Why this page exists
Licensed in Illinois. Honest about when you need a clinician more than a coach.
Skills: attention, pre-performance routines, recovery after a bad outing without a character assassination.
Mental performance work is not only for elite athletes. High-school, college, adult-league, and professional athletes in Normal all choke, spiral, or lose the love of the game.
Reaching out for athlete/sports performance is one of the most courageous things you can do — and in Normal, Illinois, you can now do it without leaving home. Empower You Experts connects Normal locals with licensed clinicians who deliver athlete/sports performance entirely online.
Here is the local load, named without a brochure: Insurance-headquarters culture and a twin-city college town (Bloomington–Normal). The old in-office version meant Uptown or campus parking for a 50-minute session. Athlete/Sports Performance does not erase that — it gives Normal locals 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 Normal, you are in the right place — it is all part of the athlete/sports performance care we provide to Illinois residents.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
From First Call to 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 Normal locals notice meaningful change within a few short weeks.
You stay in the driver seat the whole way. You decide the pace, you help shape the goals, and your therapist provides the structure, tools, and accountability to keep you moving forward.
Confidentiality is built in from the start. Sessions run on encrypted, HIPAA-compliant software, and what you share stays between you and your Illinois-licensed therapist, exactly as it should.
And this is where the difference really shows.
The Real Payoff of Athlete/Sports Performance
Here is what Normal locals gain when they start athlete/sports performance with us:
Your schedule, respected
Early morning. Lunch break. After the kids are asleep. We offer flexible hours because life doesn't pause for therapy.
What happens in therapy stays in therapy
HIPAA-compliant, encrypted, and completely confidential. Your private life stays private.
Therapy from your couch, car, or closet
No commute. No waiting room. No judgmental receptionist. Log in from wherever you feel safe and comfortable.
Licensed experts with 25+ years of experience each
Illinois-licensed experts serving the Chicagoland area and beyond.
And this is where the difference really shows.
Methods Normal locals Can Feel
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 Normal locals, we change it.
Methods are not a menu of buzzwords. For athlete/sports performance, we pick tools that match the problem — cognitive work, skills you can use the same day, and a relationship honest enough to tell you when something is not working.
Who this is for
Normal athletes from high-school to adult-league who are choking, spiraling, or losing the love of the game.
That brings us to the part most people wonder about.
Who Can Legally See You in Normal
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.
And this is where the difference really shows.
Online Athlete/Sports Performance vs. Traditional In-Office Visits
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 Normal locals choose it.
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 Normal locals, that difference is what makes therapy sustainable.
Some people worry that video sessions feel less personal. In practice, most Normal locals find the opposite — being in their own space helps them open up faster and feel more at ease.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
Your Normal Connection to Athlete/Sports Performance
Because care is delivered online, your location in Normal is never a barrier. ISU students and faculty, Uptown households, and McLean County families.
From Uptown Circle to the neighborhoods you call home, Normal locals can connect with a licensed therapist without crossing town. We proudly serve Normal locals across Uptown Normal, ISU campus, Hovey, One Normal Plaza, and beyond.
Living near Uptown Circle or out toward the edges of McLean County makes no difference to the quality of your sessions — online athlete/sports performance reaches every corner equally.
Here is why that matters for you.
Why Telehealth Delivers Real Results
Credentials matter here. Every clinician serving Normal 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 Normal locals get the added benefit of consistency: it is far easier to keep an appointment you can attend from anywhere.
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.
That is exactly where athlete/sports performance comes in.
Naming What You Are Going Through
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many Normal locals, 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.
There is a clear path forward from here.
Before You Begin: FAQs
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 Normal 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 Normal?
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 Normal 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 Normal 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 Normal, 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 Normal 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 Normal 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 Normal 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 Normal — 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 Normal 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 Normal 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.