Mental Health & Performance Therapy for Student-Athletes in Ohio
Clinical care that takes both the athlete and the person seriously.
You’re not just a player. You’re a person who plays.
Most people only see one side of you.
The version that shows up to practice. The version that performs when it counts. The version that’s “fine” when someone asks.
But you know there’s more going on than that.
Maybe the game has started living in your head between innings, holes, or possessions. Maybe something heavier has crept in — and you’re not sure when it started. Maybe the stuff outside the lines is louder right now than the stuff between them.
Whatever it is, you don’t have to figure it out alone. You also don’t have to wait until it gets worse before talking to someone who actually understands the world you live in.
What You Actually Get From This Work
Athletes who work with me leave with three things, in some order:
A clear understanding of what’s actually going on. Not a vague label. The specific patterns — when they show up, what feeds them, what makes them louder. Most athletes have never had this mapped out before.
Skills that hold up in the moments that matter. Not techniques you have to remember in the box. Routines, regulation tools, and mental frameworks that become part of how you compete and how you live.
A relationship with the work that’s yours. Not a dependence on me. The point is that you stop needing this. Most clients work with me intensively for a stretch, then check in periodically as the season or the situation calls for it.
The clinical and performance training combine in the same room. You don’t have to figure out which kind of help you need. We’ll sort that out together — and shift between them as your situation changes.
What I Help With
Most athletes don’t show up with a clean diagnosis. They show up with a feeling that something’s off — and a sense that the people around them either don’t get it or have a fix they’re not ready to commit to yet.
Here’s what the work usually centers on:
When the game gets in your head
Slumps that won’t break. The yips. Confidence that’s gone somewhere you can’t find. Pressure that used to feel like fuel and now feels like noise. The sense that your body is doing things your mind didn’t agree to.
You used to “just know” how to compete. Now you’re thinking your way through every rep, every pitch, every shot — and the more you think, the worse it gets.
When something heavier is showing up
Anxiety that’s bigger than nerves. Mood that’s off in a way sleep won’t fix. Burnout that hasn’t lifted since last season. Sleep that isn’t really sleep. The sense that something’s wrong but you can’t name it.
Sport sometimes makes these louder, sometimes covers them up. They don’t get fixed by playing through them.
When the rest of life is in the way
Family stuff. A relationship that’s heavy. School pressure stacking up. Identity questions you don’t have language for yet. Team dynamics that follow you home.
Performance doesn’t happen in a vacuum. When the rest of life is loud, the field can get louder.
When something has changed
Injury. Lost a starting spot. A role you didn’t ask for. A coach change. Recruiting that’s not going the way you thought. The portal. The senior year cliff. The day after your last game.
Change in sport is rarely just about sport. It’s identity, future, and self-image — all at once.
Why This Works When Other Things Haven’t
Most athletes who try to find help end up running into one of three walls.
The generalist therapist who doesn’t speak the sport. They’re skilled clinicians, but they don’t get why losing a starting spot feels like grief, why a slump is a real psychological event, or why your identity is tangled up in what you do at 7 PM on a Tuesday. The work feels off-target, even when the clinician is good.
The mental performance coach who isn’t licensed to handle the heavier stuff. They speak the sport. They have visualization techniques. But when the issue turns out to be a depressive episode, an anxiety condition, or another mental health concern that needs real treatment, maybe they’re trained to recognize it — but they’re not licensed to treat it. The athlete either gets referred to another professional or risks falling through the gap.
The grind-it-out approach that made things worse. “Just work harder” is the default in sport, and for some problems it works. For the categories I see most — slumps, the yips, anxiety, burnout, identity stuff — trying harder is what’s causing the problem. The harder the athlete grinds, the more entrenched it gets.
I’m built for the situation those three options can’t handle.
LPCC-S means I’m a fully licensed clinical mental health provider in Ohio. I can recognize, diagnose, and treat the heavier stuff that performance coaches aren’t trained for.
CMPC means I’m certified in mental performance through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. I speak the sport, and I have the actual tools that move performance — not just talk about it.
Most clinicians have one of those credentials. Almost none have both.
That’s not a marketing point. It’s the reason this work moves when other things have stalled.
How We Work
Sessions can happen three ways:
- In-person at the office in Findlay
- On the field of play when it makes sense — at the cage, on the course, at the practice facility
- Telehealth anywhere in Ohio
We figure out what fits your life and your sport. The format isn’t precious. The work is.
