Performance Anxiety Therapy
Helping You Perform Like You Do in Practice, When It Actually Counts
- Anxiety counseling for every age, and EMDR with our EMDR-trained therapist
- In-person in New Lenox and telehealth across Illinois
- In-network with Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and UMR
- No waiting list, and we reply within 24 hours
Reviewed by Danielle Moon, LSW, Anxiety & Behavior Therapist · Updated October 2026
Understanding Performance Anxiety and
Why It Needs Real Support
Performance anxiety therapy helps people who are good at what they do but fall apart under pressure. At Davis-Smith Mental Health in New Lenox, IL, we work with athletes, musicians, dancers, actors, public speakers, and students who shine in practice and then freeze, choke, or blank the moment it matters. If you can nail it in the gym, the practice room, or at home, but the game, recital, audition, or presentation undoes you, you are not alone, and it is not a sign that you lack talent.
Performance anxiety is not a lack of skill or preparation. It is the body’s stress response firing at the worst possible moment, flooding you with adrenaline, racing thoughts, and physical symptoms that get in the way of doing what you already know how to do. It affects beginners and seasoned performers alike, and it responds very well to the right support. We are here to help. We serve clients throughout Will County, including Joliet, Frankfort, Mokena, and Lockport, with telehealth available across Illinois. Common forms include sports performance anxiety, stage fright, test anxiety and fear of public speaking, and they often bring physical symptoms like a racing heart or shaky hands along with negative thoughts about failure.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health conditions, and performance situations are one of the most frequent triggers. The cruel part is that the harder you care, the more pressure you feel, and the more anxiety can sabotage the very thing you have worked so hard for. Performance anxiety therapy helps you change your relationship with pressure, calm your body, and learn to trust your preparation, so your performance finally reflects your ability.
“It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.”
– Sir Edmund Hillary
In-network with
- Aetna PPO
- Cigna / Evernorth
- BCBS PPO
- UnitedHealthcare
- UMR
- Initial assessment $200
- Ongoing sessions $150
Insurance and rates
Insurance Accepted
Davis-Smith Mental Health is in network with Aetna PPO, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Cigna and Evernorth, UnitedHealthcare, and UMR. Not every therapist is in every network, so we check your plan with you before your first session. If you’d rather pay privately, we can give you a Superbill to use with your out-of-network benefits.
WHEN TO REACH OUT
Signs You May Be Struggling With Performance Anxiety
Performance anxiety shows up as a gap between what you can do and what you actually do when it counts. If several of these sound familiar, performance anxiety therapy may help:
Performing Worse Than You Do in Practice
Nailing it in rehearsal, training, or at home, then falling apart the moment there is an audience, a scoreboard, or a grade attached.
Dread and Nausea Before the Event
Feeling sick, shaky, or unable to eat in the hours or days before a game, recital, audition, or presentation.
Going Blank or Freezing
Losing your words, your place, or your focus in the moment, even though you knew it cold five minutes earlier.
Physical Symptoms That Get in the Way
Shaky hands, racing heart, dry mouth, tight chest, or trembling that interfere with how you move, speak, or play.
Avoiding Tryouts, Auditions, or Opportunities
Holding back from chances you want, or finding reasons not to compete, perform, or present, to avoid the fear.
Harsh Self-Criticism Afterwards
Replaying every mistake, beating yourself up for hours or days, and struggling to recognize what actually went well.
Overpreparing Yet Never Feeling Ready
Practicing endlessly and still feeling like it is not enough, because the anxiety is never satisfied.
Thinking About Quitting Something You Love
Considering walking away from a sport, instrument, or activity that matters to you, just to escape the pressure.
Trouble Sleeping Before a Big Day
Lying awake the night before a game, performance, or presentation, unable to switch off the worry.
You Do Not Have to Figure This Out Alone
Living with performance anxiety is exhausting in a way that is hard to explain to people who have not felt it. You prepare, you practice, you do everything right, and the fear still shows up and gets in your way. You second-guess yourself before, during, and after. You watch others who are no more talented than you perform with ease, and you wonder what is wrong with you. The answer is nothing. Your nervous system has simply learned to treat performing as a threat, and that can be unlearned.
Reaching out for performance anxiety therapy is not an admission that you are weak or not cut out for it. It is one of the smartest things a serious performer can do, the same way top athletes work with sport psychologists. Our therapists work with people who are tired of letting nerves rob them of their best, and we meet you exactly where you are. You do not need to have it all figured out. You just need to take one step. We will help with the rest.
