ABOUT DR. ADAM WRIGHT
I help high performers build the internal infrastructure to lead, adapt, and perform under pressure mentally, emotionally, and physically.
I’m a licensed psychotherapist, Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC), and Professional Certified Coach (PCC) with over two decades of experience guiding elite performers across sport, business, medicine, law, tactical professions, and the arts.
My work integrates mental conditioning, physical readiness, neuroscience, and clinical depth. This isn’t about hacks or hype. It’s about developing durable systems for resilience, clarity, and sustainable performance in complex environments.
I currently serve as Director of Mental Performance for the Washington Nationals and co-founded The Antifragile Academy, a leadership initiative helping individuals grow stronger through intentional challenge.
From Philosophy to Performance
My foundation began in philosophy, studying meaning, consciousness, and human flourishing. After time in corporate America, I shifted to applied physiology and began bridging physical training with psychological insight. That intersection—mind, body, and meaning—has shaped my entire career.
Clinical Depth Meets Performance Science
Early on, I realized that physical readiness alone wasn’t enough. Many high achievers looked the part but struggled with burnout, identity conflict, and internal pressure. That led me to pursue doctoral work in sport and exercise psychology at Temple University and later, clinical training through a master’s in mental health counseling at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis.
My approach draws from both cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic frameworks, allowing me to work at the level of skill and strategy as well as belief, identity, and emotion. I help clients align emotional experience with performance demands by developing self-awareness, adaptability, and capacity under pressure.
Real-World Application
In addition to applied work, I’ve taught psychology and exercise science at the university level and continue to mentor graduate students, interns, and early-career professionals in mental performance, counseling, and high-stakes leadership. That academic foundation keeps the work grounded in research, while the mentorship ensures the next generation is equipped to lead with both skill and depth.
I’ve consulted across some of the most demanding environments in sport, business, and performance-based professions, where outcomes matter and pressure is constant.
In elite sport, I’ve worked with MLB, NFL, and MLS athletes, Olympic hopefuls, European PGA golfers, and international rugby and lacrosse players. I also support collegiate teams, All-Americans, and elite high school athletes as they navigate the pressures of competition, transition, and identity development.
In business and law, I coach executives at Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Citadel, McKinsey, Google, and others across venture capital, private equity, and tech. I also work with senior law firm partners and managing teams to strengthen decision-making, communication, and leadership in volatile, high-responsibility roles.
In the creative, medical, and tactical fields, I support high-performing professionals, including startup founders, trauma surgeons, special operations leaders, actors, writers, and professionals in law enforcement—individuals operating under intense scrutiny, uncertainty, or isolation, where clarity and composure are essential.
With my team at the Antifragile Academy, we presented at institutions such as the United Nations, Sony Music, and leading law firms, helping high-level performers reset under pressure and lead with intention when it matters most.
My Philosophy
Performance isn’t a mindset. It’s a system. It’s not about feeling motivated. It’s about having something solid to rely on when motivation fades.
I help clients build that system mentally, emotionally, and physically. Through structure, repetition, and depth, we train the architecture beneath performance so it holds when conditions break down. The goal is growth through pressure, clarity in chaos, and something that lasts.
This philosophy comes from two decades of working in thin-margin environments where adaptation, recovery, and internal alignment are non-negotiable.
I’ve laid out this framework in ten performance pillars shaped by clinical insight, lived experience, and thousands of hours with high performers facing pressure, transition, and internal tension.
For People Who Don’t Usually Seek Support
Many of the people I work with never planned to ask for help. They’re high-functioning, self-reliant, and often skeptical of anything that feels soft or surface-level. Some carry a diagnosis. Most don’t. But they share a deep drive to stay sharp, aligned, and in command of how they show up.
Whether the goal is peak performance, a complete reset, or working through something buried under years of achievement, the process is the same. Build the internal capacity to meet life directly and grow from it.
Not motivation. Not mindset tricks. The real work, based on trust, depth, and mutual respect.
Credentials
Licensed Associate Counselor (LAC) – State of New Jersey
Professional Certified Coach (PCC) – International Coaching Federation
Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) – Association for Applied Sport Psychology
Certified Exercise Physiologist (EP-C) – American College of Sports Medicine
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) – National Strength and Conditioning Association
Registered Provider – U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (Mental Health and Performance)
Education
Ph.D., Kinesiology – Psychology of Movement: Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology
Temple UniversityM.Ed., Kinesiology – Psychology of Movement: Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology
Temple UniversityM.A., Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Boston Graduate School of PsychoanalysisB.A., Philosophy/Psychology
LaSalle University – Maxima Cum Laude, Psi Chi, Pi Kappa PhiGraduate Certificate, Organizational Behavior & Executive Coaching
University of Texas at Dallas