Peak performance and mental wellness aren't separate goals, they're two sides of the same coin. I'm Dr. Chad Doerr, a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Mental Performance Consultant, and published researcher who helps athletes, professionals, and high-achieving individuals perform at their best and feel their best.

I currently serve as a Psychological Services Provider for the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. Previously, I served as the Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology for UNLV Athletics and as an Athletic Psychologist for the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. I have also served as a contracted Mental Health Provider for the NBA Summer League. I am listed on the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee Mental Health and Mental Performance Directories, a recognition reserved for providers who meet the highest standards in the field for working with Olympic and Paralympic athletes. I also serve as a Community Faculty Member at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, where I contribute to the training of future physicians. Beyond direct client work, I have been invited to share my expertise as a public speaker, including serving as Commencement Speaker at Feather River College and as a featured speaker at the Las Vegas Aces WNBA Mental Health Summit.

My clients range from PGA TOUR professionals and collegiate athletes to C-suite executives navigating high-stakes leadership demands, and everyday high achievers who want more out of themselves or are simply ready to prioritize their mental health and wellness. I have a strong presence serving clients throughout both the Reno and Las Vegas areas, including executives, entertainers, and high performing professionals across Nevada's business, hospitality, and sports industries. If you perform at a high level in any arena, we likely have a lot to work on together.

I'm based in Reno, NV and offer in-person appointments in the Reno area as well as telehealth throughout Nevada, including the greater Las Vegas area, and across 40+ PSYPACT states, with mental performance coaching available nationwide. I accept several major insurance plans, making quality mental health care accessible for Nevada residents.

If you're ready to invest in your mental performance, your wellness, or both, let's connect and see if we're a good fit.

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Services Offered

  • Sometimes the most important performance challenge isn't on the field or in the boardroom — it's within. Whether you're an athlete navigating the emotional demands of competition, a professional managing the weight of high-stakes responsibilities, or simply someone ready to invest in their mental health and overall wellbeing, I provide compassionate, evidence-based counseling that meets you where you are.

    I work with adults on a wide range of concerns including anxiety, depression, relationship issues, self-esteem, stress management, life transitions, career challenges, and adjustment-related concerns such as retirement, graduation, and major life changes. My background working with high performing individuals means I understand the unique pressures and identities that athletes and professionals bring into the therapy room — and I know how to help you move forward.

    I am credentialed to bill insurance in Nevada and accepted by the following plans: Aetna, Anthem BCBS, Optum, Oscar Health, Oxford, UMR, and United Healthcare. Cash pay rate is $150 per session. In person appointments available in Reno, NV. Telehealth available throughout Nevada, including the greater Las Vegas and Southern Nevada area, and across 40+ PSYPACT states.

    Available for adults 18 and up.

  • Every competitor reaches a point where physical talent alone isn't enough. Whether you're a high school athlete preparing for the next level, a college or professional competitor looking to sharpen your mental edge, or a business professional who brings the same intensity to the boardroom that you once brought to sport, mental performance coaching can be the difference between good and great.

    I work with athletes and high performers at every level, from youth and high school competitors in the Reno and Las Vegas areas to collegiate, professional, and Olympic level athletes nationwide. My coaching is personalized, practical, and built around the specific demands of your sport and performance environment.

    Areas we may focus on include:

    • Building self-awareness of your performance personality to better utilize your strengths and address areas of difficulty

    • Developing skills to manage performance anxiety and maintain composure under pressure

    • Improving confidence, consistency, and concentration

    • Identifying more effective ways to cope with failure and adversity

    • Maximizing practice habits and learning potential

    • Developing communication skills to improve relationships with teammates, coaches, and colleagues

    • Managing injuries and navigating end of career transitions

    • Finding balance between your personal and performance life

    • Career related concerns including school selection, transfers, retirement, and life after sport

    • Preparation for the mental and cultural demands of Division I athletics and professional sport

    The initial session is focused on getting to know you — your history, your goals, and where you want to grow. From there we build a personalized mental training plan with specific strategies and actionable goals to work on between sessions. Clients may meet weekly, biweekly, monthly, or as needed depending on their goals and schedule.