The Power of Performance Anxiety Therapy
How Performance Anxiety Therapy Can Help
Performance anxiety therapy gives you more than calming tricks for the big day. It changes your whole relationship with pressure. Here is the difference it can make:
Closing the Practice-to-Performance Gap
Learning to bring what you can do in practice into the moments that count, so your results finally match your ability.
Calming Your Body Under Pressure
Practical tools for the racing heart, shaky hands, and adrenaline rush, so your body works with you instead of against you.
Reframing the Nerves
Learning to read that surge of energy as readiness rather than danger, so it fuels your performance instead of wrecking it.
Quieting the Inner Critic
Challenging the harsh, catastrophic thoughts that hijack your focus before and during a performance.
A Pre-Performance Routine That Works
Building a reliable mental and physical routine that helps you get into the zone on demand.
Recovering From Mistakes in the Moment
Learning to let a slip go and stay present, instead of one error spiraling into a ruined performance.
Facing What You Have Been Avoiding
Getting back to tryouts, auditions, and opportunities you have been ducking, in steps that feel manageable.
Confidence That Lasts
Building genuine, durable self-trust so you can keep doing what you love without dread running the show.
How Performance Anxiety Impacts Daily Life
Performance anxiety does not stay on the field or the stage. It seeps into the days beforehand, ruining sleep, appetite, and focus. It can turn something you once loved into a source of dread, and it can quietly shrink your ambitions as you start avoiding the situations that scare you. Many people carry it silently, assuming everyone else has it figured out, when in truth performance anxiety is one of the most common and most treatable struggles there is.
Pressure, Preparation, and Self-Doubt
The hardest part of performance anxiety is often the build-up. You replay worst-case scenarios, question your preparation, and feel the pressure mount with every passing hour. By the time the moment arrives, you are running on fear instead of skill. Over time, that pattern can erode your confidence and your love for the activity itself. The right support helps you break the cycle, so you can step up and perform like the version of you that shows up in practice.
Performance anxiety therapy helps you manage the pressure, trust your preparation, and perform at your best when it matters most.
New Client
How getting started works
It can be overwhelming coming to counseling. Here’s every step, from your first call to the sessions that follow.
Step 1
Reach out
Request a session online or call (815) 409-5940 to schedule your first appointment.
Step 2
Fill out your intake forms
Your welcome email has everything. Finish the forms at least 48 hours before your appointment, on a phone, tablet or computer, and share your preferred times and therapist.
Step 3
We check your benefits
If you’re using insurance, we check your benefits before confirming your appointment, so you have a good idea of your cost before your first visit.
Step 4
Your first session
Check in on the iPad in our waiting room. Your therapist walks you through confidentiality, answers your questions, and gets to know you and your goals.
Step 5
Plan next steps together
Most people start with weekly sessions, at least three to build a connection, then adjust together as things improve.
Warm, Real, and Built Around You
Our Approach to Performance Anxiety Therapy
At Davis-Smith Mental Health, we treat performance anxiety as something specific and very workable, not as a character flaw. We start by understanding exactly where and how the anxiety shows up for you, whether that is the free-throw line, the audition room, the stage, or the front of a classroom, because the plan has to fit your real situation.
As part of our anxiety therapy, we use approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to help you identify and challenge the thoughts that fuel the fear, alongside practical performance psychology tools such as controlled breathing, visualization, and pre-performance routines. We use gradual exposure to help you rebuild confidence in the exact situations that trigger you. We also keep an eye on related struggles such as depression and emotional regulation, which often sit underneath performance anxiety.
Our goal is not just to get you through the next big event. It is to give you genuine, lasting confidence under pressure, so you can keep doing what you love. We believe you have far more capability than your anxiety is currently letting you show. Sometimes you just need the right support to get it back.
We proudly serve clients in New Lenox and the surrounding South Suburbs, with telehealth available throughout Illinois.
Learn more about what to expect when you get started.
Personalized care
Licensed, caring therapists
Every therapist on our team works with anxiety. We will match you with the right therapist for you.
Anxiety at the center
Anxiety is the foundation of everything we do.
EMDR-trained care
EMDR helps clients process what talk therapy alone can’t reach.
Every age and stage
From children and teens to young adults and adults.
In-person and telehealth
Our New Lenox office or secure online therapy for clients in Illinois.
Frequently Asked Questions About
Performance Anxiety Therapy
Find the Support You Need
Tell us a little about what is going on. We will match you with the right therapist and reach out to schedule.
