Very Good Mind

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Very Good Mind We help athletes and high performers perform when it matters most by clearing the nervous system interference that disrupts confidence and ex*****on.

We take pride on focusing on each person and the unique problems they are facing. We will make every effort to meet our clients needs in therapy. We want both our therapist and our clients to be committed to the therapeutic process.

10/29/2026

A baseball player can make the same throw thousands of times, then suddenly struggle to make it reliably.

That's one of the frustrating realities of the throwing yips.

The player hasn't necessarily forgotten the skill. And telling them to relax, stop thinking, or practice harder may not address what's happening.

The yips can involve different factors.

Some athletes experience neurological movement difficulties. Others struggle with anxiety or become overly conscious of a throwing motion that once happened automatically.

For some, a distressing experience adds another layer.

An embarrassing error. A frightening moment. An experience that changes how the athlete feels when facing that same throw again.

When that happens, the athlete may need more than advice about confidence or concentration.

This is where EMDR offers a different way of working.

EMDR isn't simply sitting with a therapist and talking about what went wrong.

It uses a structured process, often involving guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation, to help process distressing memories and the emotional and physical responses connected to them.

And the athlete doesn't have to explain every detail of what happened.

EMDR doesn't treat neurological movement disorders, and it hasn't been established as a treatment for the throwing yips themselves.

But when distressing experiences contribute to anxiety surrounding a familiar skill, addressing those experiences may be an important part of the larger picture.

At Very Good Mind, we use EMDR to help athletes address psychological barriers that may be affecting their performance.

https://verygoodmind.com/the-yips/

10/27/2026

Sometimes criticism hurts because it doesn't feel like one criticism.

It feels like confirmation of something you've been hearing for years.

For many adults with ADHD, growing up meant being corrected for forgetting things, losing focus, interrupting, struggling to finish tasks, or appearing not to try hard enough.

Even when those difficulties were related to ADHD, the criticism could become personal.

Over time, distressing experiences may shape what someone expects from other people and what they believe about themselves.

A relatively ordinary comment from a partner, supervisor, or friend can then carry emotional meaning that extends far beyond the immediate conversation.

This doesn't mean every intense reaction to criticism is caused by past experiences. ADHD-related emotional dysregulation can also play an important role.

But when earlier experiences of humiliation, rejection, or inadequacy continue to influence someone's reactions, EMDR may offer another therapeutic direction.

EMDR helps address distressing experiences and the beliefs associated with them, rather than treating ADHD itself.

At Very Good Mind, we work with the psychological experiences that may still be influencing how someone responds to life today.

https://verygoodmind.com

10/22/2026

One mistake shouldn't have to define the rest of a young athlete's game.

But after a missed shot, bad throw, or turnover, something can change. They hesitate. Overthink. Avoid opportunities they'd normally take.

Sometimes they're no longer responding to the mistake they made. They're anticipating the one they're afraid of making next.

That fear can interfere with skills they've already developed.

When distressing performance experiences or feared future situations are contributing to this response, EMDR may offer a different therapeutic approach.

Very Good Mind works with athletes to address psychological barriers that interfere with performance.

https://verygoodmind.com

10/21/2026

How can an athlete with ADHD stay focused through an entire game but struggle to pay attention during practice?

It might look like they're choosing when to concentrate.

But ADHD doesn't work that way.

Attention regulation can change with the demands of a situation.

For some athletes, the excitement, movement, and immediate decisions involved in competition help keep them engaged.

Repetitive drills may be harder to sustain attention through.

For others, the opposite is true. Structured practice may feel manageable, while the unpredictability of competition creates additional challenges.

Neither pattern automatically tells us how hard an athlete is trying.

But there's another dimension worth considering.

What happens when an athlete repeatedly gets embarrassed or harshly criticized for struggling to concentrate?

Practice may gradually become associated with anxiety, shame, or fear of making another mistake.

Now the athlete may be dealing with more than an attention-regulation difficulty.

Improving attention isn't the same as addressing the experiences that have made a situation distressing.

ADHD-related attention difficulties deserve appropriate support. But when distressing experiences are also affecting the athlete, EMDR therapy may help address that additional psychological burden.

EMDR works with distressing memories and the emotions, beliefs, and physical responses connected to them.

It incorporates guided eye movements or other forms of bilateral stimulation as part of a broader therapeutic process, without requiring athletes to recount every detail of what happened.

EMDR doesn't treat ADHD itself. It may be relevant when distressing experiences are contributing to anxiety or other psychological barriers alongside ADHD.

