Is an Advanced Degree Needed to Be a Mental Coach?
Article Summary: No. You do not need an advanced degree to become a mental performance coach through the MGCP pathway. The MGCP program was designed for coaches, therapists, sport professionals, and others who want practical training in mental performance coaching without completing a master’s or Ph.D. degree.
If you already work with athletes or were an athlete or coach, you understand coaching, training, psychology, or performance. You may also see how often the mental side of sports affects an athlete’s results.
The question is: How do you add mental performance coaching to your existing skill set?
You do not necessarily need to return to school for another degree. Specialized mental performance coaching education can give you the knowledge, tools, and practical experience to help athletes develop stronger mental skills.
The Mental Game Coaching Professional (MGCP) certification program was created for professionals who want to learn a proven system for mental game coaching. The program has trained coaches, therapists, life coaches, psychologists, and sports professionals for more than 20 years.
If you want the Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) credential from AASP, you need a master’s or doctoral degree, 400 mentored hours, and a passing score on the CMPC exam. MGCP is an applied certification path that doesn’t require a graduate degree. See the different requirements for CMPC vs. MGCP certification.
What Does a Mental Performance Coach Do?
A mental performance coach helps athletes develop the mental skills needed to perform consistently under pressure.
Mental performance coaches focus on performance and mental skills. They don’t diagnose or treat clinical issues such as depression or anxiety disorders, and they refer athletes to licensed professionals when needed.
Athletes may have excellent physical skills but struggle to use them in competition. They may lose confidence after mistakes, become distracted, worry about results, or struggle to stay composed when the pressure increases.
Mental performance coaching addresses these challenges.
A coach may help an athlete improve confidence, concentration, mental toughness, motivation, emotional control, pre-performance routines, self-talk, visualization, and the ability to recover after mistakes.
The goal is not simply to teach athletes about mental skills. The goal is to help athletes apply those skills during practice and competition. That requires a structured coaching process.
Mental performance coaches focus on performance and mental skills. They don’t diagnose or treat clinical issues such as depression or anxiety disorders, and they refer athletes to licensed professionals when needed.
Do You Need a Master’s Degree to Become a Mental Performance Coach?
A sports psychology master’s degree is one educational path into the field. It is not the only way to develop expertise in mental performance coaching.
Many professionals already have education and experience in areas such as coaching, therapy, psychology, fitness, athletics, or sports performance. For these professionals, specialized mental performance coaching education can add another area of expertise without requiring another multi-year academic program.
The key is learning how to apply mental performance principles with real athletes.
You need to understand the mental skills athletes use. You also need to know how to identify performance challenges, select appropriate strategies, structure coaching sessions, and help athletes apply what they learn.
That practical application is a major part of professional mental game coaching training.
To qualify for MGCP certification, you need one of the following: 5 or more years of combined experience as a competitive athlete, coach, or trainer in your sport; a Ph.D. in psychology; or a master’s degree in counseling psychology. You also need access to athletes you can begin mental training with and strong communication or counseling skills.
Build Your Mental Performance Coaching Knowledge
Before you begin coaching athletes in the mental game, you need a strong foundation in mental performance skills.
Start by learning how confidence affects performance. Understand how athletes develop productive self-talk and how they can refocus after distractions.
Learn how athletes prepare for competition. Study goal setting, visualization, concentration, composure, managing expectations, and responding to mistakes. You also need to understand that every athlete has different mental game needs.
One athlete may struggle with confidence. Another may have trouble controlling distractions. Another may perform well in practice but struggle when the score matters.
Your job as a mental performance coach is to help identify the specific challenge and provide a practical strategy for addressing it. That takes more than reading about sports psychology. You need a system for putting those concepts into practice.
Get Certified as a Mental Performance Coach
Specialized mental coaching certification can provide the structure you need to turn your existing professional experience into mental performance coaching expertise.
The Mental Game Coaching Professional program was created by Dr. Patrick Cohn in 2004. Dr. Cohn has more than 40 years of experience working with junior, amateur, and professional athletes and teaching mental skills to coaches and professionals.
The MGCP program teaches professionals a system for mental game coaching with athletes and teams. The training includes mental performance strategies, assessments, case studies, workbooks, worksheets, and practical coaching applications.
The certification program also gives participants opportunities to work through real-world athlete situations.
The current program includes 18 case studies, live instruction, mental coaching resources, and practical assignments. Participants learn how to respond to different mental performance challenges and apply coaching strategies to actual situations.
This type of training matters because knowing a mental skill and knowing how to coach that skill are two different things.
Learn How to Coach Real Athletes
Mental performance coaching becomes easier to understand when you work with real situations. Consider an athlete who plays well during practice but loses confidence after making an early mistake in competition.
You need to understand what happens before, during, and after that mistake. You then need to determine which mental skills can help the athlete respond differently.
This is where case studies and practical coaching experience become important.
The MGCP program uses real-life case studies to help professionals learn how to analyze mental performance problems and develop strategies for athletes. Participants also complete practical work with athletes as part of the certification process.
The program includes a 20-chapter written curriculum, mental coaching summary sheets and worksheets, case studies, and other resources designed to help coaches apply the material with athletes and teams.
- You learn the process of moving from a performance problem to a coaching strategy.
- That process becomes the foundation for your work with athletes.
