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.
Licensed in Arizona. Honest about when you need a clinician more than a coach.
When the weight gets heavy, the right help changes everything. For Yuma community members, athlete/sports performance from Empower You Experts means experienced, Arizona-licensed care delivered with compassion and convenience.
Here is the local load, named without a brochure: Agricultural seasons, military families, and summer heat that keeps people indoors for months. The old in-office version meant drive across town in 110-degree heat for an appointment. Athlete/Sports Performance does not erase that — it gives Yuma 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 Yuma, you are in the right place — it is all part of the athlete/sports performance care we provide to Arizona residents.
Let's look at how that plays out.
Naming What You Are Going Through
Before anything changes, it helps to name what you are carrying. For many Yuma 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.
So what does getting help actually involve?
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.
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.
After the free consultation, most clients begin weekly sessions. As you build momentum and skills, you and your clinician may space sessions out — the goal is always lasting change, not endless appointments.
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 Yuma.
And this is where the difference really shows.
The Difference Online Athlete/Sports Performance Makes
Here is what Yuma community members gain when they start athlete/sports performance with us:
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.
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.
That brings us to the part most people wonder about.
Why Telehealth Delivers Real Results
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.
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.
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.
And this is where the difference really shows.
Local Roots, Online Convenience
Empower You Experts serves all of Yuma and the wider Arizona area. A border-agriculture and Marine Corps city with brutal summers and a specialist market that has always been thin for the population.
We are proud to serve community members throughout Yuma County, from the center of Yuma out to the surrounding communities. Wherever you are, quality athlete/sports performance is within reach.
With roughly 100,000 people calling Yuma home, the need for accessible mental health care has never been greater. Empower You Experts helps meet it, one session at a time.
But understanding the problem is only half of it.
The Case for Online Athlete/Sports Performance
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 Yuma schedule.
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 Yuma community members, that difference is what makes therapy sustainable.
Telehealth also widens your options. Instead of choosing from whoever happens to be nearby, you are matched with a clinician licensed in Arizona who genuinely specializes in what you need.
So what does getting help actually involve?
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.
Licensure is the floor. You must be physically in Arizona during the session. We will not pretend a video call erases a state line.
Between sessions, you leave with something small enough to actually do. The work is supposed to live in Yuma, not only inside a 50-minute window.
Who this is for
Yuma athletes from high-school to adult-league who are choking, spiraling, or losing the love of the game.
But understanding the problem is only half of it.
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.
And it is more accessible than most Yuma community members expect.
What Yuma 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 Yuma 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 Yuma?
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 Yuma 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 Yuma 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 Yuma, 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 Yuma 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 Yuma 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 Yuma 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 Yuma — 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 Yuma 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 Yuma 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.