At Very Good Mind, we use EMDR to help athletes address psychological barriers that may be affecting their performance.

https://verygoodmind.com

10/15/2026

You've put in the hours. You've practiced the skills. You know what you're capable of.

So why does anxiety show up before competition?

Pre-competition nerves are normal. The anticipation of performing can bring increased energy, alertness, and physical tension, and those sensations aren't necessarily a problem.

But sometimes, the anxiety feels bigger than the situation seems to warrant.

For some athletes, that response may be connected to an earlier experience.

A frightening moment during competition. A humiliating experience. Something that happened when the stakes were high and left a lasting emotional impression.

The athlete may have moved forward. Their technique may have improved. Their preparation may be better than ever.

Yet the anticipation of competing can still bring up anxiety associated with what happened before.

**Physical preparation and emotional readiness aren't always the same thing.**

And when distressing experiences are contributing to performance anxiety, more practice may not address the source of that response.

EMDR therapy offers a way to work with those experiences and the emotional responses associated with them.

Not every athlete who feels nervous before competition needs therapy. But when anxiety is connected to distressing experiences that continue to influence performance, there's another avenue worth considering.

At Very Good Mind, we use EMDR to help athletes address psychological barriers that may be interfering with their performance.

https://verygoodmind.com

10/14/2026

ADHD doesn't just affect attention. For many adults, it also makes emotional regulation more difficult.

Frustration can escalate quickly. A relatively ordinary setback can feel overwhelming. And even when someone recognizes that their reaction is intense, knowing that doesn't necessarily make the emotion easier to regulate.

But there's another distinction worth considering.

Not every emotional reaction someone experiences is necessarily explained by ADHD alone.

Distressing experiences can influence how we respond to situations in the present. Sometimes, a reaction involves both the emotional regulation difficulties associated with ADHD and the effects of experiences that have made particular situations especially distressing.

This is where EMDR may offer an additional therapeutic approach.

EMDR doesn't treat ADHD itself. But when past experiences are contributing to emotional distress, EMDR can help address those experiences and their associated responses.

At Very Good Mind, we look beyond the immediate reaction to understand what may be contributing to it.

https://verygoodmind.com

10/08/2026

A talented student athlete with ADHD can have the skills, the coaching, and effective ADHD support, yet still struggle with inconsistent performance.

Attention isn't the only factor.

Emotional regulation can influence what happens during competition, particularly when pressure or distressing experiences are part of the picture.

EMDR offers another direction worth considering when experience-related emotional responses are interfering with performance.

Very Good Mind helps athletes investigate what's getting in the way and whether EMDR may be appropriate.

https://verygoodmind.com

10/06/2026

A bad performance can end without its influence ending with it.

Someone can understand perfectly well that yesterday's mistake, freeze, loss, or difficult performance is over and still respond differently the next time the stakes rise.

That's because previous experience can influence what the nervous system expects next.

At Very Good Mind, we work with athletes and high performers when experiences from previous performances, injuries, mistakes, or other high-pressure moments continue interfering with what they are able to access in the present.

Performance-focused EMDR can address experiences and nervous-system responses that may still be influencing what happens when it matters.

10/02/2026

An athlete can know they're good and still stop performing like they trust it.

That distinction matters.

Confidence is often treated as something an athlete needs to rebuild through encouragement, positive thinking, or proof that they still have the ability.

But sometimes the athlete already has the proof.

What changed was what happened around the ability: an injury, a painful mistake, a humiliating performance, or another experience the nervous system learned from.

Very Good Mind works with athletes when experiences like these continue influencing confidence and performance in the present.

Performance-focused EMDR can address what is interfering with an athlete's ability to perform with the freedom and confidence they once had.

verygoodmind.com

09/24/2026

One of the strangest things about the baseball throwing yips is that difficulty doesn't always behave logically.

A player can make the harder throw and struggle with the easy one.

That matters.

When a skill is clearly there but something begins interfering with the ability to access it automatically, more mechanical correction or more repetition may not address everything that is happening.

Very Good Mind works with athletes dealing with the yips and other performance problems that persist even when the athlete already knows how to perform the skill.

Performance-focused EMDR can address experiences and nervous-system responses that may still be influencing what happens in the present.

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1317 Edgewater Drive #6545
Orlando, FL
32804

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 8am - 6pm
Wednesday 8am - 6pm
Thursday 8am - 6pm
Friday 8am - 6pm

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