Sports Psychologists

3 parent questions ▼
Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • Looking for therapist with sport's psychology experience for teen

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    Oct 20, 2021

    My early teen-age son has always had a lot of difficulty with emotional regulation, particularly around sports. He becomes very disregulated, frustrated, and angry at himself and others on his team if things don't go the way he wants. His team mates are definitely beginning to notice. This is also noticed in other areas, such as frustration with teachers who he considers unfair, etc., self-critical if he doesn't do something well right away, and difficulty with perspective taking to some extent. I've been thinking about the best way to get him some help. Since he is incredibly competitive, sporty and interested in sports, I thought that a therapist who has experience with sport's therapy and/or is very into sports can at least initially approach emotional regulation/composure/frustration tolerance issues from this perspective as a way for him to connect and have buy in.  I am interested in a family/parent component as well so that we can create consistency for him,  and help him with generalizing what he learns to other areas in his life.  Any recommendations appreciated-but looking for a seasoned child-teen therapist and think individual rather than group would be most helpful at this point. Thank you.

    Oct 20, 2021

    I think a regular therapist could help your son. (Added bonus if they’re familiar with competitive sports) That’s probably easy enough to find. 

    Speaking as a mom of an 18 yr old boy headed to play sports in college & who recently saw “on zoom” a real sports psychologist- they work with high level athletes getting over a rough patch with specific difficulties (missing easy puts, dropping the football at the snatch) rather than a young child with frustration difficulties showing up in sports & elsewhere. Does your son get frustrated with his own sports performance or others? Our son got angry at his less skilled team mates- we addressed that by helping him get on higher level teams. 

    just my 2 cents. 

    Oct 25, 2021

  • Sports Psychologist for teen boy

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    Jun 12, 2019

    Looking for current recommendations for a male-identified sports psychologist for a 15 yo teen athlete who is manifesting performance anxiety. Entering the conversation through sports is going to get the most buy-in and engagement.  Thanks.

    Jun 12, 2019

    I would recommend Dr. Jim Taylor, 415-322-8425, jim [at] jimtaylor.com. He works with teens in all sports to help with anxiety, goals, performance visualization, etc.. He was a competitive athlete as a youth, and is a psychologist. I have seen him speak several times and have read many of his books. He's also an acquaintance through a sport that both of our kids compete in.

    Jun 17, 2019

    Drew Diefenbach of Paragon Tennis in Orinda offers sports psychology coaching.  I believe he is also the tennis coach at Acalanes, maybe women's--not sure, you should check.  We took tennis from him through Orinda Parks and Rec several years ago.  Paragon Tennis has a website, so you could start there if interested.

    Jun 24, 2019

  • athletic/sports psychologists anyone?

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    Jan 1, 2017

    Hi,

    Our kid has entered the ranks of high level athletics and we've discovered that at this point, the winning edge may be more mental than physical.  We've heard of "athletic psychologists" who can guide people through the mental part of games, but aren't sure if its "nonsense for the wealthy elite" or if it is truly another practical tool to improve performance.

    I"d love to hear from you if you have had experience (good and bad) and if it's good, if you have someone to recommend

    thanks in advance!

    Jan 1, 2017

    I can recommend a book that will at least introduce you to the idea of sports psychology and may even be of help to you. It's call "Games Girls Play." You didn't specify if you have a son or a daughter, but parts will relate to either (although some are rather girl-specific). It will at least give you a sense of what it's about. 

    Jan 4, 2017

    I have no personal experience in this but Endurance Sport Psychology Center in Berkeley may be helpful. www.endurancecenter.org/about/

    Jan 11, 2017

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Sports Psychologist for athlete son who has lost confidence

March 2016

My sporty child has suddenly lost confidence on the court, and seems almost paralyzed when sent into the game. After years of playing various sports, having a ton of fun, getting exercise, and making friends, all of a sudden something seems wrong. Given how big a factor sports have always been to this child, I'd like to see if I can find someone that can talk with them. Concerned mom

So there could be a lot of different things going on for your child. Has competition stepped up in intensity? Has your child hit puberty? How is your child doing socially? Or is your child feeling pressure of school/life/relationships and it's all a little much?

Depending on the answers, I would recommend both Jeff Greenwald, http://www.jeffhgreenwald.com and Regina Shields, therapist (510) 839-1740. I haven't taken my child to Jeff but contemplate it- he has an amazing reputation but he is over in Marin and sometimes it can be a while until he has an opening. Regina is an amazing therapist that I cannot say enough good things about with an office right above Market Hall. When my daughter had performance anxiety she helped her identify triggers and work through them. She also rightly noted that my daughter's stress was a normal reaction to some of the experiences she was having at school and the pressure she felt about upcoming high school and helped her talk about them. Good luck! Anon

My son is a goal keeper who played for a local club team. He was bullied and later chose to quit. The whole experience left him feeling like he had PTSD. Even though this happened in late summer, it dramatically affected his confidence, ability and performance to play high school ball.

We met with Doug Gardner and I was impressed with his ability to empathize with my son as an athlete and in addition to giving him practical tips helping him rethink his responsibility as a keeper and team member. My son enjoys the game again and I'm grateful. Thankful Mom