Performance Excellence
Rooted in Behavioral Science
Revolutionizing the Mental and Physical Architecture of Sport Performance
Dr. Alicia Naser is redefining how the world’s highest performers train, understand, and optimize performance. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral with more than 12 years of advanced study, research, and applied work in behavioral psychology, Dr. Naser brings a fundamentally different approach to professional sport. Her work sits at the intersection of behavioral science, physiology, mental performance, and high-stakes execution.
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About The Institute
The Naser Institute for Behavioral Sports Psychology™ is the leading behavioral performance consultancy built exclusively for professional sport.
Founded by Dr. Alicia Naser, Ph.D., BCBA-D — the Institute works with professional athletes, coaches, scouts, and sport organizations to identify and optimize every variable behind consistent, high-level execution.
Behavior, emotion, physiology, decision-making, pressure response, recovery, and performance consistency — not as isolated variables, but as an integrated system that can be understood, measured, and improved.
For decades, sport performance has often been divided into two separate domains: the mental side of the game and the physical side of performance. Dr. Naser’s work challenges that separation.
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![An ice hockey player in a white jersey with the number 51, wearing a helmet and gloves, holding a hockey stick, and looking forward during a game.]()
“Working with Dr. Naser has benefitted me in so many ways. I’m much more equipped mentally to withstand and respond to adversity and tough situations. And she’s given me so many strategies to overcome mental obstacles.”
“Alicia is so easy to talk to, she truly understands what it’s like to be in my position and what I’m going through. It’s great having someone to talk to and who you know will help you get through difficult times. She is all about you as the player and what you need, which is what I love. There is nothing I would change about my experience. It’s so easy to contact Alicia, and she’s always available to talk and go over things if I want to.”
—Shane Wright, NHL -
![A baseball player in a Seattle Mariners uniform pitching a ball.]()
“Dr. Naser helped me shift my mindset while on the mound and even on a day to day basis. Whether it was how to think about things when you are doing well and when things they aren’t going the best out there and even how to look at things pre/post game. I found value in simplifying my reflection about the game instead of over analyzing everything and all the what if’s that could have happened.”
“It helped me not get into my head about situations that I couldn’t control. Or thinking if I had done this the outcome could have been this. The pregame journaling helped me feel prepared to compete each day because the physical preparedness came way more naturally from over the years of doing it but I had never pregame journaled and I felt a difference in my game after doing it. I don’t think there is anything to change from my experience!
—Casey Legumina, MLB -
![A man dressed in a white golf outfit holding a golf club on a golf course, with a focused expression.]()
“Working with Dr. Naser has helped me immensely from our first session together I used the tools she gave me right away and they worked perfectly. She gave me the confidence I needed immediately and it showed up out on the course. Working with Dr. Naser is different than others that I've worked in the past because I feel like she's very understanding about all situations and loves hearing what we're thinking in those moments.”
“She's very easy to connect with. And I feel very comfortable talking to her about what's going on inside my head. I've noticed big changes in my mental confidence. Putting these ideas into effect has changed my mental game immensely. We are currently working on some of the physical aspects too, and I noticed the changes immediately and how much they're helping me. Dr. Naser is very understanding with how athletes feel in certain situations.”
—Charles Reiter, PGA -
![Ice hockey player in red Washington Capitals jersey leaning forward with hockey stick on ice.]()
“Dr. Naser helped me become more aware of a lot of things both on and off the ice. The way she worked with me helped give me more consistency through the game of hockey and life. Realizing things I never knew were there. I would tell another player who is thinking about working with her that I was hesitant at first too, but realizing how important the mental side of the game is and having someone with the background and experience she has, it’s worth it to just go for it!”
—Ethen Frank, NHL
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![A young male ice hockey player wearing a navy blue Columbus Blue Jackets jersey with red and white accents, a black helmet, red gloves, and holding a hockey stick.]()
“Working with Dr. Naser has helped me not only grow as a player but as a person as well. She has helped me stay level headed in different situations and also puts me in the right head space to help make me succeed on the ice. I’ve enjoyed every conversation we’ve ever had and Dr. Nasers work is something every athlete should look in to. She puts your needs first and truly cares about the people she works with. All good feedback. She’s there whenever you need something. She always checks in. She knows when it’s time to joke around and when it’s time to buckle down. My game has taken a turn since I started working with her!”
—Luca Del Bel Belluz, NHL
Addressing the Mental and Physical Sides of Performance
Dr. Naser’s work addresses two of the most important domains in sport performance: Mental and Physical.
The mental side includes focus, confidence, emotional control, self-talk, resilience, pressure response, and attentional flexibility. Within this domain, Dr. Naser distinguishes between mental health and mental performance.
The physical side includes performance efficiency, consistency, precision, behavioral execution, recovery patterns, and the athlete’s ability to perform the right action at the right time under changing demands.
Most performance models treat these domains separately. Dr. Naser’s work is built on the understanding that an athlete’s thoughts, physiology, environment, and behavior are constantly interacting. To optimize performance, those systems must be studied and trained together.
This is where her background in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) creates a powerful advantage.
By using behavioral strategies to improve both mental and physical performance patterns, Dr. Naser helps athletes build systems with precision that are measurable, individualized, and designed for sustained excellence.
The Science Behind Elite Performance
A New Standard for Mental Performance
Mental performance is not abstract.
Pressure, confidence, self-talk, focus, resilience, emotional control, and execution are all behavioral processes. They can be observed, measured, trained, and refined.
Dr. Naser’s doctoral research examined the connection between physiology and self-talk, with particular emphasis on how internal verbal behavior relates to measurable physical responses. Today, she applies that research directly with professional athletes and sport organizations to help identify the patterns that influence performance when the stakes are highest.
Her work connects what athletes think, what their bodies do, and how they perform.
This allows for a more precise and individualized approach to mental performance. One that is rooted in behavior change, supported by data, and designed for the real demands of professional sport.
That precision looks different for every athlete, every coach, and every organization. That's exactly how we designed it.
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