Brook Choulet, MD: The Performance Psychiatrist

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Brook Choulet, MD: The Performance Psychiatrist Brook Choulet, M.D. is a board-certified concierge psychiatrist specializing in sports & performance.

10/19/2026

“Next shot mentality” is intended to help a basketball player release a miss. But for some athletes, it moves attention from the past directly into the future.

The next shot has not happened yet. It may not even be yours.

When an athlete immediately begins thinking about their next attempt, they may also begin anticipating another miss:

“What if I miss again?”

“I need to make the next one.”

“I have to recover those points.”

The athlete is no longer replaying the previous shot, but their attention is still removed from the current possession.

Instead, return to what is happening now:

◻️ Feel your feet make contact with the court.
◻️ Notice your position on the court.
◻️ Take one deliberate breath.
◻️ Identify your immediate defensive or offensive responsibility.
◻️ Direct attention toward the teammate, movement, or decision in front of you.

This does not mean dwelling on the miss. It means releasing it without replacing it with anxiety about an outcome that has not occurred.

Performance Principle: Resetting after a miss begins with returning attention to the current possession.

The most effective response to a missed shot may not be “next.” It may be “now.”

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Unproductive worry doesn’t just feel draining. It takes up space you need for focus.After a loss, disappointing presenta...
10/16/2026

Unproductive worry doesn’t just feel draining. It takes up space you need for focus.

After a loss, disappointing presentation, or difficult conversation, it’s easy to replay the “would have, could have, should have” moments.

I encourage my patients to ask: “Am I worrying productively?”

The distinction is whether the worry helps you identify something you can address.

You cannot change an answer you already gave. You can examine where you struggled and prepare differently for the next conversation.

“What if I struggle with questions again?” can become a plan: “Before my next presentation, I’ll practice answering three challenging questions aloud with a colleague.”

After competition, the same approach might mean identifying a specific skill to work on at your next practice.

Taking action may not remove the worry entirely. It gives you a way to direct your energy toward preparation and improvement.

When you catch yourself replaying the same moment, ask: “Is this helping me decide what to do next?”

Performance Principle: Turn concerns you can address into specific actions you can practice.

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10/14/2026

Flow state is something you can train for.

You can practice creating the conditions that support deep concentration, fluid ex*****on, and immersion in the task.

Flow is the experience of becoming deeply immersed in an activity, with attention so focused that action feels fluid and the perception of time may change. Athletes may recognize it on the court or field; founders, creatives, and other high performers may experience it during uninterrupted, demanding work.

Researchers commonly describe nine characteristics associated with flow:

1️⃣ A balance between challenge and skill
2️⃣ Clear goals
3️⃣ Immediate, clear feedback
4️⃣ Complete concentration on the task
5️⃣ A merging of action and awareness
6️⃣ A sense of control
7️⃣ Reduced self-consciousness
8️⃣ An altered perception of time
9️⃣ An experience that feels intrinsically rewarding

To set the stage for flow, choose a task that challenges your current skills without overwhelming them. Define what you are trying to accomplish in the next stretch of work or play.

Reduce avoidable interruptions. Make feedback clear enough to guide your next adjustment. Keep your attention on the task rather than on how your performance might be judged.

Performance Principle: Protect the conditions that support immersion: meaningful challenge, clear direction, useful feedback, and sustained attention.

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Your secret weapon might be something you’ve been trying to eliminate.When I talk about stress and performance in my off...
10/14/2026

Your secret weapon might be something you’ve been trying to eliminate.

When I talk about stress and performance in my office, I often use the Yerkes-Dodson law to illustrate the relationship between the two.

Think of an inverted U-shaped curve. As activation increases, it can support performance. But when pressure becomes overwhelming, you can move beyond that productive range.

If you feel overly anxious or overwhelmed, adding more pressure may move you further from the state you need to perform well.

The question I explore is: How can we bring you back to a level of activation that supports your performance?

That level can look different for each person and situation. Recognizing your own patterns is a starting point.

◻️ What does manageable pressure feel like for you?
◻️ How do you recognize when it has become too much?
◻️ What helps you return to a more focused, engaged state?

These are the kinds of conversations we have in Performance Psychiatry®: understanding how your mental state affects your ability to perform.

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10/12/2026

The range offers repetition in a relatively controlled setting. The course introduces changing lies, club selection, consequences, delays between shots, score awareness, and the need to reset after a poor shot or decision.

If most of your practice removes those demands, your range performance may not transfer when they return.

On-course practice allows golfers to train:
◻️ Decision-making before each shot
◻️ Commitment without requiring certainty
◻️ Emotional recovery after mistakes
◻️ Attention during the time between shots
◻️ Pre-shot and post-shot routines
◻️ Ex*****on with real stakes and consequences

Technical work on the range remains valuable. But if the goal is to perform more effectively on the course, a meaningful portion of training must reflect the conditions experienced there.

Performance Principle: Practice transfers most effectively when it prepares you for the demands of actual performance.

Do not only train the swing. Train the decisions, attention, and recovery required to play the game.

