Managing Injury When an athlete becomes injured, life changes drastically. For many athletes, their sport has been a form of identity, a way of life and a purpose. Without it, there are many factors that need to be addressed including but not limited to depression, anxiety, grief and loss and redefining life. I understand this struggle intimately and work to help my athletes process this and develop tools to cope and manage. Furthermore, as a trained EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) therapist I am able to help athletes process the injury so that the past trauma associated with it can be resolved and they can move forward free from the negative emotional and physical sensations from the past. This process can reduce blocks the athlete may be experiencing as a result of a past injury. I utilize visualizations for healing and mental rehearsal to work towards goals. Achieving Peak Performance Mental blocks vary in nature but can hamper an athlete's performance and keep them from reaching their goals. These blocks may have developed during time playing sports or from other adverse life experiences. I am successful at helping clients overcome these by identifying and changing negative thinking, learning relaxation skills and positive self‐talk to overcome anxiety and to believe in themselves once they have learned the necessary tools and techniques to thrive. I believe that the mind can be a main component in setting and reaching goals, overcoming performance anxiety and reaching peak performance. Additionally, utilizing EMDR we can target specific past negative experiences in order to process them and no longer have them control current performance, events, races, games or matches. Furthermore, we can practice future competitions with success by utilizing the components of EMDR. |