Derek Thiessen
| Founder of Daily Athlete
| Canadian Certified Counsellor (CCC)
Before starting Daily Athlete and pursuing a career in mental health services, I competed as a university-level volleyball player at Trinity Western University. I have spent a large portion of my life being an athlete and learned much from my experience. I achieved success in many regards, but often I look back and wonder what I could have done differently to align myself closer with my goals and values. How could I have trained differently? Thought differently? Performed differently? Planned differently? Reflected differently?
I don’t have the answers to all these questions yet, but I am on a journey to figure them out. More importantly, however, I want to help you move towards your goals and overall better life.
In working with me, you will experience a unique blend of sports psychology with therapeutic interventions. In other words, rather than simply focusing purely on present-moment performance techniques (which is part of what we do), I aim to help you break through the mental blocks and barriers that are impacting your ability to live the life you’d like to be living.
At the end of the day, I want to help you wake up every morning with a greater sense of ease and clarity as you move towards a path that is both fulfilling and ambitious.
What to expect
EXPLORE
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” ― Carl Jung
I find this quote speaks to the root of many of the problems we face in our daily lives as athletes. So often we are fixated on what resides on the surface but we neglect what is playing itself out below. Part of our work together is helping you better understand what lies in your unconscious patterns and how these may be moving further away from the person you would like to be. In the same way that you might explore your physical skills in order to improve, there is value in exploring the depth of our minds.
CREATE
”If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.” ― Seneca
An important part of making any change involves the crucial step of setting one’s intentions. Therefore, a part of what we will be working through is creating and connecting with meaningful goals, values, and a vision for your life. Without such a step, we will simply be sailing aimlessly in the hopes of reaching shore.
PRACTICE
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” ― Malcolm Gladwell
So much of what is learned and discovered remains in the theoretical phase. Great ideas that never get acted on. Another part of working together is to help you focus on daily actions that move you toward the things that matter most. Through ongoing evaluation and accountability, my goal is to ensure you are actively taking action on your goals rather than hoping you reach them
Counselling Fees
$130 CAD per 50-minute session
**Note: Canadian clients may be able to have their sessions covered by their insurance provider**