EMDR Intensives for Athletes, Coaches and Leaders

02/06/2026

Have you ever thought about therapy as a form of play?

I’ve been reflecting on this after a recent Huberman Lab episode where Andrew Huberman discussed play circuitry—and its role in learning and neuroplasticity across the lifespan, based on the work of Jaak Panksepp.

Play creates low-consequence opportunities for learning.
And that’s powerful—for all ages.

It’s also a beautiful parallel to what happens in therapy, especially EMDR.

There’s both an art and a science to this work. In approaches like EMDR 2.0, I intentionally tax working memory—doing things like tracking movements, mental math, spelling words backward—so stuck memory networks can integrate and store properly.

And something interesting happens…

✨ Sometimes there’s laughter
✨ Sometimes curiosity
✨ Sometimes a surprising lightness

That’s play circuitry coming online while real healing is happening.

For athletes and coaches, this matters. Therapy doesn’t have to feel heavy or intimidating. It can look a lot like training the nervous system—engaging, structured, evidence-based, and at times even playful.

There’s solid research behind this. Just like in sport, the nervous system learns best with novelty, engagement, and safety.

More on this in a blog coming next week.
If you’re curious about how play, neuroplasticity, and trauma-informed therapy intersect in high-performance spaces—stay tuned.

Sometimes the most powerful change happens when the work doesn’t feel like work at all.

02/03/2026

🤖🏅 AI is becoming part of the athlete mental health conversation — but it’s not the whole picture.

More athletes are using AI for mindset support, reflection, emotional regulation, and performance insight. And while technology can be a helpful tool, it’s important to pause and ask:

👉 What does real healing actually require?

In my newest blog, I explore how AI intersects with athlete mental health — and why trauma-informed care and human connection still matter, especially for athletes navigating trauma, chronic stress, burnout, or performance blocks.

AI can offer prompts and perspective.
But healing happens through:
• safety
• attuned human connection
• clinical expertise
• and nervous system–informed work

We don’t have to choose between innovation and integrity. We can integrate technology thoughtfully while keeping the human element at the center.

🔗 Read the full blog here:
https://emdrintensivesforathletes.com/ai-athlete-mental-health-trauma-informed-care/

I’d love to hear your thoughts — how do you see AI supporting (or complicating) athlete mental health and performance?

EMDR Specialist

01/29/2026

AI 🤝 Therapy
Not competitors. Not replacements.
But a conversation worth having.

As a therapist who does EMDR for performance enhancement and trauma work with athletes, coaches, and leaders, I spend my days in the most human places—nervous systems, memory, identity, performance under pressure.

AI doesn’t threaten that work.
But it does challenge us to get clearer about what is irreplaceably human… and where collaboration might actually support healing and performance.

I’ve seen AI:
• Help athletes reflect between sessions
• Support psychoeducation and mental skills work
• Increase access and continuity of care

And I’ve also seen why trauma-informed boundaries matter deeply.

I’m sharing more in a new blog dropping next week—exploring where AI fits, where it doesn’t, and how we move forward without losing the heart of the work.

Curious to hear from you 👇
What have you found helpful?
What concerns are you holding?
What questions are coming up?

01/28/2026

The pressure in sport right now is real.
Athletes and coaches are navigating constant evaluation, changing rosters, NIL, the transfer portal, social media scrutiny, and even sports betting — all while being expected to perform at the highest level.

These forces don’t just affect performance.
They quietly pull people away from connection, safety, and belonging — the very things the nervous system needs to thrive.

And yet… watching Monday night’s game, I felt something different.
Despite everything working against it, I saw moments of real connection.
And that left me hopeful.

Hope that community is still possible.
Hope that mental health and high performance don’t have to be in conflict.
Hope that we can keep building environments where athletes can compete and be human.

I unpack this through a neuroscience and trauma-informed lens in my newest blog — why connection isn’t “soft,” how pressure impacts the nervous system, and what actually supports athlete mental health and performance.

👉 Read the full blog —

EMDR Specialist

01/28/2026

The pressure in sport right now is real.
Athletes and coaches are navigating constant evaluation, changing rosters, NIL, the transfer portal, social media scrutiny, and even sports betting — all while being expected to perform at the highest level.

These forces don’t just affect performance.
They quietly pull people away from connection, safety, and belonging — the very things the nervous system needs to thrive.

And yet… watching the National Championship game last week, I felt something different.
Despite everything working against it, I saw moments of real connection.
And that left me hopeful.

Hope that community is still possible.
Hope that mental health and high performance don’t have to be in conflict.
Hope that we can keep building environments where athletes can compete and be human.

I unpack this through a neuroscience and trauma-informed lens in my newest blog — why connection isn’t “soft,” how pressure impacts the nervous system, and what actually supports athlete mental health and performance.

👉 Read the full blog — link in bio

01/22/2026

Connection & Gratitude 🤍

Yesterday, the stars unexpectedly lined up.

During my morning workout, I got a text from a former coach and longtime friend:
“Instead of a call… want to meet for lunch?”

After more than 30 years — despite living close to each other here in Colorado — we finally sat down, shared a meal, and caught up on life and sport.

He joked that he expected 13-year-old me to show up. We laughed about competition, talked about family, and noticed how much empathy and wisdom come with time.

What came straight from my heart was simple:
Thank you for seeing me. Thank you for believing in me — not just as an athlete, but as a person.