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On Monday, January 18, the Training the Mind Series® returns to Los Angeles for our second annual LA Clippers gameday co...
10/09/2026

On Monday, January 18, the Training the Mind Series® returns to Los Angeles for our second annual LA Clippers gameday collaboration at Intuit Dome.

In partnership with PlaySafe USA, the American Board of Sports & Performance Psychiatry, and the American Psychiatric Association Foundation, we’re bringing mental health and performance conversations directly into the gameday experience.

Join me inside Court B, a private indoor basketball court within Intuit Dome, for a pregame experience bringing together leaders and community members around mental health, performance, and sport.

We’ll explore the psychological demands of high performance, the mental skills that support sustained success, and how to create environments where athletes can pursue excellence while prioritizing their well-being. There will also be time to connect, network, and shoot hoops before heading into the arena for the LA Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns game.

Participating nonprofit leaders will receive special on-court recognition during the evening, highlighting their work to advance mental health, athlete well-being, education, and performance.

◻️ January 18, 2027
◻️ Private Court B experience: 5:00–6:30 PM
◻️ Clippers vs. Suns tip-off: 7:30 PM

Your ticket includes the private pregame experience and game admission. Purchase through the designated Training the Mind Series® group ticket link to receive pregame access.

Featured speakers will be announced soon.

Tickets > Events page of my website (link in bio).

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10/07/2026

Compliments and criticism will continue to come. Neither should be given complete authority over how you see yourself.

Positive feedback feels validating. A harsh comment, disappointing review, or critical social media post can produce the opposite response. When confidence rises and falls according to how others perceive you, it remains dependent on circumstances you cannot control.

The objective is not to become unaffected by feedback. Constructive input can help athletes, leaders, and high performers identify opportunities to improve. But feedback should inform development, not define identity.

Begin by considering:
◻️ How do you define yourself when no one is evaluating you?
◻️ Which qualities and values remain consistent across success and failure?
◻️ What evidence of your preparation and growth can you rely on?
◻️ Can you receive a compliment without becoming dependent on it?
◻️ Can you evaluate criticism without allowing it to determine your worth?

Self-defined confidence is not inflated self-belief or immunity to criticism. It is the ability to maintain a stable understanding of who you are while deciding which feedback deserves your attention.

Performance Principle: Confidence becomes more durable when feedback informs your development without defining your identity.

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10/05/2026

Visualization can strengthen your performance before the swing begins, but simply selecting a target is not the same as mentally rehearsing the shot.

Looking down the fairway and deciding where you want the ball to land provides direction. Effective visualization takes the golfer further by mentally rehearsing how the shot will look, feel, and sound.

Before addressing the ball, rehearse the shot through multiple senses:

◻️ See the intended path of the ball.
◻️ Visualize where it will land and how it will respond.
◻️ Feel the tempo and movement of an effective swing.
◻️ Imagine the quality of contact at impact. ◻️ Hear the sound of the strike.
◻️ Rehearse yourself remaining composed and committed through ex*****on.

The objective is not to guarantee a perfect result. It is to give the mind and body a clear, intentional representation of the shot you are preparing to execute.

Mental rehearsal also does not replace technical practice. It strengthens the pre-shot process by directing attention toward the desired action rather than the mistake the golfer is trying to avoid.

Performance Principle: Visualization becomes more effective when you rehearse the experience of ex*****on, not only the desired destination.

Before addressing the ball, see the path, feel the swing, hear the contact, and commit to the shot.

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10/02/2026

Availability can expand until it occupies every hour you permit.

For many founders, creatives, and leaders, the workday begins when they reach for their phone at 6:00 a.m. It continues through the final email answered at 10:00 p.m.

Over time, responsiveness becomes the default. The first message of the morning starts the workday, the last request of the evening ends it, and the boundary between working and not working gradually disappears.

One of the clearest ways to interrupt that pattern is to establish personal working hours.

Define:

◻️ When your workday begins and ends
◻️ Which hours are designated for communication and response
◻️ What genuinely requires attention outside those hours
◻️ When you are unavailable, even if a message is waiting

The objective is not to become inaccessible. It is to prevent every request from receiving immediate access to your attention.

Performance Principle: Availability is most effective when it is intentional. Without defined limits, responsiveness can consume the time and capacity your work requires.

Your working hours should not be determined by the first and last messages you answer each day.

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10/02/2026

Growing a platform should reinforce the work that gives you something meaningful to share.

I was recently asked how to build a platform while also running a business. My starting point: keep the main thing the main thing.

For me, patient care is the foundation. The quality of that work remains my first priority as I build my platform.

From there, growth needs structure.

◻️ Define what progress actually looks like. “Grow my platform” is an intention. Writing three posts a week is a specific action you can plan for and follow through on.
◻️ Set milestones for both areas. Platform goals and business goals each need dedicated attention.
◻️ Give different types of work a place in your week. I dedicate two days to creative work and three to full-time patient care. Theming my days helps me focus on the work in front of me.

Your schedule may look different. The question is whether it makes room for what you want to build while protecting the work at the center of it.

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Address

7377 E Doubletree Ranch Road, Suite A-185
Scottsdale, AZ
85258

Telephone

+14806128985

Website

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