Dr. Megan - Sport & Performance Psychologist

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Megan Cannon, Ph.D

Dec 15, 2022

Dr. Megan - Sport & Performance Psychologist

1. What's your practice focus and who are your typical patients?

My practice focuses on assisting athletes perform both on and off the field, specifically high school, collegiate, and professional. A portion of my clients are athletes struggling with their mental health and wellness. While others are more specific to enhancing their sport performance.

2. Tell us about yourself.

I found myself diving into the world of sport psychology because it combined two worlds I knew well. I grew up as an athelte, competing in swimming, softball, and dance, and living in that highly competitive world. Upon my transition to college, I began studying psychology.

While getting my Ph.D. in clinical psychology at Nova Southeastern University, I had a chance to work with the athletes on campus and it was truly a fusion of two worlds I knew well: sport and psychology.

I never looked back and now I have the opportunity to help a group of people increase their knowledge and skillset surrounding mental health and performance. I love my job because I have the chance to use sport as an opening to teach young adults how they can help themselves, both in sport and out.

Now I am currently on a mission to make sport psychology resources more accessible to the athlete population. The awareness that the tools sport psychology provides can help a human being in their journey of life excites and motivates me every day.

3. Tell us the story of a patient who you are most proud of helping.

I once had a high school athelte who had to immediately and prematurely retire from athletics due to concussions. Their identity was being an athlete, and it was taken away from them in one moment. This athlete and I worked together to help them cope with the forced early retirement and transition out of athlete life, to thriving even better than before through expanding their interests, social circles, and overall engagement in their life. Was a super cool experience that I won't forget.

4. What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a practitioner in private practice?

A huge challenge is not having others to bounce ideas off of along with ride the successes and stressors together. No one else truly gets or understands how my practice works nor feels to live the ups and downs. A consultation group of others in the field has helped a great deal with that, but it still is a challenge.

5. What are the top 3 tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a private practice today?\

1. Find your niche. There are a ton of providers out there, but having a specialization or area you can lean into will set you apart.

2. Start the back-end creation of systems for invoicing, notes, billing, etc.. right away. Totally easier to spend extra time at the start figuring it out rather than trying to retroactively do it while you're busier.

3. Find and create a network of others in a similar niche. Great for the support, consulting, and relationships in your field.