Athletes & High Achievers · Beverly Hills & Virtual California

The person behind the performance matters.

Competitive athletes are trained relentlessly in technique, conditioning, strategy, and execution. Far less attention is usually given to the psychological world underneath performance.

Confidence. Fear. Identity. Comparison. Perfectionism. Relationships. Pressure. Failure. Expectations. Self-worth.

I work with adolescent and young-adult athletes, particularly ages 13 to 22, who want a healthier and more resilient relationship with performance - without losing the ambition that makes them competitors. I also work with adult high achievers whose lives are organized around evaluation of one kind or another.

Sessions are offered in person at my Beverly Hills office and virtually for clients throughout California.

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High-performance sport isn't just something I study.

My perspective on athletes is informed by both lived experience and clinical training. Before entering the mental-health field, I competed as a Division I and All-American collegiate swimmer.

My clinical work is supervised by Dr. Markus Rogan, PsyD, LMFT - a four-time Olympic swimmer and two-time Olympic silver medalist - bringing an additional understanding of the extraordinary psychological demands that can accompany elite competition and achievement.

Together, that shapes a clinical environment that understands athletes as whole people - not simply performers.

Former Division I Athlete · Clinical Training · Supervised by a Four-Time Olympian & Licensed Clinician

What we work on

Performance Pressure & Anxiety

Pre-competition nerves, fear of mistakes, freezing under pressure, overthinking, expectations, and learning to act effectively even when confidence fluctuates.

Confidence & Self-Belief

Confidence should not require perfect results. We build self-belief through action, accumulated experience, psychological flexibility, and the capacity to tolerate uncertainty.

Perfectionism & Fear of Failure

When high standards turn into avoidance, paralysis, self-criticism, or the belief that a mistake says something fundamental about who you are.

Setbacks, Injuries & Plateaus

The psychological impact of injury, disappointing performances, losing a starting position, missing qualifying standards, changing teams or coaches, and the stretches when hard work does not immediately produce results.

Identity & Self-Worth

Learning to experience achievement as something you do rather than the entirety of who you are.

Relationships & Team Dynamics

Coaches, teammates, parents, friendships, dating, belonging, criticism, conflict, boundaries, and the way relationships shape both performance and emotional wellbeing.

Social Media & Comparison

Rankings, recruiting announcements, highlight reels, appearance and body image, followers, teammates, competitors, and the constant availability of comparison.

Transitions

Youth to high-school athletics, high school to college, changing competitive levels, stepping away from a sport, retirement from competition, and the difficult question underneath all of it: who am I if I'm no longer this athlete?

What this work is - and isn't

Therapy is not about eliminating nerves, disappointment, or doubt. Those are part of competing, and an athlete who never feels them is usually an athlete who has stopped caring. The work is learning what to do while they are present.

Confidence is not the absence of doubt. It is the ability to move forward even when doubt is present.

We build psychological flexibility: the capacity to feel pressure without being run by it, to recover from a mistake inside the same competition, to take a real risk when the safer option is available, and to keep training toward something meaningful during the stretches when results are not cooperating.

My approach is relational, attachment-based, psychodynamic, and family-systems informed, and it draws on ongoing doctoral research in relational psychology. That means I am interested not only in what happens inside an athlete, but in the teams, coaches, families, expectations, and relationships around them. You can read more about my background as a competitor and clinician.

I am a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee and doctoral researcher practicing under the clinical supervision of Dr. Markus Rogan, PsyD, LMFT. This work makes no promises about results, times, scores, rosters, scholarships, or recruitment.

Signature Program

The Confident Competitor

Mental Performance & Emotional Wellness for Athletes Ages 13-22

An educational workshop series that can be brought to teams, clubs, schools, and athletic organizations - covering confidence under pressure, resilience after setbacks, identity beyond results, and a dedicated parent night.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What ages do you work with?

My athlete work centers on adolescents and young adults, particularly ages 13 to 22. I also work with adult high achievers - performers, entrepreneurs, professionals - who recognize the same patterns in themselves.

Is this sports psychology?

No. I am a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee and doctoral researcher, not a psychologist or sports psychologist. This is psychotherapy that attends closely to the psychological world underneath performance: confidence, identity, pressure, relationships, and self-worth.

Will therapy make my athlete less competitive?

Ambition is not the problem. The aim is not to soften a competitor or eliminate nerves, disappointment, and doubt - those are part of competing. The aim is a more durable relationship with performance, so that motivation comes from something steadier than fear.

Do parents participate?

Sometimes, and always with the athlete's understanding of how the work is structured. Athletes exist inside a family system, and parent sessions can be a meaningful part of the work. Families can also explore family therapy or the Parent Night component of The Confident Competitor.

Where do sessions take place?

In person at my Beverly Hills office and virtually for clients throughout California, which often works well around training and travel schedules.