Why this page exists
If the block is bigger than sport — panic, depression, an identity that only exists in the jersey — we treat that as therapy, not a pep talk.
Skills: attention, pre-performance routines, recovery after a bad outing without a character assassination.
Performance is as much mental as physical. Sports performance therapy helps DeKalb athletes master focus, manage pressure, and compete with confidence.
Something brought you here today, and that matters. Whether it is a long-standing struggle or a recent shift you cannot quite shake, athlete/sports performance in DeKalb gives you a confidential place to work it through with someone qualified to help.
Here is the local load, named without a brochure: A college-and-corn-country mix: NIU pressure plus agricultural family life. The old in-office version meant Annie Glidden parking or an I-88 drive to the suburbs. Athlete/Sports Performance does not erase that — it gives DeKalb community members 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 DeKalb, you are in the right place — it is all part of the athlete/sports performance care we provide to Illinois residents.
Here is why that matters for you.
What's Really Going On Beneath the Surface
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many DeKalb community members, 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.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
What to Expect From Your First Session
Performance work blends sport psychology with practical mental skills — visualization, focus, pressure management, and recovery from setbacks — tailored to your sport and your goals.
It starts with a free consultation — a no-pressure conversation to understand what you are facing and whether we are the right fit. From there, you are matched with a clinician licensed in Illinois who specializes in athlete/sports performance.
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.
Every session happens over secure, HIPAA-compliant video. You log in from wherever you feel safe — your living room, your parked car, a quiet corner of the house — and your therapist meets you there. No waiting rooms, no commute across DeKalb.
Here is why that matters for you.
What You Gain From Athlete/Sports Performance
Here is what DeKalb community members gain when they start athlete/sports performance with us:
Therapy from your couch, car, or closet
No commute. No waiting room. No judgmental receptionist. Log in from wherever you feel safe and comfortable.
Train your brain like you train your body
Mental performance coaching gives you the psychological edge. Visualization, focus, pressure management—the mental game makes champions.
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.
Licensed experts with 25+ years of experience each
Illinois-licensed experts serving the Chicagoland area and beyond.
Here is why that matters for you.
Real Experience, Real Results
There is no substitute for experience. The therapists behind Empower You Experts have spent years helping people through exactly what you are facing, and they bring that depth to every athlete/sports performance session.
Results come from relationship plus method. We pair proven clinical techniques with clinicians who actually connect with their clients, because the bond between you and your therapist is one of the strongest predictors of success.
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.
So what does getting help actually involve?
From DeKalb to Every Corner of DeKalb County
We are proud to serve community members throughout DeKalb County, from the center of DeKalb out to the surrounding communities. Wherever you are, quality athlete/sports performance is within reach.
From Northern Illinois University to the neighborhoods you call home, DeKalb community members can connect with a licensed therapist without crossing town. We proudly serve DeKalb community members across Downtown DeKalb, NIU campus, Greek Row, Annie Glidden, and beyond.
With roughly 40,000 people calling DeKalb home, the need for accessible mental health care has never been greater. Empower You Experts helps meet it, one session at a time.
Results only matter if they last — which is why the next part matters.
Why DeKalb community members Are Choosing Telehealth
For parents, caregivers, shift workers, and anyone short on time, online athlete/sports performance is often the only version of therapy that actually fits. That accessibility is exactly why so many DeKalb community members choose it.
There is no waiting room and no drive home afterward. You finish a session and step right back into your day, which makes online athlete/sports performance far easier to weave into a busy DeKalb schedule.
In-office visits ask you to rearrange your life around an appointment. Telehealth athlete/sports performance does the opposite — it fits into the life you already have. The therapeutic relationship is just as real; only the commute disappears.
That is exactly where athlete/sports performance comes in.
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.
DeKalb community members do not need another article about self-care. They need a plan they can explain to themselves on a Tuesday: what we are targeting, why, and how we will know it moved.
Licensure is the floor. You must be physically in Illinois during the session. We will not pretend a video call erases a state line.
Who this is for
DeKalb athletes from high-school to adult-league who are choking, spiraling, or losing the love of the game.
Here is why that matters for you.
Credentials That Actually Matter
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.
There is a clear path forward from here.
What DeKalb community members 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb?
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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb, 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb — 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 DeKalb 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 DeKalb 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.