banner image

Elevate Your Game: How Josh Dempsey Integrates Mind, Body & Belief into Sports Success

Athletic excellence doesn’t come from muscles alone—it’s shaped by mindset, presence, and the ability to interpret stress and expectation as fuel, not friction. That’s where Josh Dempsey shines. As a Registered Therapeutic Counsellor (RTC) with Empowered Life Counselling, Josh brings a deeply holistic, trauma-informed approach to helping people—especially those pursuing sport—move from reaction to intentional performance.

1. Uncovering and Reframing Limiting Beliefs

Much like overcoming an injury, excelling in sport often begins with challenging mental roadblocks. Josh works with individuals to trace the roots of self-doubt—those narratives we repeat that hold us back—and transform them into intentional affirmations that elevate rather than constrain.

2. Leveraging CBT with Somatic Depth

Josh’s toolbox combines Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) with somatic and gestalt-inspired techniques—helping clients stay grounded in their body and present in how thoughts manifest physically. This dual approach trains athletes to respond rather than react, to sense the tension before it becomes confusion.

3. Cultivating Intentionality over Reactivity

Whether it's the starting line jitters or a mid-game setback, Josh encourages mindful awareness: noticing the impulse to react when tensions rise, then choosing presence instead—deliberate breath, grounded body, clear mind.

4. A Relational Foundation of Support

Josh holds that real change begins with genuine connection. His style—weaving transpersonal, narrative, family systems, and somatic therapies—creates a safe, empathetic space where clients can explore their emotional patterns and rewired trajectories.

5. From Personal Growth to Performance Gains

Rooted in his own story—having grown up uprooted from Ontario to Calgary, navigating isolation through sports before finding his healing path—Josh understands the athlete’s longing for belonging and mastery. His journey lends authenticity and compassion to his work.

Why Josh’s Approach Works for Athletes

Mind-Body Awareness

Training the nervous system to notice tension and reset instead of reacting.

Belief Reshaping

Rewriting the internal script from “I can’t” to “I can choose this moment.”

Self-Regulation Tools

Practical practices (regulated breathing, embodied pauses) for live performance stress.

Embodied Coaching

Grounded shifts, not surface fixes—anchored in presence, choice, and meaning.

In sports, the most powerful play often isn’t physical—it’s mental. Working with Josh means learning to stand in the moment, separate from past fears or future worries, and act with intention. That’s when performance becomes peace, strategy aligns with spirit, and every game becomes a chance not just to win, but to grow.