Counselling that gives athletes, coaches, and teams a structured place to talk through pressure, communication, roles, and change in sport. Registered Psychologists and Registered Provisional Psychologists regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP). Registered Social Workers regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), Canadian Certified Counsellors (CCCs) certified by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA), Mental Health Therapists, and supervised Student Therapists. In person in Edmonton and St. Albert, with virtual appointments for people anywhere in Alberta.

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You Might Be Wondering Whether Sports Team Performance Counselling Is Right for You

You may not be sure that what is happening on your team is a counselling issue at all. Maybe it feels like ordinary friction from a long season, or something a good captain or coach should be able to sort out alone. You might also wonder whether reaching out says something about you, or about the team, that you would rather not admit.

Some people notice it in small ways first. You replay one mistake on the drive home and well into the next day. The dressing room starts to feel harder to walk into than the game itself. Or the group chat goes quiet, and people stop saying what they think when the coach is in the room.

These reactions make sense. Sport asks people to care a great deal, spend long hours together, and be judged in public, often while juggling school, work, and family. Strain under those conditions is a common human response. It is not proof that anyone is weak or that the team is broken.

Whether you are an athlete, a coach, or a parent reading on someone else's behalf, this page explains what this kind of counselling involves and what it does not do. You may wish to read on and see whether it fits what you are looking for.

Who We Help

This counselling may be a good fit for:

• Athletes who feel weighed down by pressure to perform, be selected, or keep their place on a team
• Coaches, captains, and team staff who want space to think through communication, expectations, or conflict within a group
• Teammates going through a change together, such as a new coach, a roster shake-up, or a move to a higher level of play
• Athletes adjusting to an injury, less playing time, being cut, or stepping away from sport
• Parents and caregivers looking for information or support for a young athlete
• Anyone trying to balance sport with school, work, family, and rest

This service may not be the right fit if:

• You or someone else is in immediate danger or crisis. Please use the crisis resources below.
• You need a report for a legal matter, a misconduct investigation, a selection appeal, or another formal dispute. Those needs fall outside this counselling service. Psychological assessments are offered as a separate service.
• You are looking for technical coaching, strength and conditioning, or treatment for a physical injury. A coach, physiotherapist, or physician is the right starting point for those.
• Someone's behaviour toward teammates involves violence, threats, or abuse. Counselling cannot replace your organization's safe sport or complaints process. Our admin team can talk with you about other services, such as anger management counselling, where that is relevant.

If You Need Help Right Now

Counselling is not designed for emergencies. If you or someone on your team is thinking about suicide, has been hurt, or is not safe, please contact one of these services:

• Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department if there is immediate danger
• Alberta Mental Health Help Line: 1-877-303-2642 (24/7)
• 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: call or text 988 (24/7)
• Kids Help Phone, for young people: call 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868 (24/7)

Wholesome Psychology is not an emergency or crisis service.

What Sports Team Performance Counselling Is

Sports team performance counselling is talk-based support for the emotional and relational side of sport. It can provide a structured setting for conversations about communication, expectations, roles, pressure, conflict, and transitions. Sessions might involve one athlete, a coach, a few teammates, or a larger group. The right format is something to talk through when you first reach out.

It helps to be clear about what this service does not do:

• It does not guarantee better results, selection, or team cohesion.
• It is not a legal service, an investigation, or a way to decide who is at fault in a team dispute.
• It is not crisis intervention or emergency care.
• It does not include psychological assessment or diagnosis. Assessments are a separate service.
• It does not replace coaching, sport medicine, or physiotherapy.

You set the pace. A therapist will not push you to talk about anything before you are ready, and you decide what to bring to each session. What you share is confidential, with some legal limits that your therapist will explain at the start (see Confidentiality and Privacy below). Each clinician works within the scope of their own training and professional regulation, and will tell you if a concern would be better served elsewhere.

You may also want to read about our Sports Performance Team Program and sports psychology counselling.