Start Using Mental Performance Coaching in Your Existing Career
You do not need to abandon your current profession to become a mental performance coach. You can build mental performance coaching into the work you already do.
A sports coach can add mental skills training to athlete development. A strength and conditioning professional can help athletes address the mental side of preparation and competition. A life coach can develop a specialty working with athletes.
Therapists and psychologists may also find mental performance coaching useful as an additional area of professional expertise, within the boundaries of their education, license, and professional scope.
The same applies to sports professionals who already spend time helping athletes improve. Your existing experience gives you a starting point. Mental performance coaching training gives you a framework for addressing the mental side of performance.
This combination can allow you to expand the services you provide without starting your career over.
Build Your Mental Performance Coaching Practice
Once you develop your mental performance coaching skills, you can decide how you want to use them. Some coaches work with individual athletes. Others work with teams, clubs, schools, or sports organizations.
You can also choose to specialize in a particular sport or population. For example, you might focus on golfers, tennis players, baseball players, soccer players, youth athletes, college athletes, or elite competitors.
Your existing professional relationships can help you develop your practice. Coaches, trainers, athletic directors, parents, teams, and sports organizations may already know the value you bring to athletes.
Mental performance coach certification can also help establish your training and specialization as you introduce mental performance coaching into your professional services.
The Mental Game Coaching Professional program provides certified coaches with a structured system, coaching resources, and continued education opportunities to support their work with athletes. The mental coach certification program was developed by Dr. Patrick Cohn of Peak Performance Sports, LLC in 2004.
Your Path to Becoming a Mental Performance Coach
If you already work with athletes or performers, your path can be straightforward. First, build on the knowledge and experience you already have. You do not need to start from zero.
Second, learn the core principles of mental performance coaching. Develop a strong understanding of confidence, concentration, mental toughness, self-talk, preparation, composure, and other mental skills.
Third, complete specialized mental performance coaching training. Look for a program that teaches you how to apply the material, rather than simply providing information.
Fourth, work through real athlete situations. Case studies and practical coaching experience help you develop better judgment and coaching skills.
Fifth, complete the requirements for professional certification. With MGCP, this includes coursework, case studies, practical work, and other certification requirements.
Finally, integrate mental performance coaching into your existing professional practice. You can start with the athletes you already serve and expand from there.
MGCP Certification Options
You can earn your MGCP certification in the format that fits your schedule:
- Live group certification: 12 weeks with 10 live meetings, typically 8-10 coaches per group. $5,000 ($500 off with early registration).
- Hybrid certification: self-paced, with no live sessions required. Start anytime. $4,000.
- One-on-one certification: work directly with Dr. Cohn. Start anytime. $8,000.
- Self-paced course (non-certification): learn the MGCP system at your own pace. $3,000.
Compare all MGCP certification options.
Become a Mental Game Coaching Professional
You do not need to spend years earning a master’s or advanced degree to begin developing expertise in mental performance coaching.
To qualify for MGCP certification, you need one of the following: 5 or more years of combined experience as a competitive athlete, coach, or trainer in your sport or be a current therapist. You also need access to athletes you can begin mental training with and strong communication or counseling skills.
If you already work with athletes, coaches, teams, or performers, specialized training can help you add mental performance coaching to your professional skill set.
The MGCP certification program provides a structured system for learning how to coach the mental game. You learn from Dr. Patrick Cohn’s decades of experience, work through real athlete case studies, practice mental coaching strategies, and gain resources you can use with athletes and teams.
Here are the options and costs:
- Live group certification: 12 weeks, 10 live meetings, typically 8–10 coaches, $5,000
- Hybrid certification: $4,000
- One-on-one certification: $8,000
- Self-paced course (non-certification): $3,000
If you are ready to expand your professional expertise and learn a practical system for helping athletes improve their mental game, explore the Mental Game Coaching Professional certification program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an advanced degree to become a mental performance coach?
No. An advanced degree is not required to pursue mental performance coaching through the MGCP certification pathway. The program provides specialized training for professionals who want to develop practical mental game coaching skills and work with athletes.
What qualifications do I need to become a mental performance coach?
For MGCP certification, you need 5 or more years of combined experience as a competitive athlete, coach, or trainer in your sport; a Ph.D. in psychology; or a master’s degree in counseling psychology. You also need access to athletes you can begin mental training with and strong communication or counseling skills.
What does a mental performance coach help athletes with?
Mental performance coaches help athletes develop skills such as confidence, concentration, mental toughness, composure, motivation, self-talk, visualization, and pre-performance routines. Coaches also help athletes handle pressure, recover from mistakes, and perform more consistently in competition.
How long does it take to become a certified mental performance coach?
The time depends on the certification program and your pace. The MGCP hybrid program allows participants to start when they are ready and gives them up to one year to complete the program. The program includes coursework, case studies, live-session recordings, practical work, and a final case study.
Can I become a mental performance coach while keeping my current career?
Yes. Mental performance coaching can complement an existing career. Coaches, therapists, psychologists, trainers, and sports professionals can integrate mental performance coaching into their current services or develop a specialized coaching practice for athletes.
Want More Information?
- Learn more about how the MGCP program works.
- Apply now to become a certified MGCP
- Get details about sports psychology certification online
- Compare the MGCP certification with the CMPC credential
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