Why this page exists
Licensed in Arizona. Honest about when you need a clinician more than a coach.
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.
Performance is as much mental as physical. Sports performance therapy helps San Tan Valley athletes master focus, manage pressure, and compete with confidence.
You deserve support that meets you where you are. Empower You Experts brings athlete/sports performance directly to San Tan Valley locals through convenient, confidential telehealth sessions with clinicians who genuinely care about your progress.
Here is the local load, named without a brochure: One of the fastest-growing corridors in the country — new subdivisions, long drives into the Valley, and thinner local specialist supply. The old in-office version meant Hunt Highway drive into Queen Creek or Mesa. Athlete/Sports Performance does not erase that — it gives San Tan Valley 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 San Tan Valley, you are in the right place — it is all part of the athlete/sports performance care we provide to Arizona residents.
There is a clear path forward from here.
Naming What You Are Going Through
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many San Tan Valley 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.
The good news is that none of this is permanent.
Getting Started With Athlete/Sports Performance in San Tan Valley
Performance work blends sport psychology with practical mental skills — visualization, focus, pressure management, and recovery from setbacks — tailored to your sport and your goals.
Because everything is online, scheduling flexes with your life. Early mornings, lunch breaks, evenings after the Pinal County commute — your athlete/sports performance sessions fit the hours you actually have.
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 San Tan Valley.
Booking is simple: choose a time that works, complete a brief intake, and meet your Arizona-licensed clinician by video. No referrals to chase, no parking to find — just focused care from wherever you are in San Tan Valley.
The good news is that none of this is permanent.
What Changes When You Start Athlete/Sports Performance
Here is what San Tan Valley 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.
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
Arizona-licensed professionals with deep roots in the local mental health community.
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.
So what does getting help actually involve?
The Standard of Care You Deserve
Empower You Experts is built on experienced, licensed clinicians — not a rotating roster of the lowest bidder. Each therapist brings years of focused practice to athlete/sports performance, and every session is grounded in evidence-based methods.
Care should match your reality. That is why our Arizona 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 San Tan Valley is fully licensed in Arizona and trained in the approaches best suited to athlete/sports performance — so you are getting genuine expertise, not guesswork.
Here is why that matters for you.
Serving San Tan Valley and the Surrounding Area
With roughly 100,000 people calling San Tan Valley home, the need for accessible mental health care has never been greater. Empower You Experts helps meet it, one session at a time.
We are proud to serve locals throughout Pinal County, from the center of San Tan Valley out to the surrounding communities. Wherever you are, quality athlete/sports performance is within reach.
Our Arizona clinicians understand the rhythm of life here. Master-planned families in one of Arizona’s fastest-growing communities.
Here's what that looks like in practice.
Telehealth vs. the Drive Across San Tan Valley
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 San Tan Valley locals choose it.
The best therapy is the therapy you actually attend. By meeting you where you are, online athlete/sports performance in San Tan Valley removes the friction that causes so many people to cancel, delay, or never start.
Think about the Pinal 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.
That is exactly where athlete/sports performance comes in.
How We Actually Practice Athlete/Sports Performance
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 San Tan Valley locals, we change it.
San Tan Valley locals 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.
Who this is for
San Tan Valley athletes from high-school to adult-league who are choking, spiraling, or losing the love of the game.
So what does getting help actually involve?
Credentials That Actually Matter
Arizona authorizes telemental health when the clinician holds an Arizona license and the client is physically in Arizona at the time of 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 Arizona 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.
Let's look at how that plays out.
Frequently Asked Questions
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 San Tan Valley 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 San Tan Valley?
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 San Tan Valley residents is licensed Arizona telehealth — you meet by secure video while you are physically in Arizona. 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 San Tan Valley 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 Arizona?
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 San Tan Valley, you simply need to be physically in Arizona 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 San Tan Valley 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 San Tan Valley 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 Arizona?
We are primarily a cash-pay practice and currently accept some insurance plans. Many clients in San Tan Valley 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 San Tan Valley — 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 San Tan Valley 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 San Tan Valley 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.