Common reasons people may come for help in this area
- Performance anxiety at work, in study, sport, music, public speaking or other situations
- Procrastination and difficulty getting started
- Over-preparing, perfectionism or fear of making mistakes
- Difficulty focusing attention on demand
- Organisation, planning and time-management difficulties
- Task initiation and getting moving without an external deadline
- Decision paralysis or repeatedly revisiting decisions
- Executive functioning difficulties, with or without a formal neurodevelopmental diagnosis
- Feeling overwhelmed when several demands compete for attention
- Confidence dropping under observation, evaluation or pressure
- Recovering after mistakes rather than spiralling into self-criticism
- Work stress, burnout patterns or difficulty switching off
Performance problems are not always a lack of skill
You may know the material, have the ability or have performed well many times before, yet find that pressure changes what happens. Attention turns inward, mistakes become threatening, or the effort to control the performance begins interfering with it.
Executive functioning is broader than concentration
Difficulties can involve planning, working memory, organisation, shifting attention, starting tasks, regulating emotion or deciding what deserves priority. Therapy does not diagnose ADHD or autism, but it can help you understand your own patterns and develop practical ways of working with them.
We can work on process rather than promising outcomes
The useful targets are usually things you can influence: preparation, attention, rehearsal, self-talk, recovery after an error, task initiation and the way you respond to uncertainty. Therapy cannot guarantee an exam grade, sporting result, promotion or perfect performance.