Why this page exists
Mental performance work is not only for elite athletes. High-school, college, adult-league, and professional athletes in Elmhurst all choke, spiral, or lose the love of the game.
Licensed in Illinois. Honest about when you need a clinician more than a coach.
The difference between good and great often lives between the ears. Mental performance coaching gives Elmhurst athletes the tools to stay composed, motivated, and resilient.
You deserve support that meets you where you are. Empower You Experts brings athlete/sports performance directly to Elmhurst residents through convenient, confidential telehealth sessions with clinicians who genuinely care about your progress.
Here is the local load, named without a brochure: High-achieving western suburbs, Metra schedules, and the quiet pressure of “this is supposed to be a great place to live.” The old in-office version meant York Street parking or I-290 delay. Athlete/Sports Performance does not erase that — it gives Elmhurst residents 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 Elmhurst, you are in the right place — it is all part of the athlete/sports performance care we provide to Illinois residents.
But understanding the problem is only half of it.
When It Feels Like Too Much
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many Elmhurst residents, 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.
And this is where the difference really shows.
The Case for Online Athlete/Sports Performance
The best therapy is the therapy you actually attend. By meeting you where you are, online athlete/sports performance in Elmhurst removes the friction that causes so many people to cancel, delay, or never start.
Traditional therapy means traffic, parking, time off work, and a waiting room. Online athlete/sports performance removes every one of those barriers while keeping the quality of care identical. For busy Elmhurst residents, that difference is what makes therapy sustainable.
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 Elmhurst residents choose it.
But understanding the problem is only half of it.
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.
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 Elmhurst.
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.
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.
And it is more accessible than most Elmhurst residents expect.
Tools We Use — Not Slogans
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.
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 Elmhurst residents, we change it.
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.
Who this is for
Elmhurst 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.
From Elmhurst to Every Corner of DuPage County
Empower You Experts serves all of Elmhurst and the wider Illinois area. A walkable DuPage downtown with university energy and Metra platforms. Looking “put together” is a local sport.
Our Illinois clinicians understand the rhythm of life here. DuPage families, university-community households, and commuters.
We are proud to serve residents throughout DuPage County, from the center of Elmhurst out to the surrounding communities. Wherever you are, quality athlete/sports performance is within reach.
Let's look at how that plays out.
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.
Results only matter if they last — which is why the next part matters.
The Difference Online Athlete/Sports Performance Makes
Here is what Elmhurst residents gain when they start athlete/sports performance with us:
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.
Zero judgment, 100% acceptance
Bring your mess. Your secrets. Your shame. This is a space where you can be fully human without fear of rejection.
Therapy from your couch, car, or closet
No commute. No waiting room. No judgmental receptionist. Log in from wherever you feel safe and comfortable.
Your schedule, respected
Early morning. Lunch break. After the kids are asleep. We offer flexible hours because life doesn't pause for therapy.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
What to Know About Athlete/Sports Performance in Elmhurst
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 Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst?
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 Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst, 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 Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst — 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 Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst 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.