Dr. Mike Bishop, professor of graduate counseling, has worn a multitude of hats throughout his extensive career. Bishop has worked as a mental health consultant for professional sports teams, at huge universities like TCU and SMU and in his own private practice in therapy and counseling services. He is one of the most accomplished people on campus and brings to Texas Wesleyan a blend of worldly expertise and venerable character.

Bishop has both taught and practiced in a variety of fields of counseling including sports psychology, marriage & family therapy, addiction counseling, corporate therapy and more.   A jack of all trades, one unifying idea pervades his work.  

“My role as a therapist, as a supervisor, as an instructor, as a performance consultant is helping people be able to see things from a different point of view than they were taught or forced to believe,” Bishop said. “What we believe, how we feel and what we do is controlled by the stories that we have in our heads. I think what we do in therapy and in sports performance is how to influence the stories that we have in our heads.” 

A reflection of his aptitude, Bishop began his career working for Major League Baseball team, the Texas Rangers. Bishop spent six seasons as the ‘player assistance program consultant’ where he provided counseling services to players, coaches, staff and their families.  

“I kind of did the opposite, I started at the top,” Bishop said. “I got my training working in Major League Baseball, even before any type of college [athletics].” 

Following his time with the Rangers, Bishop embarked on his teaching career. For nearly 20 years, Bishop has instructed graduate students at Capella University—an accredited online university.  

Eventually, in 2016, Bishop found his way to Texas Wesleyan which has been a home for his talents ever since. At TxWes, Bishop has been formative in building up the Graduate Counseling Program. In addition to being a professor, Bishop provides sports performance therapy to the student athletes at TxWes. 

“A lot of college athletes know there’s a mental aspect to the game, but they’ve never been taught,” Bishop said. “They’ve never been in any program [where they’re taught] how to use their mental skills in order to be better athletes on the field.” 

The TxWES softball team worked with Bishop weekly during their 2024 season. Abbie Bird, senior pitcher and English major, reflected on the experience. 

“He’s very calming, his voice is very soothing, and he leads you through these exercises and you kind of go into a trance,” Bird said. 

During their meetings, Bishop led the team through exercises centered around breathing, visualization and easing performance anxiety. Junior shortstop and English major Lorien “Ellebelle” Zimmerman shared the success of these exercises in improving her own game. 

“I use the stuff that he taught us in games, and it helped me a lot,” Zimmerman said. “I usually feel pent up and anxious when I go up to bat or right before an inning starts; those breathing exercises really do calm me down.” 

Success stories like these are exactly what motivates Bishop in all the work he does.  

“It thrills me to death when I talk to an athlete who is stuck, [they] lost confidence. [They’re] down on themselves and we talk a little bit, and they look at me and say, ‘wow, I never thought of it that way before,’” Bishop said. 

With stress and mental health being a growing concern of student athletes across the country, Bishop’s services provide an undoubted lifeline. 

“I think having resources like [Bishop] is what’s going to ultimately save some of these student athletes,” Bird said. 

Alongside his work at TxWes, Bishop is a mental health consultant for student athletes at TCU and SMU as well as professional athletes at the Dallas Mavericks. Shyla Flavel, head athletic trainer, works closely with Bishop to give student athletes the help they need. 

“There is not a lot out there for sports mental health resources specific to athletes,” Flavel said. “Having Mike on campus available to our student athletes is a phenomenal resource for us.” 

Flavel has made an effort to make student athletes and their coaches more aware of the services and prowess that Bishop has to offer. 

“He just seems like a guy who is willing to jump in headfirst and help wherever he can,” Flavel said. “He loves what he does and wants to know how [he] can help the coaches, how can [he] get in there and talk with the kids. How [he] can best assist and help this campus in a way that our student athletes deserve.” 

Above all, Bishop hopes to nurture the student behind the athlete.  

“I’m interested in being able to help [student athletes] develop some good habits, not only to be successful in their chosen field, but also as individuals, as people, as citizens and then also postgraduation,” Bishop said. “I’d like to give them something that they can carry on to be successful in life past their college days.” 

Bishop’s counseling services are free to all TxWes students. Visit the website or call 817-531-4859 to schedule an appointment with Bishop or other counselors at the Texas Wesleyan Community Counseling Center.