Today we’d like to introduce you to Hillary Cauthen.
Hillary , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Dr. Hillary Cauthen, Founder, Texas Optimal Performance & Psychological Services
From an early age, sport was more than competition for me, it was connection, purpose, and self-discovery. As a competitive youth athlete turned collegiate distance runner, I became fascinated not just with physical performance, but with the power of the mind behind it. By age 14, I knew I wanted to become a sport psychologist, to help athletes understand their competitive mind and, more importantly, care for the person within the performer.
When I earned my doctorate in 2013, mental health in athletics still carried heavy stigma. Athletes were not yet openly seeking psychological support or viewing it as part of their performance journey. After moving from California to Texas to start our family, I began building my business with a clear mission: to create a culture of care, where athletes, coaches, and high performers could grow through both strength and vulnerability.
In 2016, Texas Optimal Performance & Psychological Services was born. From the beginning, I was intentional about collaboration, connecting with interdisciplinary practitioners across physical therapy, strength and conditioning, medicine, and recovery to ensure we treated the whole person. Over the years, my team and practice have grown alongside the evolving field of sport psychology, supporting athletes and organizations in optimizing both performance and well-being.
Beyond clinical practice, I’ve continued to advocate for athlete mental health through my podcast, The Highs & Lows of X’s & O’s, where athletes share their stories, “mental cheat codes,” and experiences with resilience and growth. I’m also the author of Hello Trauma: Your Invisible Teammate, a book dedicated to helping athletes, coaches, and organizations understand how trauma impacts performance and relationships.
Today, through consulting, education, and storytelling, I remain committed to helping individuals and organizations cultivate a culture of care for a culture of champions.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Building a private practice was one of the most rewarding yet challenging experiences of my career. I was trained as a psychologist, not as a business owner, so stepping into entrepreneurship meant learning everything from scratch, including how to navigate operations, build systems, and most importantly, how to gain clients in a field that was still growing.
Another major challenge was learning how to market and build a brand while maintaining the highest ethical standards. In psychology, the heart of our work is trust and confidentiality, which can feel at odds with the visibility required to grow a business. I had to find a balance between sharing my professional identity and protecting the privacy of those I serve. Every decision about messaging, storytelling, and outreach required mindfulness, ensuring that my brand reflected authenticity, integrity, and care rather than promotion for its own sake.
Unlike other professions, in this line of work, when you do your job well, you can actually put yourself out of business. The goal is to help people heal, grow, and become independent, which means they may not need you long term. That reality taught me to redefine success. Instead of focusing on constant client flow, I focused on connection and trust, building relationships where athletes and high performers know they can return when they need support at any stage of their journey.
Through trial, error, and persistence, I learned that the heart of sustainable practice is not just in skill but in service, creating a space where people feel seen, supported, and safe to come back when life or performance challenges arise.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I founded Texas Optimal Performance & Psychological Services (TOPPS) to create something I wish had existed earlier in my career, a place where mental health and performance truly come together. As both a clinical and sport psychologist, I have learned that you cannot separate who we are as people from how we perform. My practice in Austin, Texas is built around that belief. We help individuals, teams, and organizations thrive not just in competition but in life.
TOPPS bridges two worlds that are often kept apart. I understand the mindset of athletes, coaches, and high performers because I have lived it. At the same time, I have seen the weight of stress, injury, pressure, and identity struggles that come with chasing excellence. Through this dual lens, I designed a practice that supports both mental well-being and peak performance.
At TOPPS, we work with a wide range of clients, from youth and collegiate athletes to executives and high performers, offering care that is both evidence based and deeply human. Our services include:
• Individual therapy and counseling for athletes and nonathletes
• Sport and performance psychology for individuals, teams, and organizations
• Trauma informed care and recovery work
• Group sessions and workshops focused on mental skills and personal growth
What sets us apart is our integrated approach. Many people feel they must choose between therapy and performance coaching, but at TOPPS, you do not have to. We see performance as an expression of overall health. Our goal is to help you perform at your best while staying grounded, self-aware, and mentally strong.
I am especially proud of the culture we have built, a culture of care that breaks down stigma around mental health in competitive spaces. My work in professional sports has shown me how powerful it is when athletes and organizations embrace psychological care as part of their overall development. The conversations are shifting, and I am proud that TOPPS is part of that change.
Our brand stands for integrity, compassion, and excellence. “Balanced Mind. Balanced Body.” is more than a tagline; it is our guiding philosophy. My book, Hello Trauma: Our Invisible Teammate, extends that mission beyond the therapy room, helping others understand how trauma, resilience, and performance intersect.
What I want people to know about TOPPS is that this is a place for growth, not just recovery. You do not have to wait until things feel broken to reach out. Mental performance and mental health are both about building a foundation for life.
Every client I work with receives individualized care. Whether you are an elite athlete, a student, a coach, or a business leader, you will be met with curiosity, honesty, and respect. My role is to help you uncover your strengths, learn to manage what holds you back, and find balance in the pursuit of your goals.
At the heart of everything I do is the belief that performance begins with people. When we invest in our mental and emotional well-being, we unlock our greatest potential, not just to win, but to live with purpose, confidence, and peace.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
You know, luck has definitely shown up in my life and in building my practice, but I think of it less as random chance and more as the mix of preparation, timing, and being open to opportunities. There have been moments where things just seemed to line up. A mentor reached out at the perfect time, a client referral completely changed the course of my business, or I happened to be in the right place when an opportunity popped up. That feels like good luck, but really it came from consistently showing up and doing the work even when the outcomes were uncertain.
Of course, there have also been moments that felt like bad luck. Deals fell through, opportunities slipped away, and unexpected challenges came up. But over time, I have learned to see those experiences differently. They have taught me resilience, shaped my decision making, and helped me build a practice that is grounded in trust, relationships, and ethics instead of relying on chance.
So for me, luck is not just fortune. It is about creating the right conditions for good things to happen and being adaptable and thoughtful when they do not.
Pricing:
- 30 Minute sessions range $60-$100
- 50 minute sessions range $120-$200
- Group sessions an speaking opportunities vary and flexible to meet the needs of those we serve
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.txopps.com
- Instagram: Drcmindset
- LinkedIn: Hillary Cauthen
- Youtube: ControlledChaosNetwork
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/highs-lows-of-xs-os/id1755085642?i=1000661102450
