BOONE, N.C. – As Appalachian State Athletics seeks to provide the highest quality of care for the health and well-being of its student-athletes, the department is proud to announce that Dr. Desaree Festa will serve as a mental performance consultant for all athletic programs.
"What attracted me to working at Appalachian State University is its reputation for fostering exceptional student-athletes and coaches," Festa said. "The strong culture of comprehensive excellence at App State is fertile ground for developing a mental performance program. The leadership has positioned App State to be at the forefront of collegiate sports by integrating mental preparation into the program's philosophy."
Dr. Festa is a sports and performance psychologist who specializes in working with professional, international, collegiate and elite amateur athletes. Her clients include the Charlotte Hornets (NBA), Roush Fenway Racing (NASCAR), the Charlotte Checkers (AHL) and the Charlotte 49ers' athletics department. She is licensed as a psychologist and certified as a mental performance consultant.
She is also an approved treating clinician for the NFL and has helped many members of Team USA and individuals training for the Olympics.
"As we continue to identify areas within our department to better serve the student-athletes, we sought out to find a sports and performance psychologist who specializes in working with student-athletes to assist them in attaining their goals," said
Jon Mitchell, associate athletics director for student-athlete health and well-being. "Through our research, Dr. Festa's name kept coming up. She was highly recommended and sought after. We look forward to growing our relationship in the future and building upon what we have already begun."
Dr. Festa also serves as the director of Mind Over Body at Southeast Psych and is the sport psychologist for Ultimate Performance Sports in Charlotte. She is trained in biofeedback technology, both in heart rate variability and the comprehensive multimodality system, which provides insights into an athlete's psychophysiological response to stressors and training.
She earned her Ph.D. in counseling psychology and school psychology and an additional master's degree in sport and performance psychology from Florida State. In addition, Dr. Festa was a doctoral intern at William & Mary.
"As both a licensed psychologist and certified mental performance consultant, I will bring the highest level of training and credentials in the field of sport psychology with me to App State," Festa added. "My philosophy is to optimize the whole person in all facets of life, including mental performance and mental health. College athletics is my specialty given my 14 years of working with student-athletes and my experience at various athletic departments. Also, my current work with professional athletes gives me the insight to help prepare student-athletes for their post-collegiate careers. The aim of the mental performance program at App State is to equip athletes and coaches with the latest evidence-based techniques to help maximize training and competition readiness."
