Athletes and high achievers face pressures specific to their context: the identity demands of performance, the impact of injury or form loss, the difficulty of transitions in and out of competition. Standard counselling rarely addresses these directly. Performance counselling does.
In practice: fifty-minute sessions, in person or remotely, grounded in REBT and performance science. It starts with a free thirty-minute conversation about what you are dealing with.
The pressure of competing or leading at the highest level, the weight of expectation, the fragility that comes from tying your worth to your results, the disorientation of injury, deselection or the end of a performance chapter: these are not signs of weakness. They are the predictable demands of high-achievement environments.
Meaningful support requires a practitioner who understands that context from the inside, not just clinically, but experientially. That is where the work begins.
Carol Dweck's work shows that those who tie their identity too closely to results are far more vulnerable when performance is disrupted.
Dr Tasha Eurich's research shows the gap between how people believe they are coping and how they actually are is widest under sustained pressure.
A 2023 review of 54 studies shows athletes who invest their whole sense of self in performance face the greatest risk at transition points.
We draw primarily on Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT): a cognitive-behavioural approach focused on identifying and challenging the beliefs and thinking patterns that limit performance, wellbeing, or both. Alongside it, we integrate performance science, self-determination theory, and direct experience of elite environments.
The goal of every session is the same: to understand what is happening, why, and what a different response would look like in practice. Resilience is not about suppressing emotion. It is the capacity to meet adversity without being defined by it.
Sessions are 50 minutes. An initial free 30-minute conversation is available to discuss what you are dealing with and whether performance counselling is the right fit. In person and remotely.
Performance counselling is not an emergency or crisis service. If you need urgent support, please contact your GP, call the Samaritans free any time on 116 123, or in an emergency call 999.
Discuss what you are dealing with and whether performance counselling is the right fit for you.