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 serves as a Clinical Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Adams State University and as adjunct faculty at the University of Western States, where she serves as a subject-matter expert in the psychology of injury and rehabilitation. She earned her Ph.D. in Sport Psychology and Motor Behavior and M.S. in Communication Studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
As a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, Dr. Erdner has extensive experience working with both non-injured and injured–ill populations. She previously served as a mental strength coach within a Major League Baseball organization, collaborating with interdisciplinary medical teams to support athletes throughout the injury and rehabilitation process. She is also the author of Dear Coach, What I Wish I Could Have Told You: Letters from Your Athletes, a collection grounded in advocacy for both athletes and coaches, highlighting the often-unspoken psychological experiences within sport. If interested in reading, you can download a FREE eBook version of Dear CoachHERE!
Dr. Erdner’s professional work is deeply informed by her lived experience with injury and complex medical conditions. After experiencing acute athletic injuries as both a triathlete and rock climber, Dr. Erdner‘s athletic experience came to an abrupt halt after a complex cascade of medical challenges. What initially presented as gynecology-related issues, resulting in a stage 4 endometriosis diagnosis, hysterectomy, and left oophorectomy, quickly escalated into a life-threatening medical journey for Dr. Erdner. As her condition continued to decline post-operatively, further evaluation revealed underlying vascular compressions that had gone undiagnosed for years.
She was ultimately diagnosed with May-Thurner Syndrome (MTS; compression of the left iliac vein) and Nutcracker Syndrome (NCS; compression of the left renal vein), both of which had been silently refluxing blood into her pelvic region. Treatment required significant medical intervention. MTS was addressed through placement of a left iliac stent to restore blood flow, while NCS necessitated a highly specialized kidney autotransplant surgery, relocating her left kidney to the lower-right pelvic region. In total, Dr. Erdner has undergone eight surgeries within a two-year span while also managing additional co-morbid conditions (i.e., UCTD, POTS) that significantly impacted her ability to function, train, and perform. With support from an interdisciplinary medical team, Dr. Erdner now successfully manages these conditions.
These experiences reshaped her understanding of injury as a dynamic, biopsychosocial process intertwined with chronic illness, systemic health factors, and lived experience. For many clients, injury and illness are inseparable and effective psychological support must reflect that complexity.
Outside of academia and consulting, Dr. Erdner is a multidisciplinary artist who enjoys painting, writing comedic material, and collaborating on music. She is also the host of The Nutcracker Syndrome Podcast, created to address critical knowledge gaps for both medical professionals and patients navigating this rare condition. She lives in Evergreen, Colorado, where she embraces a quiet, creative life with her partner, Kyle, and their three pets: Lego, Kira, and Gouda.
