Dr. Erik X. Alonso
The most Successful Individuals and Athletes have the Mindset of a Champion
Office (305) 774-1007
Dr. Erik X. Alonso
The most Successful Individuals and Athletes have the Mindset of a Champion
Office (305) 774-1007
From your vulnerabilities will come your Strength
Sports Mental Performance Coach
I hold a Master and Doctoral degrees in Clinical and Forensic Psychology with a concentration in Child and Adolescent Psychology, a second Master’s degree in Social Work with a Clinical Concentration and a Post-Doctorate residency at Miami Children’s Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. My academic degrees, knowledge and experience enables me to offer my clients the highest level of knowledge and expertise. At the top in any sport, the most Successful Athletes are not only Physically Talented, they have the Mindset of a Champion. I use techniques to work with students and athletes and improve their sport's performance. Many athletes struggle with mental health issues such as eating disorders, anxiety, and depression to name a few, while others struggle with stress or burnout including the emotional stressors associated with a recovery from an injury. My main focus is on improving the performance of an amateur or professional athlete by given them the tools needed for a Cutting Edge Mindset that will translate into peak performance. These include:
- Awareness, Focus and Concentration.
- Motivation and Inspiration.
- Gaining insight into your mental reactions.
- Visual Guided Imagery.
- Positive Attitude Cognitive Restructuring
- Mental Stress Management
- Stressors and Pressure Management
- Mental Retraining
- Improved Self-Esteem
- Body Language
- Nerves and Anxiety
- Meditation
Mental Health Coach
Mental health coaching should not be confused with mental health counseling. Mental health coaching is a niche area of the broader coaching field, and while it may touch on some therapeutic elements, it aims to support clients to overcome barriers in their life that may be caused by their mental health. Mental health is on a spectrum, and psychotherapy may not be the best behavioral health option for your specific needs and challenges. Or, perhaps you met with a therapist previously to better understand the effects of past experiences on your life, and are now in a position to focus more on personal and professional development. While therapy can be a great fit for many people, for others, there are numerous indicators that coaching may be a better match. These include:
- The mental and emotional health challenges you’re dealing with are on the mild end of the spectrum.
- You prefer a shorter-term approach to personal growth and development.
- You want to improve your stress management or work-life balance
- You want help in clarifying your values, goals, and purpose.
- You’re interested in learning practical, actionable ways to address your personal and professional challenges.
- You’re willing to complete self-assessments, reading, journaling, or other “homework” to help overcome personal challenges
In Life, its 80% Mental and 20% Physical
Sports Mental Performance Coach
Mental Performance refers to the psychological components of sport performance, performance arts, and engagement in health-conscious activities and exercise. Sports Mental Performance Coach brings change to an athlete that will experience a transformation, which ultimately improves the player’s core values as well as the environment in which it plays and competes. This type of coaching is done on site, i.e., golf course, baseball field, dance studio, etc. It's focus is on a individualized program consisting of both mental and physiological factors. It strives to inspire individuals to reach certain goals and full potential. This type of coaching also concentrates on the individual as a whole, their personal & professional lives, happiness, and what they can do to help the "game" be more successful, fun and productive.
Mental Health Coach
Mental Health Coaching is an evidence-based approach that focuses on strengths-based support for adults living with mental and behavioral health difficulties. Coaching is action oriented with an emphasis on improving one's present life and reaching goals for the future by addressing distressing thoughts and emotions.
Mental Health Coaching should not be confused with psychotherapy or mental health counseling. Mental health coaching is a niche area of the broader coaching field, and while it may touch on some therapeutic elements, it is not therapy and does not aim to treat mental health diagnoses such as depression or anxiety.
Instead, professionals who work in this area aim to support clients to overcome barriers in their life that may be caused by their mental health.
They do not see mental health as an ‘illness’ and instead see it as an area of life that sometimes needs addressing through clear life goals, external guidance, personal skills development and behavior changes (Philips, 2015).
