Check Out Dr. Eddie O’Connor’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eddie O’Connor. 

Hi Dr. O’Connor, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My very first counseling session was on the playground. The class bully was having a hard time and he sought me out to talk through his troubles. In early high school, I read Freud’s “Analysis of Dreams” for fun. I was an athlete, running cross country and track, but was very average. I worked extremely hard but had limiting beliefs that hindered my performance. 

So, psychology was an easy major for me to pick in college, and the last class I took before graduation was “sport psychology” and I immediately knew that *this* is what I wanted to do because it combined my passions of psychology and excellence in performance. So, I got my Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and then became a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. 

What I am able to do now is serve my clients across the spectrum of performance contexts (athletes, musicians, performing artists, businessmen and women) and level of need. If they are struggling with performance anxiety, perfectionism, or injury, for example, as a licensed clinical psychologist I am able to help them out of their distress and back into the game. If they are stable and doing well, as a CMPC I can help them maximize their potential through mental training and win. 

I worked in a sport and pain rehabilitation setting for 20 years, specializing in chronic pain and performance anxiety. In 2017 I published “The Psychology of Performance: How to Be Your Best in Life” through The Great Courses. It got great reviews internationally and people started to reach out to me requesting more assistance. 

When COVID hit, I was able to pivot and start a private telehealth practice, seeing athletes online and helping to meet that demand. In addition – and I am very excited about this – I created “Success Stories Membership,” an online community of high achievers struggling with anxiety, developing the physical and mental habits necessary to perform with consistency and excellence. I enjoy traveling to speak to sport organizations, businesses, and at medical conferences, with workshops that teach attendees how to overcome the emotional obstacles to high performance. 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it hasn’t been smooth. Early in my career, the challenge was that people either didn’t know about sport psychology or thought you had to be sick and have a problem to benefit from it. 

That simply isn’t true. 

Sport and performance psychology is a science of excellence that every high-achiever can benefit from. If you want to excel and be in the top 5%, you can’t do what the other 95% are doing. Excellence is unnatural and requires a specific mindset and emotional strength that can be learned and developed. 

Over the years, the stigma lessened but athletic departments were still hesitant to invest financially. People wanted the information, but for free as they hadn’t realized the cost-effectiveness of sport psychology and mental training. For example, if you are anxious how much does cost you in mistakes, losses, missed practice time, embarrassment, lack of playing time, not making the team, and losing scholarships? Are you practicing well but not performing well in games and feel like all that financial investment in camps, private coaching, travel to tournaments, and equipment has gone to waste? Wouldn’t an investment in your mental game likely yield the greatest results? 

People are now realizing the answer is yes, which is why almost all the professional sport teams in the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL employ sport psychology and mental training staff. As 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, “If you’re not working with a sports psychologist, you’re not trying to get better. To think that psychology is an indicator of weakness truly is an ignorant statement. When people are fighting it, it’s only because they don’t understand it.” 

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a clinical sport and performance psychologist, specializing in performance anxiety. I have a unique approach as I don’t believe in positive thinking or confidence. I mean, when it works great, but can you imagine going to the Olympics and not being nervous? My approach helps high achievers in sport, business and the performing arts relate differently to their anxiety so it stops hurting their performance and starts enhancing it. 

I do this through a variety of services: 

I consult one on one for individualized coaching. This is ideal to make the fastest gains as interventions are specific to the individual. 

Success Stories Membership is extremely cost-effective as I have taken my 1:1 interventions are recorded them into modules. Members can go through the training at their own pace and get support in our online community. We have monthly “Team Meetings” on Zoom where you can ask me questions directly, as well as “Monthly Mindset” videos I create only for members. 

For teams and organizations, I enjoy speaking. The bigger the crowd the better because that is more people I can help! My presentations are always very applied, so attendees will leave with practical steps they can take to begin improving their performance immediately. Presentations are delivered with high energy, contain entertaining stories and exercises that get the audience involved. 

“The Psychology of Performance: How to Be Your Best in Life” through The Great Courses (TGC) is a 24-lecture course that covers everything in sport psychology. Again, it has an applied focus so you can use the skills taught right away. It also reviews the research these strategies are based on to prove their validity and effectiveness. I’m really proud of how TGC and I were able to take the science of sport psychology and apply it every aspect of life’s performances so people young and old, in any performance context from sport to relationships to health, and in any role from performer to coach to parent could benefit. 

Besides the entertainment value you get in my consulting, speaking, and online resources, what sets me apart is the quality of information I provide. This is not my opinion or “it worked for me so it can work for you too.” I have a great deal of specific training and over 20 years’ experience applying the science of performance to thousands of high-achievers, professionals, state and national (and international) champions. 

Specifically: 

– Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology; licensed psychologist in Michigan 

– Certified Mental Performance Consultant, Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) 

– Fellow, Association for Applied Sport Psychology 

– Member, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry 

– Member, American Psychological Association, Division 47: Society for Sport, Exercise & Performance Psychology 

What matters most to you? Why?
Getting my clients’ results is what matters most to me. I appreciate their trust and I am always excited to see them overcome their personal adversity and achieve success. 

Pricing:

• Individual Consultations start at $275 for an initial evaluation ($225 for 40-45 min for follow-up). When a mental health diagnosis can be given, “out-of-network” insurance may be used.
• Success Stories Membership – $27/month
• Speaking – call or e-mail for details

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.dreddieoconnor.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sportsdreddie/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrEddieOConnor/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/SportsDrEddie
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQZY3rvlWYKzRs0lKGp6Ljw
• Other: 
  • FREE VIDEO at https://dreddieoconnor.com/when-positive-thinking-doesnt-work/
  • Sleep Your Way to the Top mini-workshop at bit.ly/sleeptothetop
  • The Psychology of Performance: How to be Your Best in Life”at www.thegreatcourses.com/dreddieoconnor
  • Success Stories Membership at www.dreddieoconnor.com/membership