Sarah Dell, LPC
she/her
Wayne | Online
$205/session
Learn how to manage the pressure of being a student-athlete, build confidence that isn't dependent on your performance, and feel like yourself again both on and off the field.
You’re Really Good at Powering Through Pain
You know how to work hard. You know how to show up to practice when you're exhausted. You know how to keep going when you're frustrated, disappointed, or overwhelmed.
You're used to pushing through.
But lately, it feels like the pressure is getting harder to manage.
Maybe you're constantly thinking about your last performance. You replay the mistake you made over and over. You worry about what your coach thinks. You compare yourself to your teammates. You feel like you should be doing better, training harder, or performing at a higher level.
Maybe you're dealing with an injury or concussion and you're struggling with the uncertainty of not knowing when you'll feel like yourself again.
Maybe you've lost confidence in your abilities.
You know you're capable of more, but when you're actually in the moment, anxiety takes over. You freeze. You overthink. You get inside your own head.
And sometimes the pressure doesn't stay at practice.
You're trying to keep up with school. You're trying to maintain friendships. You're trying to meet your family's expectations. You're trying to take care of your body. And you're trying to figure out who you are outside of your sport.
Maybe you're struggling with depression, anxiety, perfectionism, disordered eating, or intense emotions that feel harder and harder to manage.
And underneath all of it is the fear that you're falling behind.
That you're not good enough.
That if you're not performing well, maybe you're not good enough at all.
You Don’t Have to Keep Pushing Through the Pressure
With the right support and skills, you can learn how to manage the mental and emotional demands of being a student-athlete without letting them take over your life.
Imagine being able to make a mistake without letting it ruin your entire day. Imagine walking into a competition feeling nervous but knowing how to manage those nerves. Imagine recovering from an injury without losing your sense of who you are. Imagine being able to handle pressure without turning it into self-criticism.
You can build confidence that doesn't disappear every time you have a bad game, a bad practice, or a setback.
You can learn how to manage intense emotions, navigate academic and athletic stress, and take care of yourself while still pursuing your goals.
You don't have to choose between being a successful athlete and taking care of your mental health.
You can do both.
Learn How to Handle the Mental Side of Being a Student-Athlete
You may have spent a long time trying to figure out why you can't just “get out of your head.” But when you're dealing with performance anxiety, perfectionism, injury, or intense pressure, simply telling yourself to be more confident doesn't make the thoughts and emotions disappear.
That's why I take a skills-based approach to helping student-athletes understand what's happening and learn what to do about it.
I'm Sarah Dell, a Licensed Professional Counselor with a focus on supporting student-athletes and high school and college students. Drawing on my background as an athlete and my experience working in the University of Pennsylvania's Sports Performance Department, I understand the unique demands that come with being a student-athlete.
I use a combination of CBT, ACT, and DBT skills to help athletes manage stress, regulate emotions, build effective coping strategies, and work toward their goals.
I've completed specialized training in DBT Skills for Athletes, allowing me to adapt these skills to the demands of sports and competition.
Because knowing a skill in therapy is one thing. Being able to use it when you're standing on the starting line, walking onto the field, sitting in the locker room after a bad game, or trying to fall asleep after replaying a mistake is something else.
We work on skills you can actually use in those moments.
I incorporate Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) when appropriate for athletes who feel stuck after an injury, difficult performance, or high-pressure experience. ART can help you process experiences that continue to affect your confidence, anxiety, or ability to perform so you can move forward.
And because you're more than an athlete, our work can also address what's happening outside of your sport.
I work with high school and college students experiencing depression, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, academic stress, perfectionism, executive functioning challenges, ADHD, and difficulties in relationships.
The goal isn't simply to help you become a better athlete. It's to help you become a more confident, capable person who can handle what life throws at you, whether you're competing or not.
Learn How to Build Confidence On and Off the Field
Working together, you will learn to:
Manage performance anxiety and nerves
Get out of your head when you're overthinking
Respond differently to mistakes and setbacks
Build confidence that isn't dependent on your performance
Manage perfectionism and unrealistic expectations
Handle pressure from coaches, parents, teammates, and yourself
Develop effective coping strategies for stress and intense emotions
Navigate injury and concussion recovery
Process difficult performances or experiences that continue to affect you
Develop a healthier relationship with food and your body
Balance academics, athletics, relationships, and your personal life
Strengthen your identity outside of your sport
Manage depression and anxiety
Build skills for navigating difficult relationships
Develop strategies for ADHD and executive functioning challenges
Actually use when the pressure is on
And you'll learn how to take care of yourself without giving up the things you care about.
Stop Beating Yourself Up Over Every Mistake
You don't have to keep telling yourself to try harder.
You don't have to wait until your anxiety gets worse. You don't have to wait until you completely lose confidence. You don't have to wait until an injury, bad performance, or overwhelming emotions start affecting every part of your life.
And you don't have to figure out how to manage the pressure on your own.
You can learn the skills now.
Learn How to Become a More Confident Student-Athlete
Build the skills to manage pressure, recover from setbacks, and feel confident in who you are both on and off the field.
Develop practical skills for performance anxiety, perfectionism, injury recovery, disordered eating, depression, anxiety, intense emotions, academic stress, relationships, and the unique pressures of being a student-athlete with a therapist who understands both the athlete and the person behind the performance.
Individual appointments are available at a rate of $205 per session at our Wayne location and online. Click below to get started.