Now that the June 15th deadline has passed and college coaches can reach out to high school athletes, the pressure felt by athletes is palpable. When I work with athletes, we collaboratively establish a mental game plan to assist them in preparation for a diverse variety of challenges ahead. 

For example, when a student athlete learns to focus on small, but impactful goals, I notice a shift in their mindset. As the internal pressure for perfection decreases, the motivation to instead achieve excellence increases. Instead of focusing on the outcome of performance, we work on developing intentional awareness to areas of the game they want to improve. 

I believe sports are played with the body, but are won in the mind. And if an athlete concentrates primarily on impressing others through their performance, they are creating extra-tension which clouds purpose, passion and can lead to burnout. 

If you or your student athlete is feeling overrun with pressure, let's get a game plan together. 

Have we met yet? If not, I want to take this time to introduce myself.

1. I am Amy Pope-Latham - Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the state of Florida. I am originally from Long Island, New York or as it is pronounced back home, "Lawng Guyland".
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2. I am a Certified Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) therapist. I utilize a Somatic Attachment Focused EMDR (SAFE) model in my practice as a trauma therapist.

3. I specialize in working with athletes and adolescents! I also have the privilege of working with a variety of amazing people, regardless of my specializations.

4. I love medicine and I have tremendous respect and admiration for the human body. That being said, I largely use biology, neuroscience, and physiology concepts in my practice to better help my clients.

5. My posts on social media and this blog are not therapy and should never be considered a replacement for therapy. You are allowed to laugh and enjoy the content I share though!

Thank you for attending my Ted-Talk. Enjoy the rest of your day!
-Amy

Connection between client and therapist is so important, if not the MOST important factor in any type of helping relationship. And like meeting new friends or dating, you aren't going to click with everyone and that is okay!

I feel that one of the best things about therapy is the abundance of therapists out there, and if you decide a therapist isn't a good match for you, then you don't need to go back! Of course, if you make the decision to find a new therapist, I encourage letting the existing therapist know. He or she may offer a session at no cost to you where he or she can offer a termination session. Termination is a gradual and completely NORMAL process of therapy and technically begins the first session of therapy. Your therapist should support this concept in treatment.

So where to begin? Please keep these things in mind when searching for a therapist you will vibe with:

1. Ask friends and family if they know of or have a therapist he or she is happy with and would be able to provide referrals.
2. Shop online and Google it! No, seriously. Google it. There are online directories such as Psychology Today and Better Help you can use to search for therapists in your area. You can also personalize your search by searching for therapists who specialize in the areas you are seeking help (e.g. Anxiety, OCD, trauma, gender, or faith-based counseling).
3. Once you are on Psychology Today, Better Help, or looking at a Therapists' website, take a look at the photos of the therapist. I know of a saying somewhere that says, "you never get a second chance to make a good first impression". I would personally steer clear of any photos that are similar to the headshots you see in casting photos in a playbill. This also includes photos of the therapist doing other activities in his or her photos. Therapy is about YOU. It is not about the therapist who is supposed to be helping YOU. When you see his or her photo, visualize yourself in a session with him or her. You want to be able to sit across from this person without feeling any type of discomfort. Therapy, especially therapists should not feel intimidating or encourage any feeling of "being better" than you. Just because a therapist may be an expert, he or she is not the expert of YOU. Therapists are human too and your therapist should give you a sense of ease and comfort knowing he or she is your person (with good boundaries of course). If you are having any doubts about a therapist based on what you see in his or her photo, I would listen to your intuition.
4. Shoot your shot and give a therapist or several therapists a call. Therapist shopping is normal and I encourage it! You don't want to settle for just anyone because he or she has the availability to give you an appointment. Just as you want the best doctor for your physical health or your child's health, you deserve to find the best therapist for you and or your child. Try to remember this: one shoe that pinches someone else will fit another perfectly.
5. When you are speaking with a therapist, you may want to ask him or her some of these questions directly or do your own research. Where did he or she go to school? Did they complete a formal masters program or online certificate? If a therapist says he or she specializes in a specific type of treatment (e.g. EMDR, DBT, or CBT) is he or she certified? Or did he or she complete a basic training? Is the person a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) , Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), or coach? What is his or her background? Is he or she passionate about Psychodynamic and Psychoanalytic therapy? Solution-Focused therapy? Trauma-Focused Therapy? Gestalt Therapy? Does the therapist work with adolescents? couples? Does he or she accept insurance? How does payment work? Is the therapist in good standing with the state issuing him or her a license to practice? Have or has there been any complaints made against him or her to the licensing board?
6. MOST IMPORTANTLY: NOTICE!!! Notice how you feel on the phone with the therapist. At your first appointment, notice how you feel when you are in the room with him or her. Do you feel heard when you are speaking? Do you notice the therapist talking about himself or herself more than he or she should be listening to you? Does your therapist support your goals? Does he or she practice good boundaries? Do you notice the therapist using his or her cell phone during session? Notice how you feel in that person's presence. Notice everything.

I am a huge advocate for using a strengths-based perspective. So when I meet with someone for session, I am going to ask "what's strong in you?" rather than "what's wrong in you?" 

When I would have resident physicians shadow me as a therapist in Tallahassee, I would often get asked questions that focused on finding connection with adolescents and finding ways to get to the roots of presenting mental health issues.

 I will never forget a specific conversation I had with a resident one day. He told me that during his rotation in the emergency room, he said he had seen an adolescent patient who attempted suicide by slitting his/her wrists and didn't know where to begin or how to begin talking to the teenager. I encouraged him to start where the patient is. 

Through his lens, it would have been expected of the resident to look at the physical cuts to the wrists and begin treatment there. But I invited him to acknowledge that patient, that person's pain. Yes, physical pain is obvious, but clearly that person was in a kind of pain that modern medicine, no matter how advanced, could not directly touch. 

That kind of pain can be more significant than any physical pain you or I can experience considering we can find refuge in knowing a blood test, IV infusion, or over the counter prescription can locate the root of the issue and give us relief. 

Healing begins the moment we feel heard. So why are we not making greater efforts to listen? 

Do not let fear steer the wheel of your life decisions. You can accomplish a lot more looking at things through the lens of love rather than the lens of fear. Once we can acknowledge we are saying no with love instead of saying yes with fear, setting boundaries could become a lot less painful for some. Have a great start to your week!