Dr. Richard Griff: Channeling Perfectionism into Success
MEET DR. RICHARD GRIFF
Many athletes idealize perfectionism as a motivating factor in their desire to compete and win, however, sometimes that desire hinders their performance. While perfectionism can be detrimental and even correlate with mental health problems, on the other hand, it can also be helpful when used properly.
Dr. Richard Griff has worked with many athletes at various levels on a multitude of issues, including perfectionism. He specializes in Peak Performance and Mental Training; Team Building; Impulse Control Training; Anger Management; Trauma Therapy; Child Psychology; and Substance Abuse Counseling. The Becoming Counseling and Wellness, the official national counseling service provider for the HOFBH is excited to have Dr. Griff as one of its newest providers.
Working Through Perfectionism
As a clinician, Dr. Griff provides varied resources for each person’s success that are matched to them as an individual. He tailors his interventions to the individual athletes’ mood and personality traits. Among these traits is perfectionism.
“Perfectionism is a thought process often used in efforts towards being successful in one’s life. Truly, sometimes perfectionism has helped an athlete become successful. However, like all thinking processes, an addiction for perfectionism can result in mental conflict,” says Dr. Griff.
Dr. Griff notes that the root cause of perfectionism is one’s own desire to be successful in life and validated by their peers. This can become a problem and hinder a person’s mental wellness when the competitive desire dominates one’s life leading to poor emotional outcomes.
“If an individual dwells on their sense of perfectionism at a neurotic level, it dominates their personal life and leads to emotional disorders and other mental health difficulties. For example, an individual may desire to be the best athlete; his or her level of desire may cause daily levels of anxiety and eventually lead to burnout. Furthermore, this individual level of burnout may be so intense that it causes a severe depressive disorder,” adds Dr. Griff.
On the other hand, perfectionism, if properly channeled, can result in one achieving their personally defined success. For perfectionism to be successful, an athlete must channel this sense of perfectionism in a way that promotes emotional balance.
Clinician and Coach
With a vast background that is different from the typical clinical path, Dr. Griff is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with a specialization in Sports Psychology and an additional specialization in Trauma. Dr. Griff's sports psychology experience includes work with professional and minor league athletes and youths in multiple sports including football, hockey, and boxing. He has a vast diversity of experiences including being a professional trainer and assistant promoter for champion boxers, and he is a former Division I-AA football player. In addition, Dr. Griff boasts teaching, life skills facilitation, and direct care experience for many mental health issues as well as clinical experiences with a diversity of populations, including working with a broad spectrum of mental disorders in various countries. He is also on the United States Olympic Center Mental Health Registry and works with all types of first responders ranging from military to law enforcement to front-line emergency medical personnel.
Dr. Griff’s treatment process incorporates examining the athlete in a way that promotes success not only on the field but throughout their life. He teaches the athletes to use their mental skills to overcome all challenges in their life and to be able to use their athletic skills to rise to most occasions and solve problems.
“Mental health has always been an integral part of sports. Even athletes during Greek Olympic times used mental training techniques. Mental fitness and health in sports will be ever-present and evolving with the times,” says Dr. Griff.
Passionate and highly experienced in treating mental health for athletes, Dr. Griff became involved with the HOFBH because he aligns with how the organization cares about athletes’ success when they retire.
“Their mission is of utmost importance to my professional career because I want to be able to provide athletes with the skills necessary to become successful throughout their lives,” he added. “As a player, some of my teammates were led down a path that was not successful after sports due to lacking the needed skills. Thus, I want to make sure that all athletes receive the skills necessary for one to be continually successful.”
To learn more about Hall of Fame Behavioral Health and the services The Becoming Counseling and Wellness offers as their official national counseling service provider, visit hofbh.com, or call us right now at (866) 901-1241.