(he/him)
Hi, I'm Aaron, and I'm a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I've been married for 16 years, have 4 kids, 2 dogs, a cat and 7 chickens. As a family we love traveling and recently got to visit Puerto Rico and Barcelona Spain. Personally I've developed good self-care routines over the years and really enjoy going on runs regularly. Professionally my interests in therapy have shifted primarily towards sports psychology and helping people overcome mental obstacles and barriers that hinder performance. I have a unique approach that brings about positive change in this area and renewed performance and mental clarity in my client's respective sport. I primarily specialize in professional athletes as well as high level college and pre-professional sports.
In our first session you can expect me to be warm, compassionate, caring and encouraging. I love meeting new people, discovering positive things about them, and also figuring out together what you want to see improved in your life and/or your sport. Sometimes decline in performance can be related to a wide variety of wellness issues, and I like helping to discover where those gaps are, and how we can fill them with positive things.
I have a very unique and genuine approach that involves a highly effective therapy called EMDR. In it's basic form it helps replace negative, self defeating thoughts like, "I'm not good enough" or "I don't belong" or "I can't believe I didn't make that". These negative thoughts can weigh down a person and their performance. With EMDR we're able to navigate towards much more positive beliefs like, "There are many good things about me, and that's enough" or "I always give my best no matter what" or "I do belong on this team, that's why they chose me". When the belief in these positive thoughts grows, usually the performance on the field or court drastically and dramatically begins to improve. I love watching athletes overcome their mental barriers and regain a new founded and usually stronger confidence and self-worth on the field and off.
I love helping professional athletes and pre-professional athletes overcome mental barriers so they can get back to performing at a high level, as soon as possible. Many athletes try to navigate this on their own without reaching out for help, and may spend weeks or months lonely, isolated and usually the negative mindset gradually keeps getting worse. When you reach out for help, we typically can help you move through things much faster, help you be a better athlete and person, all while rebuilding your confidence and performance along the way.
Strength-Based
In sports, it's easy to criticize and see all the things that you're doing wrong. Sometimes this does lead to making improvements, but often it ends up making you focus on the negative area's and neglecting the positive things you're doing. I work with you to better understand, see and appreciate your unique strengths as a person and athlete.
EMDR
EMDR is a very unique and powerful therapy that can help with sports performance anxiety, trauma or even developing a more positive mindset. For athletes it also helps them to visualize better positive outcomes and overcome negative mindsets more quickly.
Positive Psychology
Positive psychology is incredibly helpful for athletes to focus on the positive sides of their sports rather than the competition side of their sports. It helps them overcome setbacks more quickly and appreciate many of the positive things their sport has to offer.