Mental Skills Training for Corporate Professionals
Help your team manage pressure, perform consistently, communicate effectively, and bring their best when the stakes are highest.
What You’re Seeing
In your organization, you might be noticing:
High performers who excel under pressure but are burnt out
Talented people struggling to handle change, volatility, and fast-paced environments
Turnover of high-potential individuals who perceive the culture to be toxic
Leaders who carry stress from one meeting or decision into the next
Lack of communication and teams consciously or unconsciously sabotaging each other
Disengagement, lost confidence, or blaming after a setback or high-pressure period
How Apex Helps Corporate Clients
We bring our mental performance training used by athletes on the field to help professionals off the field. Our deep understanding of high-pressure corporate environments will help your team:
Build Mental Skills
- Pre-performance preparation routines for presentations, negotiations, and high-stakes decisions
- Visualization and mental rehearsal
- Self-talk strategies
- Focus and concentration techniques
- Emotional regulation strategies
Manage Pressure
- Understanding and channeling competitive professional energy
- Performing skillfully when anxiety or stress is present
- Biofeedback training (see your progress in real time)
- Building resilience through setbacks and organizational change
- Preparing mentally for evaluations, reviews, and major deliverables
Strengthen Their Well-Being
- Connecting with what drives them in their work
- Building confidence under pressure
- Setting process-focused goals
- Balancing performance demands with sustainable well-being
- Developing a resilient, growth-oriented mindset
Organizations
Why Apex is Different
Mental Performance Focused
Athlete + Apex Counselor/Coach
Guidance from former athletes who understand competitive, high-pressure performance from the inside and bring that experience directly into your professional setting.
Evidence-Based, Not Generic Wellness
This is not a generic mindfulness or stress management workshop. Every engagement is grounded in proven sports mental performance counseling and coaching methodology, tailored to your industry, your team, your role, and your specific corporate challenges.
Biofeedback Training
See your progress in real time. Learn to control your body's stress response with scientific, tangible tools that resonate even with analytically minded professionals.
Gateway Approach
We make mental performance accessible through a practical, skill-building lens. Professionals who might otherwise hesitate to engage, welcome our focus on performance, not pathology.
What Brings Corporate Clients to Apex
Performing Under Pressure
"Our people are skilled and experienced, and when the moment is critical — a major presentation, a high-stakes negotiation, a leadership decision — they deliver it. But they are stressed and burn out quickly.”
What we work on: Understanding pressure responses, breathing and regulation techniques, pre-performance routines, reframing stress as a performance signal, and building confidence through preparation.
Improving Communication
“Individually, everyone wants to do what is best for business, but this is not translating well collectively. Miscommunication is slowing down the process and often undermining results.”
What we work on: improving communication skills and relationships, removing mental blockers such as fire-drill mentality and panic mode and building trust.
Managing High-Stakes Periods
"Performance reviews, promotions, board presentations, and major client meetings are creating intense competition and pressure that's affecting both output and well-being."
What we work on: Managing expectations, focusing on controllables, maintaining perspective, and performing well under evaluation without letting the pressure distort the process.
Resilience Through Adversity
"After a difficult quarter, lost deal, or organizational change, some of our best people are struggling to reset and move forward."
What we work on: Emotional regulation, quick recovery strategies, understanding pressure responses, channeling intensity productively, and developing composure over time.
Reconnecting with Purpose and Motivation
"They used to be energized by this work. Now it feels like going through the motions. Engagement and performance are both slipping."
What we work on: Reconnecting with intrinsic motivation, removing unnecessary external pressures, finding meaning in the process, and making empowered decisions about their professional path.
Meet the Team
Collectively, the Apex team brings over a decade of experience counseling athletes and high performers, including work with professional NASCAR organizations, MLB, NBA, NFL, and PGA players, and NCAA athletic departments at every division.
Dr. Ben Oliva | Doctorate in Psychology (PsyD) | Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC) | Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) | Biofeedback Certified (BCIA)
Dr. Oliva and his team specialize in working with competitive athletes at every level. The Apex team includes former athletes who understand competitive sports from the inside, bringing that experience directly into their performance counseling and coaching work. Dr. Oliva has been featured as an expert in Bustle and on podcasts, including Michael Lewis's "Against the Rules" and Leadership Under Fire.
Victoria McKnight | Master of Social Work (MSW) | Licensed Clinical Social Worker Associate (LCSWA)
Victoria is part of the Apex team of former athletes who understand competitive sports from the inside, bringing that experience directly into their performance counseling and coaching work. A five-year Division I soccer student-athlete and All American she works with athletes and high performers navigating the pressures of competition and life transitions on and off the field.
Based in Charlotte, NC. Virtual sessions available.
FAQs
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The Apex team offers both performance counseling and coaching, and they work together. Coaching builds practical skills: routines, focus strategies, and pre-performance preparation. Counseling addresses the individual emotional and psychological side: anxiety, identity, and pressure responses. We meet your people where they are and work across both as needed.
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Some clients notice a shift in how they feel and prepare after the first session. For others, change happens more gradually. Translating new mental skills into real performance situations takes consistent practice over time. We track progress together and adjust as needed. Part of the Apex approach is building the mindset for continual growth and improvement, not just a short-term boost.
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We recommend starting with an introductory team workshop where we can talk through our approach. Most professionals engage readily once they understand the work is performance-focused and practical, not clinical or therapeutic in tone.
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Yes, when it is helpful. We work with organizational stakeholders to design programs, set expectations, and evaluate progress. Individual sessions always remain confidential. Group programming establishes shared norms in advance, so participants know what is and is not shared.
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Yes. Many of our individual coaching and group workshop formats are available virtually, making it easy to work with teams across multiple locations.
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We work with individual executives, small leadership teams, and larger departments. Reach out and we can discuss what makes sense for your organization's goals and size.
Ready to Help Your Team Perform at Their Best?
Start your journey by contacting us.