Inspiring Conversations with Nicole Harnisch of Complete Phenom Enterprises

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Harnisch.

Hi Nicole, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
It starts as early as growing up in the suburbs of Chicago! I spent the first ten years of my life there with two older siblings – Harrison (34) and Marissa (30) and both my mom and dad. Much of my dad’s side of the family lived in the Chicago area, which is definitely where the high exposure to athletics began. My dad played DI and DII football, his brothers played DI football and baseball. His dad (my grandpa) was an All-American DIII tackle.

Sport and competition have been the nature of my entire life. If you had asked me when I was five what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would have told you an “I’m playing in the WNBA,” while missing a two-hand shot on a 10-foot hoop in the driveway. I grew up playing basketball and softball in Chicago. After moving to Iowa before middle school (culture shock… yes), I picked up volleyball and track and field as well.

Eventually, I dropped softball to have summers free for weight training, club volleyball, and club basketball. By my senior year I still had no idea where I wanted to go to school or for which sport. All I knew was that I had an Excel spreadsheet on my desktop computer at home with like 15 different schools listed and all the criteria I thought to be important in the recruiting process.

After qualifying for the Drake Relays in the shot put my senior year, I got a phone call from Northwest Missouri State, a DII school in Maryville, MO (go Bearcats!) and I was ready. A few weeks later I broke my school records in the shot put and discus, placed at state, and agreed to throw for 4 (or 5) more years at Northwest.

I worked hard through college – on and off the field. Made myself known in the weight room. Squatted 405 one time after two knee surgeries (will probably never do that again). Finished on the Northwest Top 10 list in the hammer, discus, and weight throws after having major hand and wrist surgery the summer before my 5th year. Graduated with honors, flew around the country a little to present my own research, and started and finished a master’s degree.

Worked full time during my last year of grad school while also working for my graduate assistantship position while also working on my research. It was definitely a wild time and I worked entirely too much, but I wouldn’t do it any differently. Shortly after finishing my master’s degree, I completed my practicum hours and passed the certification exam through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology to be a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) – the gold standard in sports psychology.

My attitude has always been “Give it everything you’ve got until you’ve got nothing left. And then give some more.” After six orthopedic surgeries (and I don’t even know how many injuries) trickled throughout those five years in college, I’ve learned to adapt. I’ve learned the value of rest and recovery – and I am definitely still learning! There is such a delicate balance between sport and life and I really strive to support the athletes I work with in finding that.

I knew when I was pretty young (about 12) that I wanted to study psychology and sports psychology. However, I don’t think I fully understood what this work would really mean to me as I got older. My own experience as a student-athlete in college was challenging and I failed a lot. There were all of the foreseeable challenges that most people experience when transitioning into their college career (new place, new people, new coaches, new training, etc.) and then you layer in repeated injury, difficult relationships, and navigating my own mental health issues.

I would be lying if I said there weren’t times that I was incredibly frustrated with my situation. When I finished my career, initially I was disappointed in myself. I started my career at Northwest with huge goals and aspirations and ended my career crawling to the finish line (analogy – certainly no finish lines in throwing). Fortunately, it didn’t take long before I realized the capacity in which I would be able to connect with athletes that I work with moving forward because of my own experiences. I am so grateful for that.

I moved to Kansas City in the summer of 2018 to develop a sports psychology private practice with a group of recent Northwest grads. I had just wrapped up my first full-time job as an individual counselor at a juvenile youth home in Clarinda, IA (kind of like a step-down facility for kids with criminal charges that were transitioning out of juvenile prison or their charges weren’t severe enough for juvenile prison).

I learned a lot from working there – especially from the kids. The social injustices affecting even our country’s mental health programs and juvenile justice system had never been more in my face than in that facility. Fighting against that is forever going to be a piece of who I am and a part of my vision – but that is a story entirely of its own.

Starting a business for the first time in Kansas City as a 23-year-old was pretty scary, and I had to work full time to support myself throughout the whole process (and still do). I worked my way up to developing my own therapeutic recreation program at KVC Niles Home for Children alongside building a business. Eventually, throughout this process, I learned enough to feel ready to take a risk and go out on my own.

