ABOUT

ABOUT ME

Welcome! I appreciate this chance to introduce myself.  My aim is to inform you about my work to help you in your search for a clinical sport performance therapist who optimally suits your needs.

I provide individual and team- based performance enhancement services to elite, professional and Olympic level athletes and coaches. While I occasionally work with amateur athletes, my passion and expertise lie with people at the professional or near professional level of sport. I have been in private practice since 2000 and have worked with athletes since my graduate internship at the University of Colorado-Boulder. For reference, I provided services for Garmin-Slipstream’s Men’s Professional Cycling Team (now EF-Nippo) from 2008-2010, helping them achieve their best Tour de France results to date. I am a contract employee for USA Cycling’s High-Performance Division and provide leadership consultation to team Directors at the highest level of professional cycling. Other sports with which I have extensive experience include but are not limited to: NHL, triathlon, MMA, track and field, ultra-running, equestrian events, and tennis. While having knowledge of any given sport can be helpful, it is the athlete who has the advanced degree in his/her sport. My expertise lies with helping you execute up to and beyond your perceived potential and in helping you navigate challenges that are likely to occur throughout the course of your athletic career. 

Accordingly, my approach focuses on creating a non-judgmental, inclusive, confidential space that encourages you to feel safe so that we can focus on your concerns. I work from a strength-based perspective, which allows us to consider how thoughts and behaviors may have served you and your athletic goals previously, but may not be helping you now. I am sensitive and proactive about addressing nuances and dynamics between one’s cultural upbringing and the culture in which one lives and performs. I utilize a wide variety of tools depending on your learning style and areas of concern. Most commonly, I blend psychodynamic theory, interpersonal theory, cognitive behavior theory, and mindfulness psychotherapy techniques. While looking at one’s past is often very helpful in understanding the present, my goal is to help you gain the necessary skills that help you consistently perform at your best and keep growing, personally and professionally. I am a strong advocate for professional athletes having a confidential place to be themselves, with the purpose of seeking personal and professional growth.

Being a high performing athlete is a very different kind of life with its own challenges and stressors. While improved performance is the most commonly expressed interest, there are many areas where support can be helpful, such as injury or retirement. You are welcome to browse pages here to see examples of services I provide and common topics within sport psychology. It is a privilege to work collaboratively with an athlete, often becoming part of his/her personal, professional team. 

Separately, I am a highly accomplished athlete in my own right, having raced bikes professionally (mtb, cx, road, track) for the better part of 20 years. I encourage you to glance at some of my more recent results here. 

While no sport psychologist can guarantee sport specific outcomes, my experiences have given me overwhelming joy from the sidelines as my clients thrive on and off the ice/field/mat/track/bike/trail/pool. 

I welcome your inquiry.

Julie Emmerman

Clinical Psychology, Psy.D. (Illinois School of Professional Psychology)
Sport Psychology Specialization
Heath Psychology Specialization
American Psychological Association, Member