Sports Psychotherapist: How Losing Teams Can Turn It Around

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The Minnesota Vikings got off to a horrible start to this year's season. But is it too late to turn things around?

Rick Aberman is a sports psychotherapist who works with dozens of professional and college teams and large corporations.

"I help people perform up to their potential," Aberman said. "I help them understand how their thoughts and emotions impact whatever they do in a positive way or a negative way."

Aberman says the key is to prepare as best you can and focus on the process - not the results.

"If I block and tackle and go to practice and take care of my body and do all of those things – all we're doing is we want to put ourselves in the best position possible that we might have some success," he said. "We want to take the field and we want to take the stage or we want to go into the meeting, whatever it is, with that internal confidence that's a belief in ourselves."

Aberman says emotions can be contagious, and depending on the size of the team, one person can make a difference.

"What we're trying to do from a treatment standpoint is really change the mood of the organization, and that's really up to the leader," Aberman said. "That person really needs to start thinking themselves as more of what we call a "manager of moods," versus just somebody who is a fixer of problems."