Sara W. Hess

PsyD

Dr. Sara Whalen Hess grew up as a soccer prodigy who succeeded on the world stage as part of the U.S. National Team’s historic victory over China at the 1999 FIFA World Cup championship. She also won a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic games, played in Sydney Australia.

Sara, along with her ’99 Women’s world cup teammates, pioneered the first paid professional women’s soccer league as a founding player of the WUSA, the Women’s United Soccer Association in 2001, where she played for the NY Power.

In 2002, at the age of 26, she suffered a traumatic career-ending injury while playing in a professional match with the Power. While the injury would bring an immediate and unexpected end to her soccer career – carrying with it much of her identity – Sara rediscovered herself in her second career.

As a licensed psychologist and cognitive-behavior therapist, Sara now leverages her background as an elite athlete with her professional expertise in psychology and personal recovery to help athletes overcome their own serious hurdles.

She is actively engaged in the areas of sport and mental health, through her practice and as a speaker.  She has helped develop mental health programs in schools and provides consultations for school staff. She is currently the high performance psychologist for the new professional men’s team, Westchester Soccer Club.