Sports Performance Therapy in New York City
Depth-oriented therapy for athletes carrying the weight of performance — and everything tied to it.
I’m a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) offering private, in-person individual therapy on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and online across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. My work is psychoanalytically informed and skills-based — a place to understand the person underneath the athlete, and to get out of your own way when it counts.
Sports performance therapy — scope at a glance
Athletes & performers, any level
Performance anxiety · fear of failure · identity beyond sport · injury & transitions
Psychoanalytic · ACT/DBT/CBT skills · present-focused
New York (in person + online)
The pressure doesn't stay on the field.
When you’ve performed at a high level for a long time, your sense of who you are and how you perform get hard to separate. A bad stretch stops feeling like a slump and starts feeling like a verdict. Much of my practice is athletes and performers who recognize themselves in something like this:
- Performing worse the more it matters, and not knowing why
- A fear of failing — or of letting down coaches, teammates, family — that never fully quiets
- Not sure who you are outside your sport, especially when injured or facing the end of it
- Doing everything right in training, then freezing, overthinking, or disappearing in the moment
What the pressure does when the stakes are highest.
Some of what I see, again and again, in the athletes I work with:
Overthinking in the moment
Analysis where instinct used to be; getting in your own way when it counts.
Fear of failure
Performance fused to your worth, so every outcome feels like a referendum on you.
Who am I without it?
Identity so bound to the sport that injury or the end of it feels like losing yourself.
Carrying everyone's expectations
Coaches, teammates, family, fans — performing for all of them at once.
The slump that won't lift
Confidence gone, and the harder you grip, the worse it gets.
Off the field, still on
No off switch, and a self-worth that rises and falls with results.
Understanding the person, and freeing up the performer.
My work is psychoanalytically informed and depth-oriented. Performance problems are rarely only technical — underneath them are usually older patterns: fear of failure, a need to prove something, a sense of worth that got tied to results a long time ago. We slow down enough to understand what’s actually driving the pressure you feel, rather than only trying to push through it. Being closely witnessed there — the fear, the doubt, the weight of expectation — is often what lets its grip on your performance loosen.
Alongside that, we use practical, evidence-based tools drawn from ACT, DBT, and CBT — present-moment focus, working with anxious thoughts rather than fighting them, and staying connected to what you value under pressure. So much of high-level performance comes down to being fully in the moment instead of stuck in your head. A lot of what we do is building the capacity to drop back into the here and now when it matters most.
Clear about who this is — and isn't — for.
Being clear about scope helps the right clients find me, helps referral sources trust the fit, and keeps the work focused.
A good fit for
- Athletes and performers (18+) seeking depth-oriented individual therapy
- People whose sense of self has become fused with their sport and its results
- Those who want to understand the pressure and perform more freely, not only be coached through it
- Anyone navigating injury, a slump, or the transition out of competition
Not the right fit for
- Children or adolescents (I work with adults only)
- Anyone in crisis or needing urgent/emergency care
- Situations needing recent-hospitalization or higher-level care
- Court-mandated treatment or custody evaluations
- People looking primarily for sport-skills or performance coaching rather than therapy
What patients are saying on Zocdoc
See all reviews on Zocdoc →
Nicole Trister, LCSW
Sports performance therapy in New York — FAQ
Is this sports psychology or therapy?
Therapy, with an athlete’s world in mind. Traditional mental-performance coaching drills skills like visualization and pre-game routines; this goes underneath the performance to the fear, identity, and pressure driving it — using performance skills where they help. If what you want is purely technique work, a certified mental-performance coach may be the better fit. If the block is really about something deeper, this is likely the right room.
Can it actually help my performance?
Often, yes — but indirectly, and in a way that lasts. Much of what limits performance at a high level isn’t physical; it’s fear, overthinking, and pressure. Understanding and easing those tends to free up performance in a way that gripping harder never does. Being more fully in the moment, rather than in your head, is usually where the difference shows up.
What if my sport is my whole identity — and it's ending, or I'm injured?
That’s some of the most important work I do. When who you are has been fused to your sport, injury or retirement can feel like losing yourself. We work on reconnecting with the person underneath, so your sense of self rests on something a result, a season, or an injury can’t take from you.
Do you work with the pressure from family and coaches, too?
Yes. Often the heaviest weight isn’t the competition itself but everything attached to it — expectations from family, coaches, teammates, and the scrutiny that comes with performing publicly. We make room for all of it.
Can this stay genuinely private?
Yes. The practice is built around discretion, which matters when you compete publicly or are part of a team or program. There’s no waiting room, and consultations are held by inquiry.
If the mental game has been the missing piece, let's talk.
Consultations are held privately and by inquiry.