The Mindbuffs Podcast

In today’s episode, Mat and Kayla give you the skinny on types of therapy you might encounter as a client along with the benefits and limitations of each. The goal is to help you (the client) advocate for yourself and provide listeners with insight into past therapeutic experiences. The podcast includes a Q & A with a non-therapist (Minah), who asks the burning questions folks have prior to th...

The Power & Control Wheel in Sports series discusses challenges in athletic and team cultures where power dynamics are unavoidable. In this conversation, Mat and Lindsay discuss how intentional and unintentional actions can decrease or diminish the confidence, performance, and well-being of players. Both draw from personal and clinical experience, examining how controlling behavior manifests i...

In this episode of the confidence series, you'll learn the role that inner voices play in nurturing or breaking down confidence and the importance of self-compassion. Mat and Kayla explore what happens internally when we make a mistake and how our response relates to self-esteem. The discussion elaborates on the f-words of stress response (fight, freeze, flight, fawn, feign and flop), leaving spac...

In this episode, Sport & Performance Psychologists Mat de Moissac and Kayla Unrau explore the importance of connection, the loneliness epidemic, and how shaking up your social groups can be an excellent way to orient your life around your values. Recalling lessons learned from recent experiences, they discuss why this topic feels personally important and what research says about just how many...

In this episode of the confidence series, we discuss the roles that our priorities, self talk, and community play in building the foundation of how we see ourselves. Mat and Kayla also explore how an athlete’s ability to recognize and meet their own needs can support confidence development and how reframing performance anxiety in the moment can build a history of self-belief.

Registered Psychologists Mat de Moissac and Kaya Unrau talk about what confidence really means for athletes and how it can be harnessed for optimal performance. They break down various types of confidence, explaining how each plays a role in an athlete’s journey and discuss the relationship between confidence, adversity, resilience, and mastery. 

Join Registered Psychologists Mat de Moissac and Lindsay Piper for part 2 of their in-depth exploration of coercion in sport. Building on their previous discussion, they cover how coercion presents in athletic environments and the implications for athletes’ performance and mental health. The conversation proposes steps that coaches and organizations can take to enhance athlete safety and create a...

This week, Registered Sport & Performance Psychologist Mat de Moissac and Certified Mental Performance Consultant Shawna Shuster continue their conversation on the role of appreciation in a successful workplace culture. They explore how genuine acknowledgement and consistent appreciation can transform your work environment, enhance employee engagement, and build a resilient team. Learn how to...

This week on The Mindbuffs Podcast: Mat is joined by special guest, Lindsay Piper, a sports psychologist and expert in performance dynamics, to delve into the often-overlooked topic of coercion and control in sports. Lindsay brings a wealth of knowledge on how power dynamics shape interactions and the profound effects they have on individuals. Mat and Lindsay are back to explore the Power and Cont...

This week on The Mindbuffs Podcast: Mat is joined by special guest Shawna Shuster, a mental performance consultant at Mindbuffs, to share their focus on enhancing workplace dynamics through appreciation. Shawna shares her extensive knowledge on the nuances of appreciation and its vital role in fostering a positive workplace culture. Both Mat and Shawna dive deep into the culture of appreciation at...

This week on The Mindbuffs Podcast, Mat and Alex are joined by Megan Dart, the executive director at Edmonton Fringe Theatre. With the Fringe festival just around the corner, Megan shares her insights on the intersection of art and entrepreneurship, the unique spirit of the Fringe, and the importance of community in fostering creativity. From her journey as an artist raised by entrepreneurs to lea...

Hello friends! We have another exciting new Mindbuffs Podcast for you, live in high definition video! We are starting another new series this week, entitled the Power and Control Wheel: Abuse in Sport. This series will explore the power dynamics between coaches and athletes, using the Power and Control Wheel to show examples of this dynamic being abused. As the name implies, The Power and Control...

The positive mindset and emotions that come with genuine confidence are so powerful that they can significantly alter our neurochemistry. Dozens of studies in medical journals show that confidence in one's recovery leads to accelerated and longer-lasting healing. In performance, confidence gives us a direct pathway to that sweet, sweet flow state.  Unfortunately, there is no quick fix or simple so...

If you haven't already, go back and listen to our What is the Difference Between Discomfort and Insecurity episode here ! Also, before we get started, here are some important concepts we go over: - SOGIE: Sexual Orientation Gender Identity and Expression. We use this acronym as our umbrella term for the conversation - Safe space versus welcoming and inclusive space - Dispelling misinformation: Spe...

Continuing their chat about tangible accommodations for neurodiverse employees, Mat and Shawna dive into the science of neurodiversity. Are we all neurodiverse, or has social media taken over the world of medicine? This episode offers additional tools for you to use or gain a better understanding of, giving a glimpse into the mind of the neurodiverse.  Expanding on the previous episode, we go deep...

We're really cooking now! Last week on the Podcast, Mat and Shawna had a great discussion about Neurospiciness (Neurodivergence) in the Workplace. They talked about all the different ways Neurodiversity can show up and the challenges and opportunities it brings.  This week, we're getting into how employers can support their Neurospicy employees and get the most out of them. We talk about all thing...

Ready to spice things up? If you've been keeping up with social media, you know that neurodivergence (or as we like to call it, neurospiciness) is one of the hottest topics online right now. So this week on The Mindbuffs Podcast, we're starting a new series called Neurospiciness in the Workplace. Our goal is to help create inclusive work environments where people with neurodiversity can thrive. In...

You’re not going to want to miss out on this one. You might think that curiosity and inquisitiveness are the same thing, but there is a significant difference between how it feels to be on the receiving end of both of these mindsets. The goal of this week's podcast is to improve the quality of our conversations by leaning into curiosity, and away from inquisitiveness. Inquisitiveness is important...

In this episode, we talk about something that often gets overlooked in sports culture: the normalization of negativity. Athletes deal with injuries and intense pressure all the time, but we don't always talk about it openly. We are going to explore how this affects their mental health and performance, and why it's so important to address these issues in the sports community. We discuss some of the...

Mat and Shawna discuss what employers can do to help their employees prevent and/or manage burnout. From culture to government-sponsored support, there is hope even in the darkest times! If you are a leader, mentor, or have people who rely on you, check this episode out to review what you can do today to help your business and people in the future. Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article...

Explore the tangible tools during the stages of burnout. Mat and Shawna explore proactive self-care, early onset of burnout, and the dreaded "I am ready to die" levels of burnout and how to take care of you at each step. If you need some tools to address your own stage of burnout then this episode is for you! Let’s all admit we are human and work on this together.

This episode is either going to make you feel a lot better, or a lot worse about yourself. The reality is that even as sports psychologists who know all the tricks, all the tools, and all of the science, we still have to battle with those annoying inner critics. Critics are pluralized because it's actually several different parts of self that give us unhelpful and outdated information depending on...

Have you ever tried to think about how to “solve” a problem, but instead, you end up feeling worse off than when you started?  If your inner voice becomes repetitive and narrows to only negative conclusions, folks, we have entered the land of rumination. This podcast explores how rumination or its more adaptive counterpart, emotional processing, may affect your performance.  Gather around, and tak...

In this episode, we unravel the intricate dynamics of the coach-athlete relationship and discuss the difference between intent and impact. Learn how fostering healthy relationships is not just essential for wins on the court, but how it can shape athletes’ lives beyond their sporting careers. Tune in for an insightful discussion on the unseen influences that make or break teams and individuals in...