For years, the narrative around these moments of “slump” has been primarily negative. Written off as bad luck streaks or omens of the end of a great career. However, Licensed Mental Health Counselor Heather L. Lofink of MindBody Fusion, has a different theory.
An LMHC by trade, Lofink has spent plenty of time working with those who feel like they are performing less than optimally in their everyday lives. So when after watching her beloved sons enter the sports world, she began to believe that maybe the techniques she used with her everyday clients could have some merit if applied to the sports world.
“After working successfully with several athletes in my private practice, I knew that my expertise as a psychotherapist specializing in trauma could be the missing tool for athletes to reach their next level of performance. Too often blocks, slumps, and other performance issues are blamed on physical or mechanical problems when the real barrier is tied to low self-confidence, fear of failure, and return from injury,” said Lofink. “I strive not only to remove these barriers, but also increase resilience over time”.
With MindBody Fusion, Lofink hopes to bridge the divide that can occur between our physical performances and our mental states. Through the practice, Lofink strives to work not only with individuals but with coaches, teams, schools, and other sports programs to provide consulting services that have yet to be seen in the area. Lofink described that “by incorporating unique methods including EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), brain spotting and heart rate variability training, we can achieve positive results in an accelerated time frame. EMDR and Brainspotting are both therapies that enable athletes to heal from significant experiences and not only return to the previous level of play but take it to the next level.”
As of this year, MindBody Fusion, a Mental Performance Training Practice, is officially open and ready to take on clients who wish to reach their peak performance “in both mind, body and spirit”.
Heather Lofink, LMHC., is a native of the Saratoga region and currently resides in Ballston Spa with her partner and two sons. Lofink has a B.A. in Psychology from Ohio State (where her love of sports truly began!), a Masters in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Walden University, and a Certification in Sports Psychology. To contact Lofink, call 518-363-6469, email Heather@mindbody-fusion.com, or visit her website at www.mindbody-fusion.com.
