Meet Neal Palles | Psychotherapist, Mental Performance Consultant and Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Neal Palles and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Neal, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
It’s something that I wanted to do for years, when I say years, I’m referring to since I earned my first graduate degree in 1998. I initially started my private practice in 2006 and had to take a hiatus around the time my daughter was born in 2009. I was also juggling a full-time job and communting seventy miles a day (round trip) that on top of running and family was too much. I started again at the end of 2019 and went full in late 2023 when I was laid off from Elevance Health. The layoff was a blessing in disguise as it allowed me to dive into business building full-time. My purpose is to help athletes that are struggling with self-critisicm and feelings of low self-worth and anxiety become more flexible in their feeling and thinking, have more self-compassion and worthiness and belonging and taking action on what matters to them.

What should our readers know about your business?
I provide mental health counseling and mental performance coaching to athletes ages seventeen and up for my own company – Colorado Psychotherapy and Sport Performance. I’ve been in the field as a therapist for twenty-five years, prior to my work as a therapist I worked as an instructor for Outward Bound, working in the mountains and rivers with adults and adolescents. I didn’t just teach mountaineering and rafting skills in high consequence environments, I helped my students to develop resilience and to work efficiently as a team so they can not just climb the mountains, but return home with the same mental skills they learned in the backcountry. With those skills they become resilient people thriving in this ultimate sport of life. I furthered my interest in high performance by earning a second degree in applied sport psychology and over the course of five years have earned a certification as a mental performance consultant through the association for applied sport psychology.
The biggest challenges to overcome has been staying on the course and trusting the process. It’s easy to lose focus, and when you have a family relying on you it feels easier to take the well worn path, when the reality is when you follow your path in alignment with your values – of your authentic self, you’re reward is going to much greater. Be prepared for the long haul and have patience. When we set goals of reaching a summit. It may take many attempts and there will be many obstacles in the way. Set the goal high, just maybe a bit out of reach. Where there’s some uncertainty, that’s going to light a fire of motivation. The secret though is in the sauce. You’ve got to be prepared with being uncomfortable and doing so with grace and focus.
The biggest takeaway with my brand is that I help people that are passionate about sport who are struggling with feelings of anxiety and low self-worth become more flexible in their thinking and feeling, less self-critical and more compassionate and worthy so that they are acting on what matters to them in life. I do so with ‘evidence-based’ training backing up experience and a relatable, fun, compassionate style.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’re going go for a run on the Mesa Trail in Boulder, get to the top of Green Mountain and Bear Peak. We’ll head out on a run or a hike at the Longs Peak Trailhead, starting early in the morning and head up to the Keyhole or up and over Granite Pass down the Sky Pond and back. We’ll eat and hangout at Avery Brewing. We might go for a ride on mountain bikes up and over continental divide at Rollins Pass into Winter Park and back up and over – finishing the day eating Nepali and Indian food at Kathmandhu restaurant in Nederland. We might head out to Twin Lakes and run up and over Hope Pass, and finish the day at High Mountain Pies in Leadville.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Building a buisness isn’t easy and it’s extremely taxing on a family. The person that deserves the most recognition for support is my wife. She’s trusting the process, providing support and suggestions when she can and going with the flow of the ups and downs of start-up process.
I’d also add my mother who passed away several months ago. Her grit and determination through life was awe inspiring. Her encouragment and through my own challenges growing up lead me to be the person I am today.

Website: https://www.coloradopsychotherapyandsport.com

Instagram: @coloradopsychotherapyandsport