He once said (in his Irish accent), “We just threw you two girls into the competitive boys group and wanted to see what happened.”
That belief shaped me. Sport taught me resilience, confidence, and how to belong — even when I didn’t always look like I did.

We also talked about today’s sport culture: pressure, wins and losses, changing relationships, and the growing mental health needs of athletes and coaches.

This is why I care so deeply about connection, attachment, neuroscience, and trauma-informed care in sport. I have a blog coming next week on connection and rejection in athletics — more to come.

My invitation to you today:
Pause the admin work. Be spontaneous. Reach out to someone who helped shape you. Express gratitude.

Connection matters — and it feels pretty incredible. ✨

01/20/2026

🧠🏃‍♀️ New Blog Post: Mental Performance Isn’t a Solo Sport

Athletes don’t exist in silos—and neither should their mental health care.

In my newest blog, I share why a collaborative, trauma-informed approach to mental performance matters, and how EMDR Intensives can support athletes who feel stuck, overwhelmed, or blocked under pressure.

✨ In this post, I talk about:
• Why “just try harder” isn’t enough
• How EMDR helps the nervous system release performance-related stress and trauma
• The power of collaboration between therapists, mental performance coaches, and medical providers
• Honoring athletes as whole humans—not just performers

There are many trails up the mountain. Athletes deserve choice, support, and specialized care along the way.

🔗 Read the full blog (link in bio)
https://emdrintensivesforathletes.com/emdr-for-athletes-collaborative-mental-performance/

01/16/2026

🔥 When the body freezes even though the mind wants to perform…
Athletes call it the yips, the twisties, or a sudden loss of confidence, control, or muscle memory.

But underneath?
It’s often a nervous system doing its job — trying to protect you.

🧠 In my newest blog, I share how EMDR therapy helps athletes:
✨ Calm survival responses
✨ Restore trust in their body
✨ Reconnect to precision + timing
✨ Return to competition with clarity and confidence

Because this isn’t weakness.
It’s wiring.
And it can change.

https://emdrintensivesforathletes.com/emdr-for-athletes-yips-twisties/

01/14/2026

Imagine losing feeling in your fingers and toes while being expected to perform at your best.
Athletes call it the yips.
The nervous system calls it freeze.

When the brain senses threat (even psychological threat), it shifts into survival mode:

❄️ Blood gets pulled away from:
• Fingers
• Toes
• Fine-motor muscles

🔥 Blood gets sent to:
• Core organs
• Big muscle groups

The result?
Tingling. Numbness. Feeling disconnected from your body.
And suddenly, the skill you’ve trained for years becomes harder to access.

This isn’t weakness.
It’s biology doing its job: conserve energy, protect you, and keep you alive.

With tools like EMDR + nervous system education, athletes can retrain this response and get their body back online.

Stay tuned — new blog coming soon on freeze, the yips, and why athletes are often misunderstood instead of supported. 🧠💪

01/09/2026

I still remember watching Caleb Dressel’s post-Olympic interview where he talked openly about therapy — especially getting to know his inner critic — and feeling such a spark of recognition.

Most athletes have an inner critic.
And often it’s not the enemy — it’s a part trying to protect us.

That’s why I love blending IFS + EMDR in my work.
Instead of pushing the critic away, we get curious about:
✨ What it’s afraid of
✨ Why it’s working so hard
✨ How it can support rather than sabotage

When athletes learn to partner with their inner parts — instead of battling them —
the nervous system settles, anxiety drops, and performance opens back up.

Caleb’s vulnerability in that moment continues to inspire athletes, coaches, and leaders to see inner talk differently — not as weakness, but as wisdom.

And yes… as a proud Florida Gator alum, my heart was cheering even louder.
🧡💙 Go Gators. Go Caleb. Keep leading the way.

https://youtu.be/FlZEarkBUDk

Caeleb Dressel's demands of himself have not always been satiated by his accomplishments. Now a father, though, Dressel says he's beginning to build a new pe...

12/30/2025

🧠🏈 How Elite Sport Reshapes the Nervous System

A recent conversation in my family about Philip Rivers brief return-to-play in the NFL sparked this reflection—and my newest blog.

Elite sport doesn’t just train the body.
It reshapes the autonomic nervous system.

Constant readiness. High pressure. Little recovery.
Over time, this can look like anxiety, shutdown, or never fully feeling “off.”

This isn’t weakness—it’s a nervous system doing its job.

In my latest blog, I share how EMDR Intensives can support athletes, coaches, and leaders in restoring regulation, flexibility, and choice—on and off the field.

https://emdrintensivesforathletes.com/elite-sport-nervous-system-emdr/

12/26/2025

Grateful for this work 🤍

As a therapist working with athletes, I’m constantly reminded how powerful it is when science finally meets lived experience.

Modalities like EMDR, IFS, Polyvagal-informed care, and HeartMath aren’t trends—they’re evidence-based, neuroscience-backed approaches that speak directly to how high-performance sport shapes the nervous system, identity, and stress response.

Athletes aren’t broken.
Their nervous systems are trained.

Years of competing in high-intensity environments condition the body to live in high gear. When injury, burnout, or retirement happens, it’s not a lack of toughness—it’s physiology looking for new ways to regulate.

What gives me hope ✨
We now have tools that help athletes:
• process pressure and injury
• restore nervous system flexibility
• keep their edge without living in survival mode
• heal without losing who they are

Athlete mental health deserves the same level of sophistication as physical performance—and we’re finally there.

Grateful to practice at the intersection of science, sport, and humanity.