Jeffrey Schumacher is a mental health counselor who helps clients overcome worry, anxiety, child abuse & dissociation, as well as helps athletes and performers develop mental skills to enhance performance and manage performance anxiety.

In 1984, I completed my Masters of Social Work degree from State University of New York (SUNY) College at Albany. As a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) with more than 34 years experience working with anxiety, excessive worry, stress management, childhood abuse and dissociation, I am trained in psychotherapy to help individuals deal with mental health issues and daily living issues, as well as mental skills training for athletes and performers.

Over the years, I have worked continually to expand my expertise to include working with athletes and performers in the field of performance enhancement through mental skills training. This emerging science focuses on helping athletes and performers improve their performance on the field through mental conditioning. I have received training on performance psychology through both the Association of Applied Sport Psychology, American Society for Clinical Hypnosis and the Harvard Medical School. My clinical clients have benefited from the mental skills work used with athletes/performers, and athletes/performers have benefited from my extensive clinical experience.

In 2008, I earned certification through the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis —an achievement attained upon completion of more than two hundred hours of training and supervised experience. Along with other tools, hypnosis can help clients overcome problems such as trauma, depression, concentration, sleeping disorders and improve athletic and artistic performance.

My philosophy has always been to look at the total client with the goal of understanding first the issue at hand and then developing an approach that fits. Our work begins with a thorough assessment. For those seeking counseling services, this is explained more under counseling. For those seeking anxiety coaching, more information can be found under mental skills training and anxiety coaching.

The services I provide are guided by proven treatment protocols. I have obtained training in several therapeutic and performance psychology approaches, which are blended based upon each client’s unique needs.

As a serious recreational athlete, I understand the needs of athletes. As a youth, I competed in baseball and tennis. As an adult, I am an avid trail runner. I have also competed in multi-sport races (trail running, mountain biking and paddling), duathlons, endurance mountain biking and numerous trail and road 10K, 20K, half-marathons and one marathon.

• Professional Affiliations
• American Society for Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH)
• Anxiety Disorders Association of America
• Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP)
• International Society for Study of Trauma and Dissociation (ISSTD)
• National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
• Greater Rochester Track Club