    Available for ages 15 and up. Available in person in Reno, NV and via telehealth or Zoom nationwide. Sport and High Performance Psychology Coaching is not billable through insurance. Standard rate is $150 per hour. Sliding scale pricing is available for high school and college athletes — please don't hesitate to reach out to discuss what works for your situation.

  • The same expertise I bring to individual clients translates powerfully to groups, teams, and organizations. Whether you are looking for a keynote speaker for your next event, a workshop facilitator for your team or athletic department, or an engaging presenter on the mental side of performance and wellness, I bring real world experience from the highest levels of sport and business to every stage I step on.

    I speak to athletic departments, schools and universities, corporate audiences, and sports organizations on topics including:

    • Mental performance and sport psychology

    • Student athlete mental health and wellness

    • Leadership and team culture

    • High performance habits and mindset

    • Coaching education and athlete development

    My speaking style is engaging, practical, and grounded in both research and real experience. Audiences leave with concrete tools and perspectives they can apply immediately, not just inspiration that fades by the next morning.

    Notable speaking engagements include:

    • Featured Speaker, Las Vegas Aces WNBA 1st Annual Mental Health Summit, Las Vegas, NV

    • Commencement Speaker, Feather River College Graduation

    • Keynote Speaker, Plumas County High School Career Fair

    • Youth Athlete Mental Health Symposium, Northern Nevada Hopes, Reno, NV

    • Mental Health Summit, Washoe County School District, Reno, NV

    • Panel Presenter, National Association for Athletics Compliance Conference, Las Vegas, NV

    • Sport Mental Skills and Life Skills Speaker, UC Davis, UNLV, and University of Nebraska Athletic Departments

    I am available for in person engagements throughout Nevada, including Reno and Las Vegas, and travel nationally for the right opportunity. To inquire about availability and rates, please reach out directly.

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My Approach

I believe that lasting change, whether in performance or in life, comes from treating the whole person, not just the symptom or the skill gap. My approach is integrative, meaning I draw from a range of evidence-based frameworks and tailor every strategy to the individual in front of me. No two clients are the same, and no two plans should be either.

At the core of my work is a simple belief: the mental side of performance and the mental side of wellness are deeply connected. Whether you're a professional athlete managing performance anxiety, an executive navigating high-stakes decisions, or someone working through a difficult life transition, the tools we develop together will serve you both inside and outside your arena.

What sets my work apart is a deep, sport-specific knowledge base built across years of working inside elite athletic programs. I understand the unique demands, culture, and pressures of individual sports and team environments, from the mental grind of a Big Ten season to the precision and composure required on the PGA TOUR. That sport-specific fluency allows me to build plans that are not just clinically sound, but genuinely relevant to the performance domain you live and compete in every day.

I work collaboratively with my clients. You bring the goals, the self-awareness, and the willingness to do the work, and I bring the expertise, the research, and the roadmap. From the very first session, we work together to identify specific, meaningful behavioral goals that give our work clear direction and purpose. Every appointment ends with concrete, actionable steps to practice and implement between sessions, because real growth happens in the moments outside our time together, not just during it.

My approach is also pragmatic. I meet you where you are and we build from there. Progress is measured not just by how you feel in session, but by the tangible changes you're making in your daily life, your performance, and your relationships. Whether that means weekly sessions, monthly check-ins, or intensive work around a specific event or challenge, we'll find a structure that fits your life and gets you results.

