Mental Performance Consulting

A Mental Performance Consultant is able to help individuals to gain emotional and mental skills, knowledge and techniques to achieve and maintain optimal performance. With these services, we assist clients in enhancing their self-awareness, understanding their thought processes, and harnessing both to lead to positive behaviours and an improved mindset.

No, a mental performance consultant can help athletes, performing artists, high-performance professionals and anyone looking to unlock their potential!

Mental performance training is the application of counselling, psychology, and athlete performance principles to help individuals and teams enhance performance and self-awareness. Mental performance training specifically focuses on mental and emotional skills that develop a positive mindset in sport and non-sport domains (relationships, school, work).

A mental performance consultant is unable to diagnose or treat specific mental health disorders such as depression. However, our MPC can collaboratively work with your therapist or mental health program to ensure your sport and performance specific skills can improve and will help you reach your potential.

At this time, no, this service is not covered by OHIP or insurance.  

Individual Sessions

Individual training sessions are tailored to your unique needs and, because of this, are the most beneficial mental skills training service. These sessions included mental skill exercises, information and materials for you to take home. All you need to bring is an open mind and a notebook.

The price of individual sessions vary depending on appointment duration. Generally the first appointment is 60 min long, and follow-ups depend on your goals and needs.  Please call the clinic for current pricing.

Workshops

Workshops are for groups, organizations or teams to improve mental skills. They involve the individual and group in interactive exercises from 1-2 hours and include tools, strategies and take-home materials. Examples of possible workshops are:

• Introduction to Sport Psychology and Mental Skills Training
• Accountability and Commitment
• How to Enhance, Foster Unity, and Collaboration

The price of group workshops vary on group size, topics, and needs. Packaged (repeat sessions/seminars) are possible.  For more information please contact the clinic to learn more and speak with Ashley. 

The first session is intended to talk about who you are, why you are visiting, and to create a plan of what skills you should work on to reach your goals. It is intended to meet your MPC and gain rapport with each other. Your first session will last approximately 60 minutes, one-on-one, either in person or virtually/online.  Within this session there is time to start working on specific skills, but this is not guaranteed.

Young athletes can start as early as 9 years old. Typically, this is when sports begin to get competitive and mental training could give you an edge over others. However, mental, emotional, or physical barriers related to performance can start at any age and mental performance training can improve mindset, foster positive thinking, and mental health. There is no age cap on mental performance training.

Ultimately the decision is up to yourself and your child, but we do recommend being a part of the process.

Sessions vary per individual. The usual timeframe to develop one skill is 2-4 sessions. Two sessions are to gain knowledge, understand concepts, and explore the skill during your session. The time frame between sessions are typically 1 week, for the first 3-4 weeks, so you can apply what you learned during the session into your life setting. Then a follow-up appointment to see how your progression is going, what you can improve, or how to maintain this new behavior for the future.

Yes. Homework could be completing a worksheet/exercise for the next session or applying new techniques, strategies, or concepts into performance settings.

• Overcoming self-doubt, fear of failure, and overthinking
• Increase self-confidence and self-esteem
• Bouncing back from mistakes 
• “I feel like others are better than me”
• “I don’t think I can do certain skills or sports”

• Improve self-talk and positive perspectives 
• Understanding how your actions affect others
• Managing negative thoughts, emotions and feelings 
• “I can’t stop the negative thoughts, and its inhibiting my performance”
• “I get so frustrated with my injury, it’ll never get better”

• Blocking out distractions
• Enhance focus style and techniques
• “I get distracted so easily, and it’s hard to get back in the zone”
• “I focus on one bad thing, and can’t let it go”
• “I’m scared of re-injuring myself”

• “When things get hard, I want to give up”
• “I can’t push past my setbacks”
• “I’m so frustrated with my injury”
• Bouncing back from setbacks and injuries

• Manage stress and performance anxiety
• Learn to help your children with stress
• “I get nervous before game, competition, speech, presentation, etc”
• “COVID has made me so anxious, I’m stressed about everything”
• Learn how to regulate these emotions

• Motivation to go to the gym, do physio exercises
• Motivation to create positive change in life
• “I’m having trouble following my exercise plan or going to the gym”
• “I don’t want to play my sport anymore”
• “Lost competition or performance from COVID regulations, it’s hard to stay positive”

• Setting goals for competition or season
• How to stay on track
• How to set proper/ achievable goals

• How to destress
• How to relax before a game, competition or speech
• Arousal regulation ( control body over or under stimulation)
• “I have trouble sleeping/letting go of the day”
• “I find it hard to stop my mind from racing”

• Imagery to calm your mind, slow overthinking

• How to visualize playing sports while injured
• Work on pre-competition visualization to get in the zone

• How to get in the zone
• How to stay in the zone, and not make mistakes
• How to reflect on performance and let go of mistakes

• Commitment
• Accountability
• Discipline
• Handling Mistakes
• Supporting teammates
• Team building