Some examples of what a mental health coach may support a client with include:
- Identifying and clarifying personal life goals relating to mental health.
- Developing individualized action plans to support the client to achieve those goals.
- Helping the client to identify key strengths and skills, as well as areas for focus and improvement.
- Ensure that the client is held accountable and proactively working towards their goals.
- Provide support, guidance, motivation, and feedback throughout the client’s journey.
Psychotherapy focuses on mental health illness; Mental health coaching focuses on goals. The major difference between psychotherapy and mental health coaching is the focus of the work: psychotherapy focuses on mental health illness and emotional healing, while life coaching focuses on setting and achieving goals that are difficult as a result of mental health issues. Mental Health Coaching focuses on strengths-based support for anyone living with mental and behavioral difficulties. Coaching is action oriented with an emphasis on improving one’s present life and reaching goals for the future by addressing distressing thoughts and emotion
About Me
Academia
I began my professional career at Florida International University at the College of Health and Urban Affairs whereby I earned a Bachelor degree in Social Work (BSW), graduating with Honors as a distinguish Cum Laude. I then continued my graduate studies by earning a Master's degree in Clinical Social Work (MSW) and became inducted into the Social Work Honor Society, Phi Alpha. I then continued my educational career by pursuing a second degree in Clinical Psychology and setting the path to continue into my graduate studies at Albizu University, and completing a second Master's degree in Clinical Psychology (M.S.) followed by a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) with a specialized concentration in Forensic Psychology and also inducted into The National Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Chi and awarded an Internship at the prestigious Miami Children's Hospital, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine. Upon graduation, I continued my Postdoctoral Residency in the Department of Psychiatry in both inpatient and outpatient settings. My Dissertation on an Adolescent Suicide Prevention Program Design using Multiple Family Group Therapy, is published and recorded in the United States Library of Congress.
Dr. Alonso worked as a Court appointed by the 11th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida as a Guardian Ad Litem, and by the Division of Family Court Services as a specialist in providing Extended Co-parenting Therapy, Parental Alienation Reunification, Family Therapy, and Therapeutic Supervised Visitations by way of his specialized expertise, concentrated education, and extensive training within the areas of Adolescent Behavior, Child Sexual Abuse, Adolescent Self-Mutilating Behavior/Suicide and Parental Alienation.
His expertise and diligence has placed him in the local and national media by appearing on English & Spanish National Television Networks as an Expert Speaker on topics of current events in Mental Health.
Appearances & Lectures
CNN en Español – Expert Speaker: Child Sexual Abuse
§ Univision Television Network – Despierta America – Expert Speaker: Childhood Bullying Miami, FL. 2013
§ Omni Hypnosis Training Center – Certified Hypnosis Training Program, Fort Lauderdale, FL. 2012
§ Omega Institute, Dr. Bryan Weiss - Past-Life Regression Therapy Training and Certification, Rhinebeck New York, 2012
§ Department of Children & Families (DCF) Certified Program Educator for HIV Pre & Post Test Counseling Miami, FL. 1996-97-98-99
§ National Institute of Health (NIH) Certification program on HIV/AIDS Risk Assessment Reduction, Prevention & Counseling. University of Miami, Miami, FL. 1996-97
§ National Institute of Drug (NOVA Research Company) Certification on AIDS Prevention among Female sexual partners of IV Drug users. University of Miami, Miami, FL. 1996
§ Tenth Annual Children’s Mental Health Conference Linking Forces. Miami, FL. 2001 (Speaker)
§ First Annual Missing Children Day Conference. Miami, FL. 2001 (Honor Speaker)
§ Project YES Community Meeting, May 2001 Spotlight Speaker. Coral Gables, FL. 2001 (Speaker)
§ Guest expert speaker on Spanish National Television Networks: Univision, Telemundo & TeleAmerica
Reach out to me
Hours
Open today | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm |