Why this page exists
Performance is as much mental as physical. Sports performance therapy helps Aurora athletes master focus, manage pressure, and compete with confidence.
The difference between good and great often lives between the ears. Mental performance coaching gives Aurora athletes the tools to stay composed, motivated, and resilient.
Skills: attention, pre-performance routines, recovery after a bad outing without a character assassination.
Mental health is health. In a city the size of Aurora — home to roughly 180,000 people — countless neighbors quietly wrestle with the same things you do. Athlete/Sports Performance is how many of them are finally turning the corner.
Here is the local load, named without a brochure: Fox River manufacturing and Chicago-commuter households splitting factory shifts and office days. The old in-office version meant the I-88 toll-road commute. Athlete/Sports Performance does not erase that — it gives Aurora clients a licensed place to stop carrying it alone.
Whether you have been searching for athlete therapy, sports performance coaching, or mental coaching for athletes in Aurora, you are in the right place — it is all part of the athlete/sports performance care we provide to Illinois residents.
Let's look at how that plays out.
The Signs That Bring People to Athlete/Sports Performance
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many Aurora clients, it sounds something like this:
Your mind is your biggest competitor?
You've trained your body to peak performance. But the mental game? That's where you're losing. Performance anxiety, self-doubt, and pressure are stealing your edge.
That brings us to the part most people wonder about.
How Online Athlete/Sports Performance Actually Works
Performance work blends sport psychology with practical mental skills — visualization, focus, pressure management, and recovery from setbacks — tailored to your sport and your goals.
There is no one-size-fits-all here. Your clinician draws on proven, evidence-based methods and tailors them to you, checking in regularly to make sure the approach is working and adjusting when it needs to.
The process is collaborative, not clinical-feeling. Your therapist asks, listens, reflects, and offers practical tools you can use between sessions — so the work continues even after you log off.
After the free consultation, most clients begin weekly sessions. As you build momentum and skills, you and your clinician may space sessions out — the goal is always lasting change, not endless appointments.
And it is more accessible than most Aurora clients expect.
What You Gain From Athlete/Sports Performance
Here is what Aurora clients gain when they start athlete/sports performance with us:
What happens in therapy stays in therapy
HIPAA-compliant, encrypted, and completely confidential. Your private life stays private.
Licensed experts with 25+ years of experience each
Illinois-licensed experts serving the Chicagoland area and beyond.
Your schedule, respected
Early morning. Lunch break. After the kids are asleep. We offer flexible hours because life doesn't pause for therapy.
No insurance games, no surprise bills
Straightforward self-pay pricing. You know exactly what you're paying before you book. No claims, no denials, no drama.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
Why Telehealth Delivers Real Results
Decades of research back what we do. Modalities like CBT, mindfulness-based approaches, and other evidence-based methods are not buzzwords for us — they are the backbone of how we help Aurora clients get better.
Care should match your reality. That is why our Illinois clinicians prioritize fit, flexibility, and follow-through — the things that actually keep people in therapy long enough to see results.
Credentials matter here. Every clinician serving Aurora is fully licensed in Illinois and trained in the approaches best suited to athlete/sports performance — so you are getting genuine expertise, not guesswork.
Results only matter if they last — which is why the next part matters.
Serving Aurora and the Surrounding Area
No matter which part of Aurora you call home, the same standard of care follows you. We proudly serve Aurora clients across Downtown Aurora, Fox Valley, Eola, Oakhurst, and beyond.
Our Illinois clinicians understand the rhythm of life here. Fox Valley working families and Chicago-commuter households.
With roughly 180,000 people calling Aurora home, the need for accessible mental health care has never been greater. Empower You Experts helps meet it, one session at a time.
Here is why that matters for you.
Online Athlete/Sports Performance vs. Traditional In-Office Visits
Think about the Kane County commute, the parking, the time carved out of an already-full day. Online athlete/sports performance gives all of that time back to you while delivering the same evidence-based care.
Some people worry that video sessions feel less personal. In practice, most Aurora clients find the opposite — being in their own space helps them open up faster and feel more at ease.
The best therapy is the therapy you actually attend. By meeting you where you are, online athlete/sports performance in Aurora removes the friction that causes so many people to cancel, delay, or never start.
That brings us to the part most people wonder about.
What Happens in a Athlete/Sports Performance Session
Pre-performance routines and attention skills.
Recovery after a bad outing without a character assassination.
Clinical therapy when anxiety or depression is wearing a jersey.
Named clinicians matter here: Dr. Lisa Lavella, PsyD, BC-TMH and Christina Liakopoulos, LCSW, BC-TMH are not a rotating intern pool. You keep a person, not a matching algorithm.
We review progress in language you can feel — sleep, conflict, panic frequency, follow-through — not a vague “how was your week.” If a method is not moving the needle for Aurora clients, we change it.
