Dr. Sarah Castillo completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at UCLA, her master’s degree in kinesiology at Cal State Long Beach and her PhD in education at the University of Idaho.
For the last 24 years, Sarah has been a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) and approved CMPC mentor through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). During her professional consulting career, she has worked with youth, high school, collegiate, Olympic, Paralympic, and professional athletes, including 9 years as a Performance Enhancement Instructor at the United States Military Academy, West Point, 10 years with Point Loma Nazarene University Women’s Volleyball, and the named mental performance consultant with US Paralympic Track & Field during the most recent quadrennium for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. One of Dr. Castillo’s main areas of interest is the implementation of interventions designed to allow performers to reach their potential through the application of mental skills and mindfulness training. Her goal is to collaborate with performers to help them become fully engaged in competition despite adverse thoughts, emotions and playing conditions.
In addition to her private practice as the owner of In the Arena Performance, LLC, Sarah has served since 2021 as the program director for the Sport and Performance Psychology programs at University of Western States. In this role, she designs and implements the graduate academic curriculum for both master’s and doctoral level students, manages a faculty of 3 full-time and 20 adjunct faculty members, and serves as the primary administrator for 4 graduate level programs.
Dr. Castillo has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and books throughout her career, all centering on the application of mental performance techniques with both athlete and non-athlete performers. Similarly, she is a sought-after speaker at national conferences, universities, military installations, and government agencies regarding the implementation of sport psychology techniques to carer roles such as military leadership, academic advising, and public safety.
Sarah is a Fellow of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, where she has served for two decades as chair or member of a variety of committees, and an elected member of the Executive Board. She currently serves as the Chair of the Graduate Program Directors Committee, on which she works to further refine the graduate training experiences of students and young professionals.