At this time, I was still working full-time for KVC Niles and was also working as PRN for The University of Kansas Health Systems – Marillac Campus (acute children’s psychiatric hospital). It was a lot, without a doubt. However, I feel so much more confident in my ability to provide the best possible support to the athletes and performers that I work with because of my additional experience working in mental health.

It was probably around the spring of 2020 that I left the first business I helped to develop and started my very own sport psychology consulting practice, Complete Phenom Enterprises, LLC. It has been an incredible journey and each year has been better than the last for my business – even though the pandemic. I have had the opportunity to work with some incredible athletes and people.

I am finally in a place to be consistently receiving referrals from word of mouth, which is truly an amazing feeling and I appreciate so much the bravery and openness of the athletes and parents that have worked with me to feel confident referring my services to other athletes and performers that they know and care for.

I couldn’t be more honored and excited to expand my practice in a way that will allow me to serve the athletes, teams, and communities that truly need these services.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think smooth is the opposite of what this road has been! I talked about a few of the struggles in my answer to the previous question – but I am happy to share a bit more in detail here.

When I was in college, working through injury year after year had to be one of the most exhausting experiences I had been through. After my freshman year, pretty much every year ended in surgery and more time away from training – my favorite part of track and field. It was a roller coaster of emotions. Two knee surgeries, one year after the next. Followed by 4 total hand/ wrist/ elbow procedures before my 5th and final year of track.

I remember thinking “This isn’t something they tell you about when you’re signing the papers.” And it’s really not. It isn’t something a person really prepares for – all you’re thinking about when you walk onto campus your freshman year is how badly you want to get better, perform, and win. It’s part of who you are and what you identify as.

There were times when it felt like that was completely taken away from me. I appreciate it now because when I am working with an athlete who is trying to get over an obstacle, no matter what the obstacle is, I get it. I can connect with them on that and really listen in order to teach them the best skills to move forward.

But when I was going through it, I was so angry. The first couple of knee surgeries were like “Okay, you can get through this. This happens to a lot of college athletes.” The hand/ wrist injuries were different. I had smashed a ligament in my hand doing hang clean while at the same time living with torn cartilage in my wrist.

Eventually, I couldn’t hold a pen to write, turn a doorknob, and I especially couldn’t hold on to a shot put. The surgery was invasive. I had pins in my hand and my right arm was immobilized for 6-8 weeks. Doesn’t sound like a long time but the pain was unbelievable. I’m talking like can’t turn a doorknob, brush your teeth, tie your own hair up, or put on pants.

Then when the feeling didn’t come back in that hand and I found out I would have to have two more procedures done to repair the nerve damage from the first surgery and I was supposed to be ready to compete in like two months – that was tough. Many tears around that time in my life. It took me the entire indoor and outdoor track season just to get back to the level I was at when I finished the last season. I almost couldn’t believe that I had made it to the end.

Another bump in the road I experienced was towards the end of my graduate degree. My initial plan was really not to move to KC and start a private practice. Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to get a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology after finishing my MS in Sport and Exercise Psychology, be able to call myself a “Clinical Sport Psychologist” and get myself a nice job working with a DI school. That was the dream. Everything I did academically leading up to that year felt like it was in preparation for that dream.

I graduated first in my class in high school, had a 3.93 GPA in undergrad, and graduated summa cum laude, I had completed a few research projects both with professors and on my own, presenting that research at different conferences around the country. I finished my graduate degree with a 4.0. I had all the clinical field experience. When it was all said and done, I had applied to at least 17 doctoral programs and didn’t get a single interview, let alone get accepted into a program.

It didn’t make any sense and I was so disappointed. It was a bigger failure to me than just not getting in – that was my dream for at least ten years, and everyone that I cared about knew that. It was a huge letdown and I didn’t know what I was going to do, how I would tell anyone, or what my life was going to look like. At the time, I didn’t realize that I could just get my certification` and start a private practice.