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Licenses & Certifications

  • Licensed Psychologist, Nevada (PY0973)

  • Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) — Association for Applied Sport Psychology

  • PSYPACT Interjurisdictional Practice Certificate (IPC) #5596

  • Listed on the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Mental Health and Mental Performance Directories

Professional Experience

  • Psychological Services Provider — PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour

  • Contracted Mental Health Provider — NBA Summer League (2023)

  • Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology — UNLV Athletics

  • Athletic Psychologist — University of Nebraska Cornhuskers

  • Community Faculty Member — University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine

  • Sport Psychologist & Licensed Psychologist — Doerr Psychological Services LLC, Private Practice

Education

  • Doctorate in Clinical Psychology — James Madison University

  • Doctoral Internship — University of California, Davis, Sport Psychology Emphasis (APA-Accredited)

  • Master's in Sport & Performance Psychology — University of Denver

  • Bachelor's in Psychology — University of Nevada, Reno

  • Associate's in Liberal Studies — Feather River College

Awards & Recognition

  • Distinguished Alumnus — Feather River College (2023)

  • Most Distinguished Graduate Student — James Madison University Department of Graduate Psychology (2016)

  • Taylor & Francis Publishing Student Travel Award (2014)

  • Published Researcher — peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in sport and performance psychology

My path to this work didn't start in a classroom. It started on the field.

Growing up in Reno, Nevada, sport was a central part of my life. I got my first real taste of high performance culture playing baseball at Reno High School under Coach Pete Savage, an experience that showed me early what it meant to be pushed to compete at a high level. That foundation carried me to Feather River College, where playing under Coach Terry Baumgartner on a nationally ranked program deepened my understanding of what elite sport culture truly demands of an athlete, mentally and physically.

Like many athletes, I experienced firsthand the gap between physical preparation and mental readiness. I struggled with the mental side of performance, the doubt, the pressure, the inconsistency, until I discovered that the mind could be trained just as deliberately as the body. That realization was a turning point. With the right tools and the right mindset, I found my footing as an athlete and went on to compete at the college level.

But sport also taught me about loss. A career ending injury forced me to step away from competition before I was ready, and that experience opened something in me. I understood deeply what it meant to have your identity, your purpose, and your daily structure stripped away all at once. It was out of that experience that my calling became clear. I wanted to serve athletes and high achievers not just in performance, but in the full complexity of their mental health and wellness.

That personal foundation drove every academic and professional decision that followed. I began my graduate training at the University of Denver, earning a Master's in Sport and Performance Psychology under the mentorship of some of the most accomplished sport psychologists and mental performance consultants in the field. The training I received there set a standard for excellence that shaped everything that came after.

I then pursued my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at James Madison University, where I had the unique distinction of being the first sport psychology student in the doctoral program. Alongside former Association for Applied Sport Psychology President Dr. Bob Harmison, I played an integral role in helping develop the Challace McMillin Center for Sport Psychology, contributing to building something that would go on to serve athletes and coaches for years to come. My time at JMU sharpened both my clinical and research skills, and I was honored to receive the Most Distinguished Graduate Student award from the Department of Graduate Psychology upon completing my degree. My doctoral internship at UC Davis further deepened my clinical training with a dedicated sport psychology emphasis.

From there I stepped into elite collegiate sport, joining the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers as an Athletic Psychologist embedded within one of the most storied Big Ten athletic programs in the country. I traveled with teams, sat in on practices, and worked alongside coaches and medical staff to support student athletes across a range of sports, including 10 days in China with the Nebraska Women's Volleyball team. It was immersive, demanding, and exactly where I needed to be.

I then took on the challenge of building a program at UNLV Athletics, where I served as Director of Counseling and Sport Psychology. During my time living and working in Las Vegas, I led the growth of what began as a single provider operation into a three provider department with formalized policies, procedures, and programming serving over 500 Division I student athletes across 16 teams. I served as a member of the UNLV Athletic Department Senior Staff, working alongside department heads to build an integrated model of athlete support that addressed both mental health and performance.

Since returning home to Reno, Nevada, I have built Doerr Psychological Services LLC, a private practice rooted in the same philosophy that has guided my entire career. That performance and wellness are two sides of the same coin. I have had the privilege of serving as a contracted Mental Health Provider for the NBA Summer League, and most recently as a Psychological Services Provider for the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. I also serve as a Community Faculty Member at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, contributing to the training of future physicians, and remain active as a published researcher and public speaker.

If any part of that journey resonates with you, there is a good chance we would work well together.