Trouble seeing the form? Open it in a new window or call us at (815) 409-5940.
What People Are Saying About Us
5.0 Based on 6 Google reviews
“Davis-Smith Mental Health truly cares about their clients. The therapists are compassionate, skilled, and genuinely committed to helping you grow and heal. It’s clear that Jessica has built a team that shares her values and dedication. Highly recommend to anyone looking for meaningful support and real results.”
Kasia Budyn · Posted on Google
“Jessica provides a safe and welcoming environment for all the teens she sees. She tailors treatment to each teen and is incredibly patient and open to their needs. I have seen first hand the work she does and the connection she has with kids. I cannot recommend her enough as someone who will care for your teen and your family!”
Google User · Posted on Google
“Davis-Smith Mental Health is a trusted resource for providing compassionate, high-quality therapy for teens and emerging adults. I know confidently that clients are supported with empathy, professionalism, and respect. Jessica leads her team with integrity and intention. She clearly prioritizes the well-being of her staff, which allows them to show up fully for the clients they serve. Their commitment to the healing journey is evident in every interaction. I’m grateful to have them as a referral partner and deeply value their work in the mental health community.”
Sherri Wick · Posted on Google
“Jessica is a dedicated therapist and absolutely loves working with teens. You are able to feel the love from the moment you walk through the door. She and her staff will provide a safe and private environment for that one on one attention you deserve.”
Melanie K. Hall · Posted on Google
“Jessica and her team are so passionate and helpful! I would recommend this practice to anyone looking!”
Biljana Krzywinski · Posted on Google
More ways we can help
Other Ways We Help
Anxiety Therapy
Anxiety is the most common reason families come to us, and it’s the foundation of everything we do. Whether your teen is avoiding school, your young adult can’t stop overthinking, or worry has taken over your daily life, we can help. Our therapists use CBT and EMDR to help clients understand what’s driving their anxiety and build real tools to manage it.
Teen Anxiety Counseling
The teen years are when anxiety tends to hit the hardest. School pressure, social stress, comparison, and the weight of figuring out who they are can leave teens feeling overwhelmed and stuck. We work with teens to understand what’s behind the anxiety and give them real skills they can actually use, at school, at home, and in the moments that feel like too much.
EMDR Therapy
EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a well-researched approach for trauma, and it’s also used for anxiety. It works by helping the brain reprocess difficult memories and experiences that are keeping you stuck. Our EMDR-trained therapist works with teens, young adults, and adults.
Depression Therapy
Depression and anxiety often show up together. If your teen has lost interest in things they used to enjoy, is sleeping too much or too little, or seems hopeless about the future, therapy can help. We work with clients to find what’s underneath the depression and build a path forward that actually feels possible.
Trauma Counseling
Trauma is one of the most common drivers of anxiety in teenagers and young adults. It doesn’t always look like what you’d expect. It can show up as constant worry, anger, trouble concentrating, or emotional shutdown. Our therapists help clients work through trauma at their own pace, in a space where they feel safe.
Emotional Regulation
When anxiety runs high, emotions feel unmanageable. Some children, teens, and adults feel everything. Small frustrations become explosions. Sadness becomes despair. We help clients understand their patterns and develop strategies for handling intense feelings without shutting down or lashing out.
Relationship Counseling
Anxiety doesn’t just affect the person experiencing it. It changes how they show up in every relationship. We help teens, young adults, and adults work through the ways anxiety and other challenges are impacting their connections with family, friends, and partners.
Life Transitions
Starting high school. Leaving for college. A new job, a divorce, a move. Life transitions can trigger anxiety, depression, and self-doubt, even when the change is something you wanted. We help clients work through the uncertainty and build confidence in who they’re becoming.
Young Adult Counseling
The years between 18 and 30 come with a unique kind of pressure. A lot of young adults are dealing with anxiety they’ve carried since their teenage years but never had the chance to address. We help them get unstuck and start building a life that feels like theirs.
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You don’t have to figure this out alone
If something told you to keep reading this far, trust that feeling. Whether it’s for yourself, your teen, or your young adult, the hardest part is deciding to start. We are here when you are ready.
there is courage in change ♥
- Anxiety counseling for children, teens and adults
- Rated 5.0 on Google
- In-network with Aetna, BCBS, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare and UMR
- Telehealth for clients in Illinois
- In-person in New Lenox
- EMDR therapy for anxiety and trauma
- We truly care about every client
- There is courage in change