Services
Performance Coaching for Professionals and Performers
Are you a professional looking to advance in your career or a performer seeking the next level of success? Does the pressure to meet expectations leave you feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, or unsure of how to get where you want to be? Whether you’re battling burnout, struggling with focus, or simply looking to maximize your potential, working with a performance coach can help you achieve your goals with confidence and clarity.
At Music City Psych, we offer performance therapy to help professionals, artists, and performers unlock their potential. If you’re a business owner navigating workplace stress, a musician trying to reach bigger stages, or an artist struggling with confidence in your work, our mental performance coaches provide expert guidance to help you overcome obstacles and reach new heights. Led by David Pearl, LCSW, our practice has helped a variety of professionals, performers, and creatives, including:
- Executives and business leaders
- Grammy-nominated producers and artists
- Touring musicians
- Actors and stage performers
No matter your profession or creative discipline, we’re here to help you thrive.
Meet in-person or online. We offer the option to meet with your therapist online. Video sessions are held through HIPPA-protected Zoom.
Featured Performance Coaches
David Pearl, LCSW
David Pearl, LCSW, combines over a decade of experience to help professionals and performers harness their mental strengths to excel under pressure. David blends mindfulness practices with performance psychology techniques to help clients optimize their potential and achieve meaningful results.
Campbell Bowden, LPC (temp)
Campbell Bowden brings a dynamic and supportive approach to performance coaching, leveraging insights from her background as a Division I athlete. She uses evidence-based methods and performance psychology strategies to empower clients to manage stress, focus, and stay confident in high-stakes settings.
What is performance coaching?
Performance coaching focuses on the psychological and emotional factors that influence success in high-stakes careers. From workplace challenges and creative blocks to professional transitions, working with a mental performance coach can help you develop the skills and resilience needed to perform at your best.
Through performance therapy, clients address common challenges like stress, self-doubt, and perfectionism. This targeted approach helps individuals:
- Build mental clarity and focus
- Overcome burnout and regain motivation
- Enhance confidence and self-awareness
- Develop tools for stress management and emotional regulation
- Set and achieve meaningful career goals
How performance coaching can help
Performance therapy is designed to address the unique challenges faced by high-achieving professionals and performers. Working with a performance coach can help you:
- Combat Burnout: Learn strategies to manage stress, recover your energy, and prevent professional fatigue from holding you back.
- Strengthen Resilience: Build the mental toughness to navigate setbacks, criticism, and unexpected challenges.
- Improve Focus: Develop techniques to stay present and productive, even in high-pressure situations.
- Address Self-Doubt: Overcome imposter syndrome and perfectionism with practical tools to build confidence.
- Create Balance: Find harmony between your professional and personal life while staying aligned with your values and priorities.
A commitment to performance excellence
Before establishing Music City Psych in Nashville, David Pearl, LCSW, honed his expertise as a psychotherapist and performance coach at Union Square Practice in New York City. At USP, David developed a deep understanding of the psychological tools that drive high-level performance alongside Dr. Jonathan Fader—known for his work as Director of Mental Conditioning for the New York Giants and team psychologist for the New York Mets. Over the past decade, David has applied these insights to help both athletes and professional performers refine their mental game and unlock their potential.
While at Union Square Practice, David recognized that high-achieving individuals across artistic and professional disciplines often face similar challenges to those experienced by elite athletes. Issues like performance anxiety, fear of failure, lack of confidence or motivation, and imposter syndrome are also common roadblocks for business professionals, artists, and others. David quickly realized that the same mental conditioning techniques that help professional athletes thrive under pressure could be adapted to empower those in other demanding careers. By addressing the core psychological factors influencing performance, David helps his clients cultivate both personal well-being and professional success.
David collaborates with clients to clarify their performance goals and values, creating customized strategies to help them overcome obstacles and build healthier habits. Through targeted psychological practices, clients engage in regular mental exercises that enhance mindfulness, reframe negative thought patterns, and foster a more grounded approach. As they progress, clients gain resilience, improve mental efficiency, and experience greater consistency in their performance. Ultimately, this work leads to sustained success, professional fulfilment, and a deeper sense of personal alignment.
Peak performance is about more than preparation
When we see a virtuoso musician command the stage or a seasoned professional deliver a powerful presentation, it’s easy to assume their success is purely the result of talent and preparation. What we rarely consider is the invisible work that powers those moments—the mental effort behind staying focused, calm, and resilient under pressure.
Every profession or craft has its technical side, from managing financial risk or implementing secure code to memorizing lines or perfecting pitch. But beneath those skills lies an equally important layer: the ability to navigate self-doubt, silence the inner critic, and stay composed in high-stakes situations. Without addressing these mental factors, even the most well-prepared individuals can falter.
How Does My Mental State Affect My Performance?
Think about your own journey. Have you ever walked offstage, out of a meeting, or away from an opportunity, thinking, “I could have done better, but something held me back”? That “something” is often a psychological block. It’s stress, fear of failure, or perhaps simply being overwhelmed by the moment. Left unchecked, these mental barriers can limit your growth and diminish your ability to perform at your best.
Performance coaching focuses on uncovering and addressing these hidden challenges. It’s about equipping you with the tools to cultivate confidence, reframe unproductive thought patterns, and find clarity when it’s needed most. When you actively engage with the mental side of performance, you create a foundation for success that’s as dynamic and adaptable as your chosen profession demands.
True mastery isn’t just about what the audience sees or the outcome of a project. It’s about having the mindset to show up fully, no matter the circumstances. With performance coaching, you can align your mental game with your goals, unlocking a level of potential that not only meets expectations but redefines and extends them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Am I a good candidate for performance coaching?
Performance coaching is for anyone looking to improve their skills when it matters most. It draws from a range of disciplines, including sports psychology, organizational psychology, and executive coaching, to help individuals thrive under pressure and on a daily basis. A performance coach can help you with building resilience, enhancing focus, managing stress, and more in fields like medicine, business, the arts, and leadership.
If you’re navigating high-stakes situations, seeking to enhance your focus, or striving to reach your true potential, performance coaching provides strategies tailored to your needs.
How does performance coaching help me achieve my goals?
Performance coaching focuses on bridging the gap between where you are now and where you want to be, keeping it unique to you and your situation. Your coach helps you uncover and address internal and external challenges, whether they stem from limiting beliefs, unclear priorities, or stress. Through structured strategies and personalized feedback, you’ll develop actionable plans to improve focus, productivity, and confidence. Some common areas of focus include:
- Clarifying goals: Setting clear, achievable milestones aligned with your vision.
- Enhancing time management: Learning to prioritize effectively and follow through consistently.
- Improving communication: Strengthening interpersonal skills for better networking, collaboration, and influence.
- Boosting creativity: Unlocking innovative thinking to solve problems and approach challenges with fresh perspectives.
- Navigating transitions: Tackling challenges related to career changes or new roles.
Performance coaching is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, it’s an evolving solution designed to help you achieve meaningful progress and sustained success in your personal and professional life.
What happens in a performance coaching session?
Performance coaching sessions are collaborative and tailored to your needs and goals. Each session begins with an open conversation to explore what’s happening with you, from current challenges to recent achievements. Your coach creates a supportive environment where you can talk about the external and internal factors influencing your performance.
Through thoughtful dialogue, your coach helps you uncover patterns that may be holding you back. Together, you’ll develop strategies that align with your values and goals, equipping you with practical tools to implement between sessions.
As you work toward your objectives, sessions serve as a space to reflect on your progress, celebrate successes, and address any setbacks. Your coach helps you refine your approach over time, ensuring it adapts as you grow. This ongoing process leads to sustained improvement, empowering you to face challenges with confidence and clarity.
How long do people work with a performance coach?
The length of time spent working with a performance coach varies based on your goals, challenges, and desired outcomes. Some individuals seek short-term coaching to address a specific issue, such as preparing for a high-stakes event or overcoming a specific mental block. Others find long-term coaching beneficial for building sustained habits and continuously refining their performance.
Typically, clients work with a performance coach for several months, with many choosing to continue for longer as they see ongoing progress and value in the process. Whatever your needs, a performance coach is flexible to help you get the most from your time with them.
How is performance coaching different from therapy?
While performance coaching and therapy both aim to support personal growth, they differ in focus, approach, and goals. Performance coaching is primarily results-oriented. It’s designed to help you address challenges and optimize your performance in professional or creative pursuits. It focuses on present challenges and actionable strategies, offering tools to enhance focus, productivity, and confidence.
Therapy, on the other hand, often takes a more comprehensive approach to mental health and well-being. It delves into broader personal issues such as trauma, relationships, or emotional challenges, and may explore past experiences, including family dynamics, to understand their influence on your present life.
So while many broader principles such as self-discovery are applied similarly in performance coaching and therapy, they are used in different ways to help the client with their particular needs.
What training do you have in performance coaching?
David Pearl, LCSW, received his bachelor’s in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his master’s degree in social work from The Silver School of Social Work at New York University. He went on to practice sports and performance psychology with professional athletes before applying these and other performance-focused strategies to clients in fields such as business, medicine, and the arts.
David’s prior career experience includes counseling individuals and families struggling with the impact of hematologic cancers at Mount Sinai Hospital. He also worked at the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, delivering psychodynamically oriented counseling to both individuals and couples. David has formal training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and certifications in Imago Relationship Therapy and Prepare/Enrich Premarital and Marital Counseling.
Drawing on this rich background, David now focuses his expertise on the interconnected specialties of performance psychology and executive coaching. He helps professionals, business leaders, artists, and more to develop the key practices and habits that set them up for fulfilment in their careers.
Do you offer performance coaching online?
Yes, David offers performance coaching online to anyone regardless of their location. He also offers in-person sessions at the Music City Psych office in Nashville, Tennessee. For those who prefer in-person sessions, our office is located near Belle Meade and Green Hills, with convenient access to The Gulch, Music Row, Hillsboro Village, Brentwood, and downtown Nashville.
Therapy, on the other hand, often takes a more comprehensive approach to mental health and well-being. It delves into broader personal issues such as trauma, relationships, or emotional challenges, and may explore past experiences, including family dynamics, to understand their influence on your present life.
So while many broader principles such as self-discovery are applied similarly in performance coaching and therapy, they are used in different ways to help the client with their particular needs.
