Experience & Excellence
From athlete to athlete
Mark Atia, the lead counsellor at Atia Counselling Group, has over 20 years experience in athletics. He has experienced the full spectrum of sport including as a University Varsity Soccer athlete, coach, and professional counsellor. Mark knows from personal and professional experience the pressures of being an athlete.
What we know
Research shows that athletes are more susceptible to mental health issues such as depression than the wider community. This is seen at a number of moments when athletes may be especially vulnerable, such as in times of injury, competitive failure, and moments of transition like when considering retirement.
While sports participation is known to be beneficial to mental health at a recreational level, the benefits at an elite level are complicated by the high-pressure, short-lived nature of careers and a culture that places a high value on mental toughness, potentially undermining calls of distress and asking for support.
What we do at Atia Counselling Group
Athletes at all levels of competition turn to Sports Psychotherapy to help them with their challenges. Sports Psychotherapy helps athletes resolve any issues that are getting in the way of either commitment to training, or how they handle the pressures of competition.
For others, sport is the area of life that’s going well but elements outside of sport that could be problematic for example relationship problems and other competing priorities. At Atia Counselling Group we work with athletes on both sport-specific issues and life issues together.
How we meet
Our online capabilities (video call and voice call) allow us to work together wherever your training or competition takes you. We are happy to accommodate your schedule and time restraints, so we are also able to meet face-to-face to work where location and schedules permit.