Kelsey Kinnamon

    • Sports I have the most experience with

      • Olympic Weightlifting, diving, swimming, gymnastics, endurance sports, softball

    • Ages

      • 13+

      • Extensive experience with high school, collegiate, master’s athletes and athletes representing Team USA

    • I’m based in Pennsylvania and commonly work with teams in PA and NJ

    • I work with athletes via telehealth in all 50 states

    • Overcoming mental blocks (clarking, balking, yips)

    • Performance anxiety

    • Returning to sport after injury

    • Transitioning in and out of college

    • Navigating the impact of perimenopause on sport engagement

    • Perfectionism

    • Athletic identity

  • Bachelor’s degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology, West Virginia University

    Master’s degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology, Georgia Southern University

    Doctoral degree (July 2026) in Counseling Psychology, Florida State University

    Certified Mental Performance Consultant, Nationally Accredited with Association for Applied Sport Psychology

    • In 3 Division I athletic departments

    • Serving collegiate, national, and international level coaches

    • Serving athletes in Ivy League, ACC, Sunbelt, American and several other conferences

    • Working with numerous athletes representing Team USA and holding American and world records

    • Serving youth athletes in weightlifting, diving, gymnastics, track&field

  • Kinnamon, K., Li, Q., Day, N., & Chiang, L. Becoming a Sport Psychologist: A CQR Investigation of Preparation and Pathways. Lecture accepted for presentation at the Annual Association for Applied Sport Psychology Annual Conference in October, 2026.

    Bean, W., & Kinnamon, K. (October, 2025). When the Evidence Runs Out: Navigating Challenges in Planned Disruption Implementation. Lecture presented at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada.  

    Kinnamon, K, & Bean, W. (October, 2024). Disrupting the Norm: Investigating the Use of Planned Disruptions Among Elite Olympic Weightlifting Coaches. Lecture presented at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV.

    Bean, W., & Kinnamon, K. (October, 2023). What Do We Teach When We Teach Undergraduate Introductory Sport Psychology? A Content Analysis. Poster presented at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology Annual Conference, Orlando, FL.

    Kinnamon, K., Harris, B., Byrd, M., & Wells, P. (October, 2022). Supporting Student-Athlete Mental Health: NCAA DI Coaches’ Experiences, Perceived Role, and Barriers. Lecture presented at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology Annual Conference, Fort Worth, TX.

    Giacobbi, P.R., Jr., Symons-Downs, D., Haggerty, T., Pidhorskyi, S., Long, L., Clemmer, M., Steinman, S., Olfert, M., Kinnamon, K., Rao, N., Staggs, H., & Adjeroh, D. (2021). Feasibility and acceptability of guided imagery to address multiple health behaviors during pregnancy. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health.

Working with Me

Sessions together are not just you “venting” and me nodding along. They’re active, real, and get to the core of what’s causing difficulties for you.

We’ll talk about the hard, sticky thoughts and emotions that keep showing up when you’re training and competing so you can stop relying on ignoring or avoiding them to get by. We’ll talk about what comes up when all eyes are on you and the pressure and comparison and expectations you face. We’ll talk about you as a human, and how life impacts sport and sport impacts life because feeling well in every domain matters. We won’t shy away from the pieces that feel scary to change or look at, we’ll confront and work through them together. We’ll build on the strengths you already have and celebrate every step of growth along the way. We’ll focus on enjoying your sport, not just performing well.

The Truth about Mental Performance

You don’t need to “just push harder” or “just be tougher.” You’ve already tried that.

What we often need is the opportunity to slow down and pause for understanding so we can figure out what you need before acting. To stop “pushing away” or “just forgetting about it” and pretending you don’t have emotions - and instead to remove the fear around what your mind throws at you so you can work with it. That’s what we’ll do in our sessions.

My approach is strength-based, relational, and rooted in a Mindfulness, Acceptance, and Commitment (MAC) approach. This means I know our relationship is crucial for our work together and I don’t assume I already know what’s best for you. We figure that out together. It also means I emphasize making space for the hard stuff and leaning into what matters to you - and making sure you have strong strategies for pursuing what’s important even when it feels hard.

Credentials & Professional Journey

Kelsey earned her bachelor’s degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology at West Virginia University. There, she worked as a research assistant for a large-scale multidisciplinary project funded by the National Science Foundation, laying the foundation of her understanding of behavior change and future research.

She went on to earn a master’s degree in Sport & Exercise Psychology at Georgia Southern University, where she completed two years of rigorous coursework and sport psychology training. Here, Kelsey worked with numerous Division I teams, athletes, and coaches to enhance performance and team culture, navigate injury recovery, and manage the stress of competing in Division I athletics amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelsey also conducted research examining collegiate coaches’ roles in supporting student-athlete mental health.

She completed her doctoral education and training in Counseling Psychology at Florida State University, where she completed four years of study and clinical training with college students and student-athletes. She gained a depth of experience working with athletes experiencing barriers to performance and learning due to ADHD, learning disorders, and other mental health challenges. Kelsey conducted her dissertation research on the education and training of psychologists in the NCAA, furthering the field’s understanding of care needed for student-athletes.

In July 2026, Kelsey will complete her full-time APA-Accredited clinical psychology doctoral internship with a specialization in sport psychology at Lehigh University. Here, she provides individual and group counseling and individual and team sport psychology services to students and student-athletes.

Kelsey is also a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. CMPC is the only nationally accredited certification for mental performance professionals in the United States. CMPCs are recognized for their expertise and ethical practice to help performers be their best.

KB Mental Performance consultants are not only applied practitioners, they are also researchers within the field.

Conuducting research that informs our work and contributes to the development of the field of sport psychology is a major goal of KB Mental Performance consultants. Kelsey’s research focuses on professional and ethical issues for sport psychology professionals, mental health education for stakeholders in sport, and sport psychology interventions for weightlifters. Kelsey has presented her research at numerous local, state, and national academic conferences.

The person outside of the professional

Kelsey considers herself deeply privileged to work with her clients and to get to do such meaningful and fulfilling work each day. Outside of Kelsey’s work, she gets outside any chance she can to prioritize movement - she’s also a certified yoga teacher. Kelsey also enjoys spending time with her family and animals, baking, reading, and writing.