From Athlete to Sports Psychologist: My Journey with Headformers and the Power of Mind-Body Connection

I’ve registered the Headformers team for quite some time. Our cooperation started a few months ago.

My dream job that I always had in my head was working with athletes. Up until now, I have also worked and still work as a general psychologist. However, I have always been much more fascinated by the collaboration between the head and the body in the sports field.

To start working with someone who had experience and could really do what I had always wanted to be good at as well, was a bit scary but also inspiring at the same time – I had respect.

As a lifelong athlete, I had a lot of personal experience, and at the same time, as a sports enthusiast, I was fascinated not only by the kind of performances we as athletes are capable of, but also by what we think about before, during, and also after a performance. I have always had many questions that I didn’t know the answer to and at the same time I wanted to know the answer.

I currently work as a sports psychologist in the Headformers team and am involved in the mental preparation of athletes. I also work with people who, although not athletes, want to improve their overall quality of life – which is always a great inspiration to me.

This work gives me insight in different situations, professionalism in a direct way, the opportunity to observe the work of other psychologists and their way of communicating/working with clients – which is really different and that’s ok. I would even say it is more than desirable. People are not the same either and need different approaches.

My colleagues are Karin and Lukas, who are an inspiration to me, for example, because of their different approach at work. Among other things, they give me daily feedback on my work and also expose me to situations that are not always entirely comfortable – but they push my boundaries in the right direction.

I find it very stimulating and inspiring to see how they approach clients in different situations individually and perceptively, yet with absolute ease. It has been of great benefit to me to learn to see the individuality of each client and also to learn to absolutely switch off the evaluation that we are somehow unconsciously programmed to do gradually throughout childhood.

Working at Headformers has given me the opportunity to work on myself not only as a psychologist or coach, but also as an active athlete and last but not least and very importantly – as an ordinary person. A big benefit for me is all the “AHA” moments that I like to write down, I like to revisit them and teach my clients the same.

I am very grateful for this experience, which is still ongoing. Also for the access I receive from my colleagues, the opportunities and the feedback. I know now that I belong to them and we complement each other very nicely with our individuality.