SPORT & PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY
WELCOME!
I’m Dr. Brad Fechter, a clinical psychologist licensed in New Jersey. I work with high level athletes of all ages who want to improve performance by optimizing the mental aspects of their game. Historically, athletes have been an overlooked population with more focus placed on improving technical, physical, and tactical performance. This has changed over the past decade with an abundance of research demonstrating the challenges athletes face on a regular basis and the toll this sometimes takes, not only on performance, but mental health as a whole. What I love most about this work is watching the progression of an athlete who is coping with an obstacle or burden learn strategies that help them engage more fully in their sport and perform with greater commitment and freedom.
I also have a background in clinical neuropsychology and completed a two year fellowship at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in 2016-2018. In this capacity, I’ve done a lot of work with traumatic brain injury and concussion patients and have performed hundreds of evaluations, which often informs the intervention work including clinical sport psychology.
I’ve been an athlete my entire life, playing tennis and soccer at a high level, until focusing on soccer full time in high school. I played at the Players Developmental Academy where our team was consistently ranked as one of the top in the country, competing around the United States and internationally. I played high school soccer at The Pingry School under Miller Bugliari where we won county and state championships before playing four years of Division I soccer at Princeton University. I then went back and coached at PDA and Pingry before starting graduate school. Through these experiences, I gained first hand knowledge of the ups and downs athletes face and the benefits that can emerge when working through adversity towards something greater.
While the sports and level of competition have changed (more tennis and golf these days!), clinical sport psychology has allowed me to stay involved in the competitive sports landscape and support athletes as they face many of the same challenges I experienced. If you’re interested in working with me, feel free to reach out using the contact form below and visit our FAQ page for more information.