Prioritize Mental Health in Sports & Life
Welcome to Blackbird Counseling in Orem, UT – your go-to spot for mental health therapy and performance coaching specifically for athletes, teams, and coaches.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by your mental health, you're not alone. Many athletes find themselves navigating experiences like ADHD, anxiety, and depression. We are passionate about helping athletes better understand their mental health and the impact it has on sports, school, and relationships. We're all about blending the therapy process with sports psychology to give you a holistic approach that improves mental health in your sport and overall life.
Services
Individual Therapy
Tune in with your inner experience and explore how your life + your sport is impacted by your mental health including: ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Self Esteem, Trauma, and Relationship Challenges.
Performance Coaching
Deep dive into your sports performance and learn how to maximize your experience by connecting with your body+heart+mind! Develop resilience, overcome setbacks, and become present focused in your sport!
Team Workshops
The entire team engages in experiential activities to develop skills for mental well-being and overall team connection. Coaches are empowered to become mental health advocates for athletes.
Nate Porter, LCSW
Nate is the owner of Blackbird Counseling and is passionate about both mental health and sports. Throughout his life Nate has gravitated towards playing sports and helping people, evidenced by the 10+ years experience he has as a therapist and youth sports coach. Nate competed in Track & Field as a 400m sprinter, both in high school and college, giving him real experience navigating the challenges and stressors that athletes can face. Nate started Blackbird to provide a place where athletes could better understand their mental health and improve their lives. He finds immense joy in working towards this goal with all of the athletes he and his team work with.
Areas of Specialty
ADHD
A commonly misunderstood mental health experience, mostly due to a focus on symptoms rather than trying to understand its origins. We are focused on helping you learn what ADHD actually is, leading you to a greater awareness and understanding of self. Many of our clients with ADHD have expressed feeling different or broken, struggling to find the experience in life they want to have. It's time to give up on trying to figure out what is wrong with you, and start the amazing journey of actually learning what is going on with you. Learn More
Anxiety
Anxiety is a natural and common human emotion characterized by feelings of worry, nervousness, or unease about future events or uncertain outcomes. Many often view and experience anxiety as a negative in their lives, but we believe anxiety can actually benefit and enhance our lives. We can help you better understand your anxiety, learn to work with it, and help you see that it is often showing up when you are moving towards experiences in your life that matter and are important to you. Learn More
Attachment
Attachment is a framework that explores the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, with a primary focus on how human beings learn to get their physical and emotional needs met throughout life. We can help you identify the different factors and experiences in your life that influence your current relationship patterns. With expanded awareness you can become more secure in your relationship with self, giving you the power to create healthier patterns in the important relationships in your life. Learn More
Depression
It can be easy to spot depression when we notice someone in our life reduce movement, participate less in normal activities, or even start to sleep more. Yet, often hidden from plain sight is the deeper, less noticeable signs of depression often only seen by those navigating the experience, like persistent feelings of worthlessness, overwhelm, and hopelessness. Regardless of whether it can be seen or not, it's real and can be heavy to carry alone. We can help you sit with the more difficult parts of your experience and help you find improved connection and movement in your life! Learn More
Self-Esteem
Regardless of what you are navigating with mental health, self-esteem is going to be a crucial piece of the puzzle. Developing self-esteem is the work of learning to love and value ourselves. We often put conditions on our own value, telling ourselves "we'll feel better when" or "I'll like myself when". Our team can help you start the process of loving and valuing yourself now, which does take effort, yet has a long lasting impact of you being satisfied with who you are, despite outcomes in your life. Learn More
Sports Performance
We live in a society that obsesses over outcomes, where debating over someone's worth and value in a sport has become more important than the experience in the sport itself. We are here to help you learn how to value your experience with sports regardless of outcomes. This doesn't mean we don't care about outcomes, rather it is learning to focus on them in their proper perspective. We can help you become present focused in your performance, helping you to create a meaningful experience where you feel connected to your abilities and passion. We believe that being your best will always be greater than being the best. Learn More
Trauma
Trauma is not just an event that happens to someone, it is a complex response to overwhelming experiences that can shape someone's perceptions, emotions, and patterns. Living life with trauma can be debilitating, leaving individuals often feeling trapped by their own experience. We want to help you take back your life from trauma by providing a supportive environment where you feel safe to explore emotions and reprocess your experience. Reprocessing trauma does not necessitate reliving painful experiences; instead, it's more about finding and cultivating your inner self. We believe that each person can find their own unique path to integrating and understanding the impact of traumatic experiences in their lives. Learn More
