Therapy for Athletes
JULIE CHAHAL, LPC, SEP
Therapist for Current + Former Athletes
At any given time, about a third of my clients are current or former athletes.
I understand how athletes operate both inside and outside of sports + how something that once gave you meaning can start bringing stress, shame, or pressure instead.
Performance has a subconscious component to it.
Maybe you call it nerves. The yips. A mental block. Hitting a slump.
You know what you’re capable of, but something stopped translating.
ATHLETES COME TO ME FOR:
Mindset or self-doubt
The psychological impact of an injury
Pressure that got too high
Losing motivation
Difficulty finding the “on/off” switch
Transitioning out of athletics
Strain on relationships
Conflicts with coaches, colleagues, or other athletes
Sometimes what looks like a performance problem isn’t really about performance.
We figure out what is happening underneath it.
“You can’t just push through a subconscious pattern.”
YOUR BRAIN KNOWS WHAT TO DO BUT SOMETHING GOT IN THE WAY
Athletes are used to pushing harder when something isn’t going well. More reps. More practice. More discipline.
You may understand exactly what you should do and still find yourself tightening up, hesitating, losing confidence, or struggling to access the version of yourself you know is there.
People often call it a fear of failure.
Sometimes it’s really a fear of success.
We all have invisible success ceilings. My work helps you expand your identity and nervous system capacity to hold the success you are after.
What happens if you actually get what you’ve been working toward? What changes when the pressure gets bigger?
That’s work I’m interested in.
WHAT MY THERAPY FOR ATHLETES IS LIKE
One of the questions I often ask is:
“How do you know?”
Are you seeing something in your mind?
Feeling something in your body?
Hearing something internally?
The answer helps me understand where the pattern is operating and how we need to work with it. Sometimes we work through the mind. Sometimes we work directly through the body and nervous system.
And often we work with the subconscious patterns underneath performance, pressure, confidence, and success.
I’m collaborative, but I’m also directive.
You bring me the issue. My job is to help us get underneath it and figure out what is actually keeping you stuck.
Modalities I Use In Therapy
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Athletes spend years learning how to use their bodies.
Somatic Experiencing® helps us work with what your body is doing automatically under pressure- bracing, tightening, shutting down, pushing harder, or staying constantly switched on.
We work to create more capacity so your body can respond differently when the pressure hits.
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I use EMDR when an injury, past performance, difficult experience, or deeper belief continues to affect what happens now.
Instead of simply trying to think differently, we work with the experience at the level where it is still being held.
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We may also use visualization around performance, winning, and success.
Sometimes the nervous system needs practice not only imagining the challenge, but allowing success to feel safe too.
Therapy For Athletes With Results
The goal is to help your mind + body’s internal experience support what you’re trying to do externally.
AFTER WORKING TOGETHER, CLIENTS REPORT:
Increased peak performance
More energy
Enjoyment returning
More confidence
Less self-doubt
A clearer identity
Feeling less controlled by pressure
More capacity to switch off outside of performance
You’ve already learned how to train the outside.
Sometimes the next level comes from working on what’s happening inside.
About Me
Hi, I’m Julie.
I grew up as an athlete, and I understand what it’s like to do the internal work in order to change what happens externally.
Throughout my career, my clients have largely been top performers, athletes and driven people. I have more than 15,000 clinical hours, and at any given time about a third of my practice is made up of current or former athletes.
I understand the drive, the discipline, and the pressure that can come with being someone who expects a lot from themselves.
I also know this work from the inside.
I’ve done my own work around tying identity to performance, drive that was fueled by pressure, chronic tension patterns, and learning how to stay grounded while going after what I want.
I believe the best therapists continue doing their own work because we can only take clients as far as we’ve been willing to go ourselves.
My work combines Somatic Experiencing®, EMDR, neuroscience, subconscious pattern work, and years of clinical experience to help people create change beneath the surface.
Outside of therapy, I live in Fort Worth with my husband and our lab mix, Charlie.
I’m an outside girlie. I garden, walk along the river every day, boat, swim, and read a lot of biographies—especially about founders.
Education, Trainings, & Credentials
Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner
Three years of Somatic Experiencing® training
Texas Licensed Professional Counselor, License #72463
Practicing since 2013
15,000+ clinical hours
EMDRIA Certified Therapist™
Advanced EMDR Certification through EMDR International Association
Advanced coursework and professional training in neuroscience and subconscious patterning
Master of Arts in Professional Counseling, Amberton University
Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, Texas A&M University
4 Steps To Get Started
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RReach out and tell me a little about what’s happening with your performance, motivation, injury, or transition.
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We’ll talk about what’s bringing you in and whether my approach feels like the right fit.
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We’ll look at the performance issue in front of you and start identifying what may be happening underneath it.
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We’ll use Somatic Experiencing®, EMDR, visualization, and subconscious work to help you feel more confident, capable, and free in how you perform.