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 Evanston athletes master focus, manage pressure, and compete with confidence.
Mental health is health. In a city the size of Evanston — home to roughly 76,000 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: Dense urban and inner-suburban life: winter darkness, transit or expressway commutes, and high-pressure careers. The old in-office version meant campus or downtown parking hunt. Athlete/Sports Performance does not erase that — it gives Evanston 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 Evanston, you are in the right place — it is all part of the athlete/sports performance care we provide to Illinois residents.
So what does getting help actually involve?
You're Not Alone in Evanston
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many Evanston 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.
The good news is that none of this is permanent.
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.
Your therapist builds a plan around your goals, not a generic script. Progress is reviewed together, sessions are scheduled around your week, and the work adapts as you do. Most Evanston community members notice meaningful change within a few short weeks.
Booking is simple: choose a time that works, complete a brief intake, and meet your Illinois-licensed clinician by video. No referrals to chase, no parking to find — just focused care from wherever you are in Evanston.
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.
The good news is that none of this is permanent.
The Difference Online Athlete/Sports Performance Makes
Here is what Evanston community members gain when they start athlete/sports performance with us:
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.
Your schedule, respected
Early morning. Lunch break. After the kids are asleep. We offer flexible hours because life doesn't pause for therapy.
Therapy from your couch, car, or closet
No commute. No waiting room. No judgmental receptionist. Log in from wherever you feel safe and comfortable.
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.
There is a clear path forward from here.
Why Our Approach Works
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.
Credentials matter here. Every clinician serving Evanston is fully licensed in Illinois and trained in the approaches best suited to athlete/sports performance — so you are getting genuine expertise, not guesswork.
Telehealth is not a compromise. Research consistently shows online therapy is as effective as in-person care for most concerns, and Evanston community members get the added benefit of consistency: it is far easier to keep an appointment you can attend from anywhere.
The good news is that none of this is permanent.
Local Roots, Online Convenience
Because care is delivered online, your location in Evanston is never a barrier. Northwestern students and faculty, lakefront families, and North Shore professionals.
Empower You Experts serves all of Evanston and the wider Illinois area. A lakefront college city. Academic pressure, high housing costs, and a CTA/Metra mash-up that still makes a midday session a project.
With roughly 76,000 people calling Evanston home, the need for accessible mental health care has never been greater. Empower You Experts helps meet it, one session at a time.
And this is where the difference really shows.
Online Athlete/Sports Performance vs. Traditional In-Office Visits
Some people worry that video sessions feel less personal. In practice, most Evanston community members find the opposite — being in their own space helps them open up faster and feel more at ease.
Think about the Cook 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.
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 Evanston schedule.
The good news is that none of this is permanent.
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.
Between sessions, you leave with something small enough to actually do. The work is supposed to live in Evanston, not only inside a 50-minute window.
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
Evanston athletes from high-school to adult-league who are choking, spiraling, or losing the love of the game.
Results only matter if they last — which is why the next part matters.
Illinois Telehealth Rules, Plainly
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 is exactly where athlete/sports performance comes in.
What to Know About Athlete/Sports Performance in Evanston
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 Evanston 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 Evanston?
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 Evanston 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 Evanston 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 Evanston, 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 Evanston 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 Evanston 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 Evanston 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 Evanston — 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 Evanston 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 Evanston 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.