The mental game is half the battle. But most athletes spend almost no time training it. We help you fix that.
Sport and performance psychology services for serious athletes, from elite competitors to those climbing toward the next level.
Ph.D., C.Psych. | Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist | Professional Member, Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CMPC) | Triple Board-Certified in Neurofeedback, Biofeedback & HRV-Biofeedback | Author, High Achievement Handbook Series | Featured in NBC News, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal & more
The vast majority of Olympic and professional athletes now work with a sport psychologist. Not because something is wrong with them, but because they understand that mental performance is the edge that separates good from great.
We work with serious athletes aged 12 and up across all sports and competition levels. From up-and-coming competitors to national, Olympic, and professional athletes. If you’re putting in the physical work but your mental game isn’t where it needs to be, that’s where we come in.
Common reasons athletes reach out to us:
- Performing below your training level when it counts
- Anxiety, self-doubt, or mental blocks affecting competition
- Difficulty bouncing back after a mistake or a losing streak
- Recovering from injury and struggling to regain confidence
- Wanting to take your mental performance to the same level as your physical training
In-person services are available at our Grimsby, Ontario office. Virtual sport psychology, mental skills training, and performance consulting is available to athletes and high performers worldwide. Virtual psychological services including assessment and treatment are available to Ontario residents.
We take a highly personalized approach. What we do goes beyond traditional mental skills training. It’s what Dr. Friesen calls Mental Fortitude training, a comprehensive, science-based framework developed through decades of clinical and performance psychology practice and detailed in his High Achievement Handbook series.
Every athlete we work with starts with a comprehensive assessment tailored to their specific goals and circumstances. Depending on your needs and location, your assessment may include:
- Detailed evaluation of your goals, values, personality, and performance patterns, including identifying beliefs and thinking patterns that may be operating below your conscious awareness
- Psychophysiological Stress Profiling — objective measurement of how your body responds to stress and pressure, including heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, and sweat response (in-person, Grimsby office)
- Quantitative EEG (qEEG) Brain Mapping — an advanced measure of your brain’s baseline activity. Among other things, it reveals whether your brain is wired toward anxiety, worry, and overthinking, or toward poor focus, low motivation, and sensation-seeking, or a combination of both. This kind of information fundamentally changes how we approach your mental training. (in-person, Grimsby office)
From there, we build a customized plan focused entirely on your goals. Our Mental Fortitude training framework draws on the most effective tools available, including:
- Evidence-based mental skills training — building the focus, confidence, composure, and motivation to perform consistently when it counts
- Cognitive Behavioral Hypnotherapy — a science-based tool for accelerating mental skills development and resolving performance blocks at a deeper level
- Neurofeedback and biofeedback — training your brain and nervous system directly, not just your thinking (in-person, Grimsby office)
For athletes based in Ontario, we also provide psychological assessment and treatment for mental health difficulties that may be affecting performance, including anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other psychological barriers that go beyond mental skills training.
Dr. Chris Friesen is one of a very small number of psychologists in Canada who combines full clinical neuropsychology training with professional sport and performance psychology practice. This matters because understanding how the brain actually works, not just behaviour and thought patterns, fundamentally changes what’s possible in your mental performance work.
Key credentials:
- Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, licensed Psychologist (C.Psych.) in Ontario
- Professional Member, Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CMPC)
- Clinical Neuropsychologist, one of the few in Canada also practicing sport psychology
- Triple Board-Certified by the BCIA in Neurofeedback, Biofeedback & HRV-Biofeedback, the first Canadian to hold all three certifications
- Advanced Certified Personal & Executive Coach (ACPEC)
- Author of the High Achievement Handbook series, including ACHIEVE: Find Out Who You Are, What You Really Want, and How To Make It Happen
- Featured in NBC News, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal, Runner’s World, Huffington Post, and Reader’s Digest
Contact us – reach out by phone or email and a member of our team will follow up to discuss your situation and determine whether our services are a good fit
Initial assessment – a comprehensive evaluation tailored to your goals and circumstances
Begin working together – a personalized plan built around what you specifically need to perform at your best
Services are private pay. Fees may be partially or fully covered by extended health benefits. Check with your provider.
If you’re serious about your performance and ready to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be, reach out and let’s talk.
