Dr. S.Erdner, CMPC (she/her) is the Founder and CEO of The Center for Optimal Psychological Education in Injury & Rehabilitation, The COPE Center. She also serves as a Clinical Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Adams State University where Dr. Erdner teaches graduate-level courses in sport psychology and coaching. She additionally teaches as an adjunct faculty at the University of Western States specializing in mentoring aspiring certified mental performance consultants & teaching the psychology of sport injury & rehabilitation course. Dr. Erdner earned her Ph.D. in Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she also completed her M.S. in Communication Studies with a focus on interpersonal communication. She holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
As a Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, Dr. Erdner works closely with collegiate, professional, and Olympic-level athletes and coaches, helping them navigate the psychological demands of high-performance environments. While Dr. Erdner is well versed in working with non-injured clients, her most notable role was serving as a mental strength coach for a Major League Baseball organization, where she worked with athletes on the injury roster across both the minor and major league teams. Her practice as a whole emphasizes fostering mental resilience, self-awareness, and effective intra- and interpersonal communication.
Dr. Erdner is also the author of Dear Coach, What I Wish I Could Have Told You: Letters from Your Athletes, which is a powerful collection of letters that gives voice to athletes' unspoken experiences, which offers both letters of gratitude and constructive criticism to provide coaches insights for creating more supportive and effective team cultures while also encouraging all stakeholders to improve communication within all relationships. Dear Coach, it’s time your well-being be centered as much as the athletes. If interested in reading, you can download a FREE eBook version of Dear Coach HERE!
As you’ll see from the photos, Dr. Erdner is no stranger to injury. In 2014, a running-related injury led to foot surgery, abruptly ending her career as a triathlete. Years later, after establishing herself as a seasoned rock climber, she was sidelined again; this time by rare vascular compressions that restricted blood flow back to her heart. One of these compressions, affecting the left renal vein, known as Nutcracker Syndrome, required a kidney autotransplant at UWHealth in Madison, Wisconsin, which is one of the few medical centers worldwide offering this life-saving procedure for this rare diagnosis. This procedure entailed the relocation of Dr. Erdner’s left kidney to her lower-right pelvic region, resulting in both kidneys being located on the right side of her body. To date, Dr. Erdner has undergone eight surgeries, seven of which occurred within a two year period, each profoundly affecting her ability to perform at her best in both sport and life.
Through both inpatient and outpatient procedures, Dr. Erdner has gained firsthand experience with the psychological demands of injuries sustained both within and outside of sport, as well as the unique rehabilitation processes associated with each. Her experience as both an injured person and in teaching the psychology of sport injury, she’s come to realize the many textbooks don’t fully capture the whole injury journey. These personal experiences, combined with her professional expertise, inspired her to create The COPE Center!
Outside of academia and consulting, Dr. Erdner is a multidisciplinary artist who enjoys painting, writing comedic material for open mics, and collaborating on music with local musicians. She is also the host of the Nutcracker Syndrome podcast, which Dr. Erdner created to address a major knowledge gap for both medical professionals and patients navigating this rare medical journey. She embraces a quiet life in Evergreen, Colorado, where she lives in a cozy 500-square-foot cabin with her partner, Kyle, and their three beloved pets: Lego, a five-year-old orange tabby; Kira, a seven-year-old husky/pit mix who behaves more like a cat than the actual cat; and Gouda, a one-year-old chow/shepherd mix who keeps the whole family on their toes. Dr. Erdner asks that you please send good energy that Kyle will become more open-minded in allowing them to add another dog to their pack even if they do live in a space that’s considered “too small” to allow it! :)