Signs Team and Performance Pressure May Be Affecting You

Pressure in sport does not always look dramatic. These are some patterns people describe:

• A knot of dread before practices or games that was not there before
• Replaying mistakes for hours or days after a game
• Holding back on the field, court, or ice because you are worried about being blamed
• Tension with teammates or coaches that never gets talked about directly
• Conversations that go quiet or turn sharp when certain people are in the room
• Sleep or appetite shifting around big games, tryouts, or selection decisions
• Losing the enjoyment that drew you to the sport in the first place
• Feeling unsure of your place on the team after an injury, a role change, or a new coach
• Finding it hard to switch off from sport at school, at work, or at home

Having some of these experiences does not mean something is permanently wrong with you or your team. They are common reactions to high expectations, close quarters, and constant evaluation. Structured conversations with a counsellor may offer a way to reflect on them and decide what you want to do next.

How Treatment Works Here

• Find your therapist. Use the Match with a Therapist tool or browse Our Therapists to read clinician profiles. If you are unsure, or you are arranging sessions for a team, our admin team can help at 780-904-4880.
• Book your first session. Your first appointment includes a conversation about consent, confidentiality, and what you hope to work on. If more than one person will take part, this is also when everyone talks through who is participating and how information will be handled. You can book online when you are ready.
• Build your plan together. You and your therapist shape a plan around your goals, not a set script. For a team, that may include agreeing on ground rules for respectful conversation.
• Ongoing sessions. Sessions are 50 minutes and usually happen weekly or every two weeks. Frequency can shift around your season, travel, and other commitments.
• Progress check-ins. Your therapist reviews how things are going with you along the way, and the plan changes as your needs change.

There is no fixed number of sessions. Counselling here is collaborative, and your view of what is helping matters at every stage. More detail is on our Getting Started with Therapy page.

Evidence and Approaches

Research on psychology and sport is still developing, and the research gathered for this page is limited. We would rather say that plainly than overstate it.

Psychological Interventions for Athletic Performance

What it helps with: This research looks at whether psychological approaches can support how athletes perform in competition.

Evidence summary: Psychological interventions intended to enhance athletic performance have been examined in a systematic review and meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine (Sports Medicine, n.d.). A systematic review gathers and appraises many studies on one question, so it carries more weight than a single study. The details available for this page do not include its findings, so no result is claimed here.

Limitations: Only a title-level record was available, without methods, effect sizes, or conclusions. It does not show that counselling will improve team results, cohesion, or an individual athlete's performance.

Why Other Approaches Are Not Summarized Here

Your clinician may draw on several counselling approaches, depending on their training and your goals. We have not summarized specific approaches on this page because the evidence gathered for it does not describe how they work for sports teams. Your therapist can explain the approach they suggest, why they suggest it, and what is known about it.

What Results to Expect

Progress in counselling is rarely a straight line. A team might have a few honest conversations, then hit a hard stretch after a loss or a selection decision. That is a normal part of the process, not a sign it has failed.

Some people notice a shift within weeks or months. Others benefit from longer-term work across a season or more. Outcomes vary, and they depend on things like:

• what is happening on the team and how long it has been going on
• who takes part, and how ready each person is to engage
• current pressures such as playoffs, tryouts, injury, or life outside sport
• the fit between you and your therapist

No form of counselling can guarantee a particular outcome, on the scoreboard or off it. If something is not working, you can raise it, adjust the approach, or change therapists. Fit matters, and asking for a change is a normal part of finding the right support.

Confidentiality and Privacy

What you share in counselling is confidential. Our psychologists are regulated by the College of Alberta Psychologists (CAP) and follow its standards of practice, along with the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. Other clinicians follow the standards of their own regulatory or certifying bodies.

Two Alberta laws protect personal and health information. The Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA) generally governs how private clinics such as ours collect, use, and disclose personal information. The Health Information Act (HIA) applies to health custodians, such as Alberta Health Services, and to the professionals who work on their behalf. Your therapist can explain which law applies to your records and how they are stored.

There are legal limits to confidentiality. A therapist may need to share information without your consent when:

• there is a risk of serious harm to you or someone else
• there is reason to suspect a child is being abused or neglected, which must be reported under Alberta law
• a court orders the release of records

Privacy in Team and Group Sessions

Team sessions add another layer. Your therapist is bound by confidentiality, but no clinician can guarantee that other participants will keep what is said in the room private. Before team or group work begins, everyone agrees on how information will be shared, including what, if anything, a coach, parent, or organization will be told. Nothing is passed to a coach or club without consent, unless one of the legal exceptions above applies.