Who this is for
Aurora athletes from high-school to adult-league who are choking, spiraling, or losing the love of the game.
And it is more accessible than most Aurora clients expect.
Why Licensure Is Not a Fine Print Line
Illinois-licensed clinicians may provide telehealth to clients who are physically located in Illinois during the session. That is the legal line — not a slogan. Empower You Experts will not see you for athlete/sports performance unless you are physically in Illinois during the session.
Dr. Lisa Lavella, PsyD, BC-TMH (Arizona and Illinois) and Christina Liakopoulos, LCSW, BC-TMH (Arizona, Illinois, and Indiana) are named clinicians, not a rotating intern pool. Credentials are on the about pages. We do not invent board affiliations.
That brings us to the part most people wonder about.
What Aurora clients Ask Most
Is sports performance work only for elite athletes?
No. High-school, college, adult-league, and professional athletes all choke, spiral, or lose the love of the game. Mental performance work in Aurora covers focus, pressure, injury identity, and the anxiety that shows up as a missed free throw or a tight chest before a start. It is not a pep talk. It is skills — visualization, attention, recovery after a bad outing — plus therapy when the block is bigger than sport.
Do you have a therapy office in Aurora?
Our home office is real: 20715 North Pima Road, Suite 108, Scottsdale, Arizona 85255. We do not invent a storefront in every city on this site. Athlete/Sports Performance for Aurora residents is licensed Illinois telehealth — you meet by secure video while you are physically in Illinois. That is a service-area practice, not a fake local clinic. If you need the address for records or a map pin, it is North Scottsdale. It is not a Aurora waiting room we pretended to open so a page would rank. The clinician is named. The license is the state you sit in during the session.
Are your therapists actually licensed to treat people in Illinois?
Yes. Telehealth is licensed by the state where you are sitting during the session, not by the city on the URL. Dr. Lisa Lavella, PsyD, BC-TMH is licensed in Arizona and Illinois. Christina Liakopoulos, LCSW, BC-TMH is licensed in Arizona, Illinois, and Indiana. If you live in Aurora, you simply need to be physically in Illinois when we meet. We do not “see” clients in states where we are not licensed, and we will not pretend a video call erases that rule. The free consult is also where we confirm fit, timing, and whether self-pay or an accepted plan makes sense for you.
Who would I actually work with for athlete/sports performance?
Dr. Lisa Lavella, PsyD, BC-TMH (Arizona and Illinois) and Christina Liakopoulos, LCSW, BC-TMH (Arizona, Illinois, and Indiana). They are named clinicians with decades of practice — not a matching engine and not a new intern every month. The free consult is how you meet the person, ask about athlete/sports performance, and decide if the fit is right. Credentials live on the about pages. We will not hide behind a brand voice when you deserve a human being. If the pairing is wrong, we would rather say so than keep a mismatched hour.
Is online athlete/sports performance in Aurora as real as sitting in an office?
For most of the concerns we treat, the research says yes — outcomes track the relationship and the method, not the waiting room. What changes in Aurora is logistics. You skip the commute, the parking, and the “who saw me walk in” problem. Sessions run on encrypted, HIPAA-compliant video. You still get a named clinician, a plan you both can explain, and homework that lives in your actual week. If video is a poor fit (safety, technology, or preference), we will say so in the consult rather than force a format that does not serve you.
Do you take insurance for athlete/sports performance in Illinois?
We are primarily a cash-pay practice and currently accept some insurance plans. Many clients in Aurora choose self-pay for privacy (sessions do not automatically hit a medical record the way a fully billed insurance episode can) and for simplicity — no surprise denials mid-treatment. We will tell you, before you commit, whether your plan is one we can bill and what a self-pay session costs. We do not advertise “we take everything” because that would be untrue. Call or use the consult form and we will be specific about fee, frequency, and whether a superbill is available. If money is the only barrier, say so in the consult; we would rather have an honest conversation than a bait-and-switch about coverage.
What actually happens in the first athlete/sports performance session?
The first session is an honest conversation, not an interrogation. We cover what brought you in, what you have already tried, how athlete/sports performance has (or has not) helped before, and what “better” would look like in your life in Aurora — sleep, work, relationships, the stuff you can feel. You will leave with a sense of the clinician, the pace, and whether the fit is right. There is no pressure to unload your whole history on day one. If it is not a fit, we would rather help you redirect than keep a mismatched pairing.
If I live in a smaller Aurora community, is this actually private?
Your sessions are protected by law and by ethics, with the usual mandated-reporting exceptions (risk of harm, abuse of a minor or vulnerable adult). Telehealth adds a practical privacy layer a storefront office cannot: nobody in Aurora watches you park at a clinic. You still need a closed door and headphones on your side. We use encrypted video. We will not discuss you in the grocery store, on a sideline, or in a Facebook group. If you share a house or a campus, we will help you plan a setting that is actually private — a parked car with a headset counts.