The first session is about understanding what’s actually going on — not running you through a questionnaire. We slow down enough to see the patterns: when things show up, what makes them louder, what’s underneath them. From there, we build skills and shifts that matter in the moments that count.
You don’t need a perfect explanation when we start. You just need to show up.
For Parents
If you’re reading this because you’re worried about your athlete — the fact that you’re looking is part of the help.
A few things worth knowing:
What this work actually is
I’m a Licensed Clinical Counselor and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant. That’s an unusual combination, and it matters because student-athletes rarely fit cleanly into one category. Sometimes the issue is performance. Sometimes it’s mental health. Sometimes it’s both, layered, with one masking the other.
I’m trained to tell the difference and to treat both — which means you don’t have to figure out which kind of help your athlete needs before you reach out. We can sort that out together.
Some situations are outside the scope of what I treat — including obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, and formal psychological assessments such as ADHD or learning evaluations. When something falls outside my scope, I’ll say so directly and help you find the right specialist. Knowing what kind of help your athlete actually needs is part of the work.
Common reasons parents reach out
- Their athlete’s performance has changed in a way coaching alone hasn’t fixed
- Mood, sleep, or eating has shifted and sport seems entangled with it
- An injury, role change, or transition is hitting harder than expected
- Something feels off and the athlete isn’t talking — or is talking and it’s worse than you thought
- Recruiting, transfer, or end-of-career stress is affecting the whole family
About bringing it up with your athlete
Most athletes don’t want to be sent to therapy. Most do want to feel less stuck. The distance between those two things is usually how the conversation gets framed.
When you talk to your athlete about this, a few things tend to help:
- Frame it as working with someone who gets the sport, not as “going to a therapist”
- Be honest about what you’ve noticed without assigning meaning to it
- Make it clear this is support, not a verdict on how they’re handling things
- Offer the option, don’t impose it — clients who feel forced rarely engage
If you’d find it useful, I’m happy to talk you through this on a brief call before involving your athlete.
Fees and what you’re paying for
- Sessions are 50 minutes
- Session fee: $175
- Private-pay practice — I do not bill insurance
- Payment is due at the time of service
- Telehealth available throughout Ohio; in-person and on-field (when appropriate) in NW Ohio
A few things worth knowing about the fee.
Most families I work with are already investing meaningfully in their athlete’s development — hitting coaches, swing coaches, skills trainers, travel ball, showcases, recruiting services, etc. The mental side of the game is the layer most parents wish they’d addressed sooner. It’s also the layer that determines whether the technical investment pays off, or whether it gets blocked by something the athlete can’t outwork.
The fee reflects what this work actually is: licensed clinical care combined with certified mental performance training, delivered by one provider who can flex between them. In the broader sport psychology market in the Great Lakes region, comparable work runs $185 to $250 per session. The $175 rate is deliberately positioned to be reachable for serious families without underselling what the work requires.
The private-pay structure is also deliberate. There’s no diagnosis required, submitted, or stored on an insurance record — which matters more than it sounds for athletes who may face background checks, licensure, military service, or evaluative review at any point in their careers. It also means treatment is determined by what your athlete actually needs, not by what insurance considers reimbursable.
If cost is a real constraint, say so when we connect. I’d rather have an honest conversation about fit than waste your time.
Confidentiality and minors
For athletes under 18, I follow Ohio law and standard ethical practice. The athlete needs space to talk honestly, and you need to know your child is safe. I’ll explain how I handle that balance on the first call — including what stays in the room, what doesn’t, and how we’ll communicate about progress.
About Brian
I’m a Licensed Clinical Counselor — Supervisor (LPCC-S) in Ohio and a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. I’ve spent over a decade working with people navigating anxiety, performance pressure, identity transitions, and mental health.
My background includes collegiate and semi-pro baseball, which shapes how I think about pressure, pace, and what it actually feels like to compete. The work integrates evidence-based clinical treatment with mental performance training — different tools for different moments, applied by one person who can read which is needed.
Sessions are active and collaborative. We don’t circle. We slow down enough to see what’s actually happening, then build the skills to respond to it differently.
Getting Started
Most people begin with a brief consultation to determine whether working together feels like the right fit.
What happens next:
- Schedule a 15-minute consultation
- We talk briefly about what’s going on
- You decide whether moving forward feels right
Athletes are welcome to participate in the consultation. Parents are welcome to schedule the first call without the athlete present if that’s easier.
You don’t need to feel completely ready to start.