Dr. Robert Heller» Mental skills

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:49:00 +0000

Happiness and Well-being

According to the recent PBS Special, “The Emotional Life”, the key to happiness and well-being are good relationships with family, friends and lover(s). Relationships seemed to trump, work, money and health. I found the portion on “attachment” or bonding to parents very interesting. Infants brought up in institutions without much “physical touch” seemed to have lots of problems in adjusting early on in life and this continued into adolescence and adulthood.

The good news was that intervention in the form of counseling and therapy was mostly helpful to people in improving their relationships, behavior and adjustment to a wide range of problems and challenges.

In my own clinical practice, I have found methods like EMDR, hypnosis and cognitive-behavioral therapy useful in overcoming long standing problems encountered early on in life.

Andre Agassi

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:08:24 +0000

Former tennis great Andre Agassi’s new autobiography, “Open” should more appropriately have been titled, “Closed”. Closed is how Andre was for most of his life. Although depressed, confused and conflicted for long periods of time, he apparently suffered silently. As great as his tennis accomplishments were, had he reached out for professional help earlier on, he might have achieved even more on the tennis court and suffered far less in his personal life and psyche. I find it hard to believe that except for his ex-wife, Brooke Shields, none of his inner circle nor family ever pushed him in that direction.

Psychological Training

Given the stressors on a child prodigy and professional athletes, I believe psychological “training” should be required and is every bit as important as the technical training and physical conditioning athletes undergo.

Hypnosis and Self-Improvement

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 19:19:11 +0000

I have been using hypnosis with my clients for many years. More recently, I have used it with some of the elite junior tennis clients I work with and have been very pleased with how well they have responded and how quickly the suggestions have transferred to their match play.

The biggest reason for the success is the natural ability of the individual. Within 1 or 2 sessions, I can see how deeply a person gets in the trance (relaxation) phase. If they are highly responsive, I then develop a series of specific suggestions based on their needs and goals, then verbally “feed” them back to the client while they are in the trance. I often record the session and have them practice between sessions.

Accelerate Progress Through Hypnosis

While no one knows how hypnosis works for sure, it’s a great tool that can accelerate progress in many individuals. My mental condition CD-ROM, TENNISMIND is based on hypnosis and numerous tennis coaches use it regularly with the students. It’s available on the products portion of my website, www.robertheller.net.

Impact of Personal Crisis on Work and Performance

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 13:14:19 +0000

One day after catapulting from obscurity to international fame as the giant killer of the top women tennis players in the world at the US Open, young 17 year old Melodie Oudin has a bombshell dropped on her: her father is divorcing her mother for sleeping with Melody’s long time coach!

How will this turn of events impact her personal life, relationships, trust and career? In the short run, it certainly can’t be good. Hopefully, she will be guided to seek competent professional counseling to help her sort out and manage her emotions and the complex issues that they evoke.

Peak Performance

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:32:11 +0000

As I listened to the commentators extolling the “mental toughness” of the latest young superstar at the US OPEN tennis championships, the 17 year old from Georgia, Oudin, I asked myself what does it really mean? I think it boils down to the idea that if you don’t have “expectations” that you “have to or are supposed to win”, you can concentrate more fully on the task at hand and play your best.

Being Present

By being in the present and not worrying about the future you reduce self-inflicted pressure. I remember year ago, when I was into golf, one of the best rounds I ever played was the one I didn’t keep score on! Developing the skill to be “aware” without “judging or evaluating” can help you perform at your best.

Sportsmanship

Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:55:50 +0000

A recent article in a popular tennis magazine talks about the misuse and abuse of the injury and time out rules to “stall” as a tactic to recuperate physically and to distract an opponent who may be playing well and on a roll. This, like other “gamesmanship” strategies comes from the dire need to win and fear of losing. The old adage, “All is fair in love and war” seems to take priority over the higher goal of “playing with honor”. Until parents and coaches help children incorporate the the moral values of sport, we will continue to see bad sportsmanship and very likely produce “bad” citizens.