Dr. Tyler Miles, Psy.D.
Clinical & Sport Psychologist
Meet Dr. Tyler Miles
I'm passionate about understanding the relationship between performance, identity, and mental health while understanding the whole person—their experiences, relationships, identities, values, and the environments that have shaped them.
My own background in competitive (CALI) and collegiate cheer (UNC Tar Heels) ultimately led me to specialize in sport psychology.
I've worked with Division I, Olympic, and professional athletes, supporting individuals and organizations as they navigate a wide range of mental health and performance concerns. I'm also the co-author of Commanding Performance: Sport Psychology Workbook for Cheerleading.
And while my background in sport psychology is a significant part of my work, you absolutely don't need to be an athlete to work with me.
You Don't Have to Have It All Figured Out.
Maybe you're navigating a major life transition, struggling with relationships, or questioning what you want your future to look like. Maybe you've spent years meeting expectations, achieving goals, or being the person everyone else can count on, only to realize you're not entirely sure what you need.
Or maybe you're an athlete who knows how to push through challenges in your sport but is finding that the same approach doesn't always work when it comes to your mental health.
Whatever brings you here, therapy offers space to better understand yourself, work through difficult experiences, and build a life that feels meaningful to you.
You don't need to be in crisis, have a diagnosis, or know exactly what you want to work on to get started.
Therapy for Young Adults & Life Transitions
Your twenties and early adulthood can bring exciting opportunities alongside surprising uncertainty. Whether you're in college, starting your career, navigating relationships, or figuring out who you are outside other people's expectations, this stage of life can feel overwhelming.
I work with young adults navigating anxiety, perfectionism, identity, self-esteem, depression, relationship concerns, and major life transitions.
Our work focuses on understanding the patterns that keep you stuck, building self-awareness, and making choices that align with what matters to you.
Therapy for Athletes & Former Athletes
Being an athlete can shape the way you see yourself, your relationships, and the world around you. It can also create unique challenges around performance, expectations, identity, and self-worth.
As a clinical and sport psychologist, I integrate principles of sport and performance psychology into psychotherapy, helping athletes address concerns such as performance anxiety, confidence, perfectionism, mental blocks, injury-related stress, burnout, and mental health.
I also work with former athletes navigating retirement, changes in identity, complicated relationships with their sport, and the process of building a meaningful life beyond competition.
Whether you're actively competing or haven't stepped onto the mat, field, or court in years, there's room to explore all of who you are—not just who you are as an athlete.
Cheerleading Mental Health & Tumbling Blocks
Cheerleading holds a particularly meaningful place in my work. Having spent years as a competitive and collegiate cheerleader before becoming a psychologist, I understand the sport's culture, demands, and complexities from both personal and professional perspectives.
I specialize in helping cheerleaders navigate tumbling mental blocks, performance anxiety, confidence, perfectionism, burnout, and mental health concerns.
My work also extends beyond performance. I support athletes as they process difficult experiences in cheerleading, navigate complicated coaching or team dynamics, adjust to retirement, and explore their identity outside the sport.
I recognize how deeply meaningful cheerleading can be, while also understanding that an athlete's well-being must extend beyond their performance.
More Than Your Performance.
Therapy to help you navigate life, identity, relationships, and the pressure to have it all figured out.
You can be driven, capable, and successful while still feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or unsure of who you are or what comes next.
I'm Dr. Tyler Miles, a licensed clinical and sport psychologist specializing in anxiety, perfectionism, identity, life transitions, depression, and athlete mental health. I work with young adults, athletes, former athletes, and individuals navigating the challenges of growing into themselves—whether that's in college, at work, in relationships, or beyond the sport that once defined them.
My practice is rooted in the belief that your worth extends far beyond what you accomplish.
I offer in-person therapy at my office in Washington, DC, and virtual therapy to clients across most U.S. states where I am authorized to practice.
Finally, a performance playbook
written just for cheerleaders.
Cheer isn’t just a sport. It’s pressure, fear, trust, timing, and the reality that one mental slip can bring down an entire pyramid. Yet until now, cheerleaders have lacked sport psychology tools tailored to what they face.
This groundbreaking book gives you the mental training cheerleaders need to:
Break through tumbling blocks
Control nerves when routines matter most
Use breathing to stay sharp and powerful on the mat
Build unshakable confidence and consistency
Reset instantly after mistakes
Perform under extreme pressure with trust in yourself and your team
And for the first time ever, it includes a concussion protocol created specifically for cheerleaders, developed by co-author Dr. Cody Commander.
Foreword by Tannaz (Emamjomeh) Kirichkow
Co-Founder & CEO, California Allstars
Team Manager, San Diego Grit Pro Cheer
This isn’t mindset fluff.
This is mental training for athletes whose sport demands everything.
Services
In addition to individual psychotherapy, I collaborate with athletic programs, cheerleading organizations, teams, coaches, and other professionals to bring psychological expertise into performance environments and broader conversations about mental health.
My work includes:
Click the button below to book a session and begin working through tumbling blocks, mental blocks, and performance anxiety with a sport psychologist who specializes in cheerleading and athlete confidence. In our work together, you’ll learn proven mental performance skills to help you rebuild trust in your body, improve consistency, and strengthen the mindset you need to feel confident on the mat, in stunts, and during high-pressure moments. Whether you're a flyer, base, tumbler, or coach, this is where you start developing the mental tools that help cheerleaders perform at their best.
-
I believe therapy should be a place where you can show up as you are, without feeling like you need to have the right answers or present the best version of yourself.
My approach is warm, collaborative, and direct. I'll take the time to understand your experiences and perspective, but I'll also help you recognize patterns, challenge assumptions, and develop practical skills you can use outside of our sessions.
I draw primarily from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and person-centered approaches.
Together, we'll explore how your thoughts, emotions, past experiences, and relationships influence the way you navigate the world. We'll also work toward building greater psychological flexibility, understanding what matters to you, and making meaningful changes in your life.
Therapy isn't about eliminating every uncomfortable thought or feeling. It's about developing a different relationship with those experiences so they don't have to dictate how you live.
You set the pace, and we'll work collaboratively to figure out what feels most helpful.
-
Interactive sessions addressing athlete mental health, confidence, performance anxiety, team dynamics, emotional regulation, perfectionism, and psychological well-being.
-
Consultation for coaches, athletic staff, organizations, and other professionals navigating psychological considerations related to athlete support, performance environments, and mental health.
-
Keynotes, conference presentations, webinars, and educational programming focused on mental health, sport psychology, athlete experiences, and the intersection of performance and wellbeing.
-
Opportunities to collaborate on educational resources, athlete wellbeing initiatives, content development, and programs that make psychological support more accessible.
Each engagement is tailored to the needs and goals of the organization.
Expert Panel: Sexual Abuse in Sport
These videos discuss sensitive topics related to abuse; listener discretion is advised.
For resources and support, visit www.WeRideTogether.today.
“It’s Not Just a Ride Home” puts the viewer in the shoes of the victim of grooming, a form of sexual abuse, perpetrated by their coach. The video gives the audience insight into the short-term aftermath of experiencing trauma, encourages learning about the signs and stages of grooming, and highlights the opportunity for safe, active bystander intervention.
Sports psychologists Dr. Kilwein and Dr. Miles, and Olympic medalist Margaret Hoelzer, provide education on trauma and its responses, aftermath, aspects in sports settings, and healing from trauma.