““Learning to work with the natural responses of your body in this day and age of high stress, distractions and dopamine hits is key. Optimal health, which is seen in resilience, is our ability to self-regulate our emotional reactions and experiences. As we heal, physical and mental performance improves, as evidenced by improved decision making, reaction time, social awareness and self-regulation.””
Whitney White Dittmar, MA, LPC
Performance Enhancement and EMDR specialist
As a licensed mental health provider with 20 years of experience, I offer cutting edge mental health treatment for the sports world. I use evidenced based EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and biofeedback to help treat sports performance problems caused by injury or negative experiences and reprocess the memory to help reset the nervous system to allow for a return to peak performance. I also offer Performance enhancement work to help prepare the body and mind for future events, challenges, competitions and lay a neural network of positive, integrated connections and release any blocks or mental fears.
EMDR works with the body’s natural way of healing, which can be blocked at times, to rewire memory networks and desensitize disturbing memories, feelings, body sensations. When you no longer have feelings associated with negative core beliefs (basically the emotional charge is taken out of those memories), the pain is taken away and new adaptive thoughts come and different feelings. Memories are not erased but as the processing takes place the body releases stored trauma and the mind takes on new beliefs, rewiring your brain.
Understanding interpersonal neurobiology often strengthens a client’s ability to have self-compassion for an injury, a setback, a stressor they cannot just think through. By understanding the nervous system and different state responses (fight or flight or freeze response- that happen below conscious awareness) people feel more empowered to heal. We can often see that the response of our body has guided us to a place that needs support. For example, many athletes struggle with a freeze response in their nervous system and then are not able to perform in their optimal state.
Often athletes, coaches, family, fans and support staff do not understand how to support an athlete and more frustration builds as positive self-talk coaching, mindfulness tools and other supports fall short of finding and treating the trauma. Those who experience trauma carry it in their bodies and brains long after the trauma is over. EMDR helps reduce emotional pain allows the nervous system to calm and know “it is over now.” After the treatment and with more system integration in the body optimal performance is enhanced.
SERVICES OFFERED:
90 minute EMDR Session $330
EMDR has been used in the sports, arts and performance fields to help treat blocks, public speaking phobias, address the trauma of an injury or series of injuries and setbacks, as well as to strengthen the flow state and enhance peak performances. To identify and resolve limiting beliefs, anxiety and fears through EMDR treatment opens athletes, professionals and people in creative fields and leadership roles up to fulfill optimal performance. Often there is a past experience or experiences that get stuck and create mental blocks and this can be treated with EMDR therapy
50 minute Peak Performance Training $225
Using brain based techniques and biofeedback to help strengthen adaptive neural networks and install a peak performance, create mental and physical resilience for future situations and learn mental peak performance skills
Peak Performance Training for Teams
Bring in neuroscience tools to give your team a competitive advantage-sessions include psycho-education about how the nervous system and brain affect performance, Heart Rate Coherence training and handouts and mental skills training
Mental Health training for Coaches
Coaches play an integral role in creating a culture of excellence and optimal performance and yet now more than ever need to understand trauma, mental health and modeling and equipping others with skills that promote integration in their athletes
Mental skills training groups
Mentals skills trainings for groups helps equip middle and high school athletes with resources through psychoeducation for performance enhancement, helping athletes better understand how the brain and nervous system effect performance to give a competitive edge and resources to use in daily practice and performance settings.
