Haleigh Fisher, MS LPC
Running is better as your second therapist, not your primary.
My dream in becoming a counselor was always to work with runners struggling with mental health. As a former division I athlete, I witnessed first-hand the gap between mental health and athletics particularly in eating disorder treatment and recovery. As an athlete struggling, I often felt helpless and stuck in the gap. I decided in college that I wanted to be the person to fill the gap so I began the process of becoming a counselor. As a new clinician with the dream of working with runners I realized I didn’t fit neatly into one of the boxes of typical clinical mental health counseling, traditional eating disorder treatment, or sports psychology. I spent many years trying to make my dream of working with runners happen in one of these more traditional ways while receiving feedback that my dream of working with runners wasn’t realistic; that it was too specific, that I had to choose between research or clinical practice, that runners with eating disorders couldn’t run anymore and heal…etc. But my passion for runners and their mental health outweighed the doubts. Thus, Trailhead Counseling DFW was created to bridge the gap between mental health and running.
My desire is to see more runners running out of a joy for the sport and not out of an unhealthy place of using it to manage emotions in replacement for therapy. Research shows that runners are at an increased risk for mental health issues above the general population. In my own journey, I have used running as an attempt to find meaning and purpose in my life and have seen how when you develop this mindset running will always at some point let you down. When we look at running as a way to find our value, running loses its joy because it is a constant test of our worthiness. I’ve learned that nothing I do in running can add to, or take away any of my worth because my worth is not dependent on my running accomplishments.
One of the most exciting things for me to see in my work with clients is when they come in focused on the sport aspect but leave seeing not only their running but everyday life transformed by the process.
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Runner’s Mental Health Counseling and Wellness
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Runner Eating Disorder Counseling
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Runner Mental Performance Skills
Runner Mental Performance Skills
Designed to help you crush your goal race!