sports psychologist & clinical psychology

Biography

Sports Psychology Biography Dr. John F Murray

Thank you for visiting my sports psychology biography page. Individuals seeking better performance or mental toughness in sports or work are my frequent clients. Professional sports franchises seeking to add a mental training component to help their players grow stronger are also encouraged to call me at 561-596-9898.  I work with performers in business and performing arts too. The goal is to achieve greater success and well being. The sports psychology field is fascinating and I would be happy to discuss with you confidentially how this will benefit you, your team or your organization.

John F Murray, PhD (561-596-9898)

MISSION STATEMENT:  I provide the best professional services available to empower individuals and organizations to enhance their profitability and achieve breakthroughs in performance.

Thanks for having a look at my biography page and please call me if I may answer any questions.

John F. Murray, Ph.D.

John F. Murray, PhD has been described as “The Freud of Football” (Washington Post), the “Roger Federer of Sports Psychology” (Tennis Week Magazine), and as “One of the Major Psychologists in Sports” (Fox Sports).

Biographical Interviews
Overview from Dr. John F. Murray (May, 2013)
Sports psychology is a great source of inspiration and I love helping people improve, whether in mental skills training to enhance performance or in a clinical situation calling for psychotherapy, stress management or better life adjustment. In dealing with performance situations, the goal is usually to compete better and win more in business or sports. As far as sports, I was lucky to grow up in South Florida in the early 70s with lots of great weather and many sports. My dream at age 10 was to bat 4th for the Yankees and quarterback the Miami Dolphins to a Super Bowl win. In some ways, these sports dreams have become reality as I’ve coached and played tennis worldwide, worked with many pro athletes and teams as a sports performance psychologist, helped NFL quarterbacks overcome slumps, coached tennis at major tournaments like the Australian Open and Wimbledon, trained athletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and UFC 100 in Las Vegas, and developed a unique system for rating mental performance in football.  I’m absolutely convinced that solid mental training and mental toughness is a huge key to success, and an often overlooked advantage. If you just want to cope better with life, a family situation or a relationship, psychology can help too, and the performance psychology focus is an extremely positive approach and quest for success that many enjoy.  My overwhelming goal is to help my clients become the best they can become in whatever they are striving to do. Many are still not aware of the huge benefits available to training the mind properly. Taking care of thoughts, feelings, actions and sensations professionally is the key to so much more success as well as a solid solution to many of the problems that exist in sports and other competitive arenas.  Send me an email and tell me about you now (mail to: johnfmuray@mindspring.com) or call me at 561-596-9898. Enjoy and thrive!
– John F Murray, May, 2013

Services
Dr. Murray has been providing top sports psychology and clinical psychology services to help individuals, organizations and teams succeed for more than 14 years. He is a best-selling author and columnist, media resource for psychology and sports psychology, and seminar leader to business and sports groups worldwide on topics such as performance enhancement, mental health, general psychology, fitness, wellness, and lifestyle. He frequently appears on national television and radio, and his commentary is found almost daily in thousands of newspapers, magazines, and trade journals.

Credentials
Dr. Murray is a rare sport performance psychologist and clinical psychologist, and licensed psychologist in Florida since 1999. This dual specialization provides him expertise to handle personal as well as performance-related issues, allowing for the highest standard of professional care.

Unique Training
Murray received his professional training at one of the top ranked doctoral programs in the country involving academic coursework, publication of a master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation, and rigorous supervised clinical training. This training in the psychology clinic of the University of Florida was housed within Shands Teaching Hospital, providing John one of the finest clinical experiences available in which he provided supervised client services beginning in his second year of study in 1993. The majority of doctoral programs do not provide this experience until the 4th or even 5th year while on internship.

 

Athletic Background
In the 1980s John traveled worldwide as a tennis professional. He coached the sport, achieved high rankings as an open division player in Florida, and later wrote the top-selling “Smart Tennis How to Play and Win the Mental Game,” cover endorsed by #1 ranked player in the world Lindsay Davenport. Tennis professional Vincent Spadea credited Dr. Murray for helping him overcome the longest losing streak in history and return from nearly 300 to top 10 in the ATP Champions Race in 2003. He also served as Vince’s official traveling tennis coach at tournaments in Nashville in 2006, and Montreal, Adelaide, Sydney and in Melbourne at the Australian Open in 2007. In 2008, Dr. Murray traveled to the Beijing Summer Olympics as a sports psychologist.

Academic Background
Dr. Murray earned a bachelors degree in psychology from Loyola Univeristy of New Orleans (1983), two masters degrees (1992 and 1995), and a Ph.D. (1998) from the University of Florida Department of Clinical and Health Psychology. His first master’s degree is from the sports psychology track within the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences in the College of Health and Human Performance. His doctoral dissertation examined the psychology of stress and coping with injury on the 1996 national champion University of Florida Gators football team. He then completed a unique counseling and sport psychology internship (1997-1998) at Washington State University, and a similarly designed postdoctoral fellowship (1998-1999) at Florida International University.

Leadership
Dr. Murray is past-President of the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Psychological Association (2002) and his writing and contributions have been published in Sports Illustrated, SI.com, ESPN The Magazine, and USA Today among thousands of others. He is a national spokesman on issues of sport psychology and performance enhancement and believes very strongly in the benefits of psychology for both enhancing well-being and promoting success in competition.

Personal
Dr. Murray enjoys playing the piano, metal detecting, competitive tennis and golf, traveling, reading, writing, and public speaking. His biography biography appears in Marquis Who’s Who Who in America and Who’s Who in Science and Engineering.

Contact
Call 561-596-9898, Email John, or write to:
John F. Murray, Ph.D.
139 North County Road Suite 18C
Palm Beach, Florida 33480

Sports psychology is a field and profession aimed at enhancing success in many areas. I look forward to talking with you soon.  Winners invest in themselves by investing in sports psychology!

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