Your therapist will go over all of this in your first session. You are welcome to ask questions about privacy before you share anything personal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to describe a bad game, a conflict, or a hard season in detail?

No. You decide what to share and when. Many people start with what is happening now, such as how practices feel or how the group is talking to each other, rather than going back over every detail. In team sessions, no one is asked to speak about something they are not ready to discuss.

Is what I share kept private, even from my coach or team?

Yes, within legal limits. Your therapist will not share what you say with a coach or club without your consent, except where there is a risk of serious harm, a concern about a child's safety, or a court order. For athletes under 18, your therapist will explain what parents or guardians may be told. In group sessions, the therapist cannot control what other participants repeat. The Confidentiality and Privacy section above has more detail.

How many sessions will I need?

There is no set number. Some people come for a few sessions around one concern, such as a difficult team conversation or a return from injury. Others prefer support across a whole season. You and your therapist review progress regularly and decide together whether to continue, pause, or change course.

What if the therapist is not the right fit?

That happens, and you are free to say so. Fit matters in counselling, and you can ask to see someone else at any time. Our admin team can help you find a different clinician without you having to explain more than you want to. New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

Can I have sessions online?

Yes. Virtual sessions are available for people anywhere in Alberta, which can help around travel, tournaments, and training schedules. The same confidentiality standards apply online as in person. Your therapist can talk with you about finding a private place to join from.

Can a whole team or coaching staff come in together?

Possibly. The right format depends on your goals, who wants to take part, consent from each participant, and whether a clinician feels group work is a good fit. Some concerns are better started one-on-one. Mention it when you contact us, and the admin team can talk through options.

Will counselling improve our results?

No one can promise that. Counselling cannot guarantee wins, selection decisions, team cohesion, or individual performance. What it can offer is a structured setting to talk through the pressures, relationships, and goals that come with sport, and to decide what you want to do about them.

What if I am being mistreated on my team or do not feel safe?

If you are in immediate danger, call 911. Counselling can be a place to talk about hazing, harassment, or mistreatment and to think through your options, but it is not an investigation and cannot stop what is happening on its own. Your sport organization's safe sport or complaints process is the formal route for reporting. If harm is happening at home, the Family Violence Info Line is available at 310-1818 (24/7, toll-free).

Meet Your Clinicians

Our team includes Registered Psychologists, Registered Provisional Psychologists, Registered Social Workers, Canadian Certified Counsellors, Mental Health Therapists, and Student Therapists. All of our psychologists are registered with the College of Alberta Psychologists. Registered Provisional Psychologists practise under the supervision of a senior registered psychologist. Registered Social Workers are regulated by the Alberta College of Social Workers (ACSW), and Student Therapists are master's-level practicum students who work under clinical supervision.

Clinicians' areas of focus vary. Each profile on Our Therapists describes the concerns that clinician works with, and the Match with a Therapist tool can help narrow your options. If you would like someone with experience in sport-related concerns, our admin team at 780-904-4880 can help you look.

Children and Youth

Many athletes are young, and pressure in sport can show up early. Wholesome Psychology offers counselling for children and youth, including support for adolescents. Clinicians who see younger clients adapt how sessions run to the young person's age and stage.

Parents and caregivers are often part of the picture, especially when a child's sport fills evenings, weekends, and family plans. Your clinician can talk with you about how you might be involved and how consent and privacy work for a young athlete. You may also find our Sports Performance Developmental Program page useful.

Taking the Next Step

If you would like to learn more, or talk through whether this service fits you or your team, you can:

• Book a session online
• Use the Match with a Therapist tool
• Call us at 780-904-4880
• Email info@wholesomepsychology.ca
• Read Getting Started with Therapy to see what to expect

Starting the conversation is enough.

New clients may access their first session at 50% off to help find the right therapeutic fit.

References

• Effects of psychological interventions to enhance athletic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. (n.d.). Sports Medicine.