Mental Performance Coaching FAQ's

What are the goals of Mental Performance Coaching (MPC)?

Individual mental performance coaching (MPC) is structured around the goals and desires of each client. Clients can sign up with a variety of long-term goals in min. Some common ones with my clients are:

Specific challenges: self-doubt, lack of motivation, focus issues, or performance anxiety that have recently developed
General enhancement: Integrating MPC into their long-term goals outside of sporting season or when their performance has no "season" (like business owners, leaders, and skilled professionals)
To level-up mental game: Utilizing MPC to push their overall game to the next level; often for performers who have worked significantly on their physical game and now want to address the mental aspects

Think of MPC like personal training for your mental skills. When you hire a personal trainer, there is a clear plan in mind (build muscle, loose fat, improve flexibility, train for an event, etc.) and those goals impact each workout session. Just like physical training, mental training should provide expert guidance, keep you accountable, and push you slightly outside your comfort zone. This challenges your mind to adapt to new ways of working, just like when your body changes in response to your exercise & diet. Also like physical training, you must continue training or you loose all the gains you made.

What do you do in sessions?

Sessions vary based on where a client is in their MPC work. Initially, the focus is exploring past performances, patterns, goals, and motivations. The focus typically then turns to learning strategies for improving mental skills. Then, it may shift to reflecting on performances that occurred between sessions. The topics vary based on what the client wants to discuss. I provide ways to train these mental skills between sessions.

Sessions are often me asking lots of questions about mindset and performance, levels of energy, mnetla focus, feelings, etc. We may do exercises on paper, like listings sources of confidence or reframing self-talk. We may to imagery exercises, like revisiting a past performance or imagining recovery from mistakes.

Again, linking MPC to physical training, each workout with your fitness trainer may be different. It builds upon your last workout and takes into account how you are feeling on that day.

How long are sessions?

Session length may be 30, 45, or 60 minutes. Shorter sessions are designed for younger performers or individuals with a maintenance and accountability focus. Longer sessions are ideal for the very first MPC session or elite performers wanting to increase the intensity of work in a session. The typical session is 45 minutes.

Are sessions confidential?

Yes! Anything discussed in a session remains between myself and the client. Even the fact that we are working together remains confidential unless a client decides to share that information. So, if I see a client out at a store or in the halls at school, I may say hello or decide to let the client initiate the exchange. Either way, our MPC relationship will not be part of the conversation unless the client mentions it. Even then, the content of our work remains private (with the exception of abuse or harm to self or others).

What about confidentiality for youth performers?

Sessions with youth performers flow the same as other ages. We simply talk about topics in a way that matches their developmental age and understanding. Parents typically only attend the initial session. Like all MPC sessions, what happens in the session stays in the session (with the exception of abuse or harm to self or others). Since parents are a critical part of the young performer's team, we loop them into the major points covered. Some clients opt to have their parents come in for the last 5 minutes to verbally share the topics; other clients prefer that we write up 3-5 bullet points and email it to parents. In those summaries, we may include things that parents can help the perfomer with between sessions.

How much does MPC cost?

This depends on the age of the performer, the length of the work, and the intensity of the sessions. MPC work at Pivot averages $150 per hour. Youth performers are slightly less due to intensity and time of sessions; elite performers slightly higher due to intensity of work and length of sessions. Sessions can be purchased per session (full price; paid after each session) or as memberships (ideal for clients out of season or who do not have a season). You can see the pricing for each on the main coaching page.