"Whenever you feel discouraged or defeated just remember your why" with Paige Roberts

Photo Credit: James Ritzman

Paige Roberts is a sports psychotherapist, athlete mental health advocate, and peak performance expert. She holds a degree in Exercise Science, a Master of Social Work, and has a Doctorate of Integrative Medicine. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, Certified Light Therapist, Certified Brain Health Practitioner, Certified Brainspotting Practitioner, and Consultant. Paige has a private practice (On Point Performance Neuro Training) where she specializes in helping athletes overcome life hardships, beat performance anxiety, recover fully from sports injuries or failures, and rebound from performance slumps or blocks so they can reach their full potential in sports and in life.

Can you tell our readers about your background?

I grew up in a small mountain town in Colorado with my parents and older brother. We grew up in the country skiing, climbing, and riding four-wheelers and snowmobiles. I never liked school as I was diagnosed as being dyslexic in elementary school which made school hard for me. I didn’t like going to school until sports were connected to the school by the time I was in middle school. I played all the typical school sports until high school when I started swimming, running, and playing golf.  I excelled at mid-distance running until I had a track and cross country coach overtrain me and set an unrealistic “running weight” criteria. This coaching leads to me developing severe stress fractures throughout my legs. I eventually had one breakthrough which was my first experience with sports injuries and having to go through the recovery process. I was able to come back to running during college but had to cross-train in order to keep from reactivating the stress fractures.

I graduated college early at three years with my exercise science degree. I went on to pursue my graduate degree in exercise science until I was involved in a car accident and other events leading to me realizing I had an addiction to alcohol and marijuana. I entered treatment at 22 and I have been sober since. Within my recovery process I found I was drinking to mask the pain of a losing a fellow as well as I was able to finally resolve the core issues associated with the eating disorder. Through my recovery experience I had worked with a clinical social worker in sports which then pushed me to change my graduate pursuits to gain a master’s in social work. After I graduated with my MSW I started my clinical sports psychotherapy private practice with a mission to end athlete suffering and to prevent athlete suicide.  

What inspired you to start your business?

It started with me wanting to keep young athletes from struggling like I had and the loss of a fellow athlete friend to suicide. As I went through graduate school I became more and more motivated as I lived in Colorado where suicide rates are high and so is involvement in exercise and sports. Wanted to be able to meet an evident need within the communities in Colorado.

Where is your business based?

My current business location is in Bellevue Washington or the greater Seattle area. I started my business initially in my hometown valley of Steamboat Springs Colorado. It was after almost three years a mentor of mine pushed me out of my comfort zone to relocate to a larger city where I could collaborate with like minded mission driven professionals like myself to best serve my athlete clients.

How did you start your business? What were the first steps you took?

I registered with the state of Colorado to be able to start psychotherapy with clients. Then I filed the paperwork with the state of Colorado. Then I opened a business bank account. Then I secured an office space. I then sent business cards to be made at vista print. I then started going around the community and connecting with the other sports medicine providers to let the community know I was a resource for their athlete clients struggling mentally.

What has been the most effective way of raising awareness for your business?

The most effective way is going out into your community and talking about what you can offer their clients as well as how your services complement theirs. I always gained athlete clients from doing community talks and speaking at conferences. And for me personally, I really started getting busy after I started a pro bono case study with a past US ski team athlete. We did many intensive sessions until he got back on the US ski team. This allowed the ski community to gain trust in the services I offered.

What have been your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

Initially, when I started my practice eight years ago athlete mental health was not as big of a topic. I would reach out and either never hear back or get rejected. This was really hard. I am a sensitive person so I would take it personally. I had to do my own cognitive behavior therapy around this with saying to myself “if they don’t care about their athlete’s mental health that is on them”. To counter getting rejected form trying you just keep trying. Nothing worth having is easily obtained and I knew and know my service save lives.

How do you stay focused?

The positive results I see with my clients make all the rejection, hard work and strife one hundred percent worth it. And on a inner drive to push my business to the next level seeing other professionals in my industry succeed in greater ways than I. These examples show me it is possible to keep achieving more in this industry. Because the more I achieve the greater my platform grows so I can reach and impact more people to get the services to the clients who need them.

How do you differentiate your business from the competition?

I am persistently seeking the more scientifically advanced neuroscience treatment modalities and techniques. I know I am the only clinical sports psychotherapist using the modalities I do. Some providers get comfortable in their treatment techniques. I feel if you are comfortable, you are not evolving.

What has been your most effective marketing strategy to grow your business?

Speaking within the community and word of mouth. Which essentially comes down to doing good work with my clients. Psychotherapists are not all equal or made the same. Even if you have had a bad experience with one that was just that individual’s approach and vibe.

What's your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?

Whenever you feel discouraged or defeated just remember your why. Never let go of why you are doing what you are doing.

What's your favorite app, blog, and book? Why?

The Four Agreements book. If you follow the four agreements, you are working within a positive frame to be serving your community. As businesses we are leading our community by example. Let’s lead our community with positive and pure intentions to promote a more positive and pure community.

What's your favorite business tool or resource? Why?

Square space. It is easy to send invoices and run cards. And at the end of the year your income is all in one place to efficiently do your taxes. As week as I am shifting to online booking through them starting 2022.

Who is your business role model? Why?

I would have to say Oprah. She turned her adverse childhood experiences into a career of helping others. And over the years she has just kept reaching new levels of success. I want to keep building up my platform to reach as many people as she has someday.

How do you balance work and life?

With great difficulty. I certainly work a lot. But I do schedule my day out to the minute each day, so I get in exercise, dog attention, cooking healthy food and interpersonal relationship time. As well as I will block out a day weekly and plan a hike or skiing, so I completely disconnect from work.

What’s your favorite way to decompress?

Soaking in a hot tub or treading in the beautiful lakes here in Washington. Water resets me and relaxes me instantly. Water time is a must for me.

What do you have planned for the next six months?

Aside from my daily clients I am launching a few continuing education courses for other sports psychology professionals to become educated in the advanced treatments I use. Assisting my intern in holding two mental health awareness events. I just partnered with the Bright Live dot com which is an interactive event platform where I can interact with parents and athletes wanting to learn more about how they can strengthen their mental health. I am talking at six different sports and brain health conferences listed on my website if you are interested in any of the topics. I joined the female athlete serving Voice In Sports (VIS) platform to offer free sport psychology groups for member so their free to join platform.  And my greatest passion project is I’m working on a youth athlete suicide documentary to bring the awareness necessary for how we can resolve the instance of suicide within to our communities.

How can our readers connect with you?

Best way is through my website www.robertsneurotraining.com or my socials @sportspsychpaige