement interventions:

  • Intention Setting
  • Goal Setting, Planning & Inspired Action
  • Sharing and Talk therapy
  • Empathy and compassion
  • Self-soothing and Positive Self-talk
  • Visualisation and Imagination Techniques
  • Identifying Negative or Destructive Thought and Behavioural Patterns
  • Identifying Negative Patterns and Habits that Impact Performance.
  • Using Positive Reinforcement Activities, Exercises, Methods & Techniques to Overcome Challenges and Improve Performance

We work with clients to identify, connect and change beliefs, behaviours and patterns on a physical, mental and emotional level. Whether those clients are athletes, performance artists, public speakers or anyone that needs a little extra support with situational or performance anxiety, we are able to work with a variety of people with different needs.

CBT is a time-limited intervention and tends to be regular – usually weekly.

However, when working with athletes or performers it is important to take individuals needs, situations and difficulties, to decide the interval of sessions.

Also, depending on the goal, project or piece of work that we will be working on, the period of time may take longer and may increase at some points throughout the sports calendar, or when there are particular commitments and deadlines to achieve.

Contact The Online Therapy Clinic for a free enquire about Online CBT Therapy for Sports Performance, Public Speaking, Situational Anxiety, Sexual Performance Anxiety or other performance anxieties.

How does our Online Therapy Clinic work?

1

Book a therapy session

We are here to help you navigate your mental health and wellbeing. Book your first sessions with one of our experts and we can figure things out together, and come up with a bespoke treatment plan.

2

Confidential, Flexible, Accessible and Effective

We specialise in evidence-based remote therapy. With online therapy you can access it with the convenience that suits you.

3

Begin the journey to be your best self.

We offer expert tailor-made interventions for your unique needs.

Not sure what may work for you?

Just book a free 15 minutes call with one of our Mental Health Experts.

Frequently Asked Questions

EMDR is a well research therapy initially designed for trauma. It differs from other therapies because it can be delivered using very little language. It is effective even when not disclosing your trauma to your therapist, this is called the “Silence Protocol”. This is ideal for high levels of shame.

It also can be used with other difficulties such as anxiety and peak performance.

EMDR can use imagery and be integrated with other approaches easily.

CBT is a well know therapy that is effective sleep, anxiety, trauma and performance.

It is an active therapy and it focusses in the maintaining factors of the difficulties.

CBT involves ERP, which is the gold standard therapy for OCD.

No, you don’t. However, we always recommend for people to reflect on what they want to take from sessions and/or what they would like to work on.

Therapy can last from 4 to 6 sessions for some people, and usually can take 8 to 14 sessions to work on specific areas. Sometimes, in complex cases session may be 20 to 30.

We are all individuals so best option would be to speak to one of our Mental Health Specialists.

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