But I think that coming out of what felt like the bottom for me was what pushed me to take a risk in private practice, to begin with. It was very much a “What else do I have to lose?” situation. And it’s yet another failure I’ve had that I’m grateful for today. I was so burnt out of school by the end of graduate school, I needed a break – so the universe gave me that break, and pushed me to be resilient, and create my own path.

The last struggle I’ll talk about maybe the most difficult for me – my own mental health. It’s scary for anyone to talk about themselves and be vulnerable in this way, right? I think athletes have an extra layer of stigma when it comes to mental health issues because we are supposed to be “mentally tough” and sports culture, although improving in this area, has made that very clear.

In addition to that, as a sport psychology consultant and mental health professional, I am always asking myself how much is okay to self-disclose. I have battled with depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and disordered eating for a good chunk of my life. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that these issues really started to become apparent (although the symptoms were present all through middle/ high school, I just didn’t recognize them).

At different points throughout life, this has impacted my friendships, relationships, motivation, performance, choices, career, my physical health, my perception of self, and so much more. I am incredibly fortunate in that I have always had a great support system, even in the lowest of moments. For the last few years I have worked really hard in therapy to get to a better place, but I would be lying if I said that this isn’t something that affects me every day in one way or another.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Complete Phenom Enterprises, LLC is a sport psychology consulting practice serving the greater KC area and beyond. This business is owned and operated entirely by me! If we are talking mission statement, this is where I am at: To provide a safe space for athletes across all ages, skill levels, and socioeconomic statuses to feel empowered to reach their full potential, in sport and in life.

In other words, I work with athletes, exercisers, performers, and people in developing the skills to be successful in their sport and across all areas of life. Often times clients will reach out to me because they are struggling to get through an obstacle, whether that’s an injury, burn-out, a lack of confidence, or a general mental health concern that is affecting their sport and life, or a number of other issues. Sometimes my clients are already doing really well in their sport and just want to get to that next level, whatever that looks like for them.

There is really no specific age group that I work with – I’ve worked with pretty young kiddos around 9 or 10 all the way through high school, college, post-collegiate, and retired athletes. I would say most of my clients are athletes or performers, but not all. Some client are like-minded, goal-oriented individuals looking for support in building the skills to be successful in life.

The multi-dimensional way in which I work with clients is something that I think has become a major component of my business. I always offer free initial consultations to give clients the opportunity to meet with me without any commitment and decide if I am a good fit for them. I generally hold appointments over a virtual Telehealth platform, but I also understand that sport (and life) happens outside of the office. Keeping that in mind, I also offer outside of session support and the option to schedule sessions on-site whether during training or competition.

I think what sets me apart from others in my field is my unique perspective on resilience and manifestation that is woven into the skills that I teach and the way I support others. I genuinely love the work that I do. I am proud of my brand and my business as it is a part of me, but I am even more of the athletes and individuals that I get to work with. Connecting with people is definitely something that comes naturally to me and I am very intentional about meeting people where they are at.

Any big plans?
Absolutely, yes!

Always looking forward! The vision of Complete Phenom Enterprises, LLC in its rawest form is to support athletes growing up in underserved communities; to provide a safe space for these athletes to develop the skills to grow and be successful not only within their sport but within their lives; to guide young athletes into understanding the educational opportunities that their sport can provide them with and to build the confidence to pursue educational, athletic, and career goals that may have otherwise seemed unattainable in light of their circumstances. That is the long-term goal, most definitely.

Right now, with my practice being pretty much brand new, my focus has been getting my feet firmly placed on the ground beneath me. To establish my business and be able to successfully support myself while doing the work that I love. So that being said, I don’t have all of the answers yet and I haven’t mapped out a timeline or every step of the way to get there – but I know I will get there as I continue to grow, evolve, and connect with the community.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.completephenom.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/completephenom/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/completephenom/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/completephenom

Image Credits
Jeremy Ellsworth of Jeremy Ellsworth Creative