Performance tech is everywhere. But here's the uncomfortable truth. Most clinics don't have a tech problem. They have a decision making problem.

Welcome to the FAKTR Podcast where we talk about the stuff they didn't teach you in school. How to grow your practice, refine your clinical skills and get better results for your patients. We're here to help you navigate the real world challenges of being a healthcare provider. From delivering top notch patient care to running a business that doesn't run you into the ground.

Whether you're fresh out of school or scaling your practice, we're diving into effective, cutting edge treatments to get patients better faster. We'll also talk about business strategies and tactics to help you work smarter and not harder, and the mindset shifts required to thrive as a top performer in your field so you can build a career you love without burning out. If you're ready to learn what works and what doesn't from leading experts, industry innovators and respected clinicians across a wide range of specialties, you're in the right place, my friend.

Let's dive in. Welcome back to the FAKTR Podcast where we bridge the gap between rehabilitation, performance and real world clinical practice. I'm your host Jessica Riddle and today we're kicking off a new conversation with Dr. Carolina Shander, a licensed psychologist and certified mental performance consultant who specializes in sports and performance psychology. In this episode, we're diving into an area that is becoming increasingly important for clinicians, coaches, athletes and really anyone working with high performers. That is the connection between physical health, mental health, identity, recovery and performance. Dr. Shander's work focuses on supporting athletes and other high achieving individuals to help them understand not only how to perform at a high level, but how to stay well while doing it.

Through her work with athletes, coaches, teams and organizations, including her connection with USA Gymnastics, she brings a valuable perspective on what it means to care for the whole human, not just the performer. In part one of this two part conversation, we talk about how sports psychology fits into the larger health care and performance team, why trust is such a critical part of working with athletes, and how coaches, health providers and mental health professionals can better collaborate to support performance and well being. We'll also explore the pressure many athletes and high achievers feel to constantly push harder, do more and ignore the signals that something may be off. And Dr. Shander will offer some helpful insights into what providers can look for when an athlete's pain, injury or performance challenges may also be connected to their identity worth, stress or emotional health. Whether you work with athletes, active individuals, performers or simply have patients who are trying to return to the activities that matter most to them. This conversation is a reminder that the body and the mind are not separate systems. They are deeply connected and both matter in the recovery and performance process.

Let's get into part one of my conversation with Dr. Carolina Shander.

We like to have a bit of a master series conversation ever so often with different healthcare providers that have meaningful insights to share that I think are definitely relevant and things that could be helpful to our community. So we're excited to have you with us today. If you could start out by telling Jimmy just a little bit about what it is that you do and specifically how you and Dr. Riddle got connected through USA Gymnastics.

Absolutely. Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to have this conversation and be able to connect on this topic and discuss the idea of sports psychology. So a little bit about me. I'm a counseling psychologist with a specialization in sport and performance. And so what that meant is I got generalist training in all types of clinical mental health difficulties and challenges and then was able to find a program that also allowed me to pursue sport and performance. So any kind of high achieving individuals athletics IO psychology and be able to learn like what does it look like to be a a performer and maintaining your well being. And so I've been really fortunate to have that background.