Activity Based Emotional Wellness Group
And the Activity?
Pickleball!
"Dink about it!"
A Therapuetic Pickleball Experience
Led by Jason Hsu, LCSW,
&
Patrik Karlsson, LCSW
We are two experienced therapists who have spent decades treating clients for depression, anxiety, and variety of other mood and trauma related disorders.
What are common themes we found?
Isolation. Feeling alone in suffering. Lost in negative thoughts. Lack of connection. Shame. Guilt. Sadness. Life stress.
And that's why we came up with "Dink about it!"
(Oh, and we both enjoy playing Pickleball!)
What is it?
An 8 week immersive group designed to move your body and your mood. We combine the fastest-growing sport in the world with Behavioral Activation (BA)—a proven therapeutic approach that helps you break through cycles of emotional stagnation and anxiety by engaging in meaningful, supportive, & skill-based activity.
But how does it help me?
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Physical Activity: Use the court to regulate your nervous system and boost dopamine through consistent, accessible movement.
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Social Connection: Reduce isolation in a supportive "team" environment where everyone is learning together.
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Building Mastery: Over the two 8 week sessions, you’ll go from a beginner to a more confident player, translating that sense of "I can do this" from the court to your personal life.
Why Pickleball?
Unlike many sports, pickleball has a "low ceiling" for entry but a "high floor" for growth. This makes it the perfect vehicle for Building Mastery—the clinical process of gaining competence to improve self-esteem, emotional wellness, and resilience.
From Frontiers in Psychology (2023):
"The results show significant improvements in the different psychological variables measured in pickleball practitioners: personal wellbeing, life satisfaction, depression, stress, happiness, etc., pickleball shows potential as a new tool to work and improve people’s mental health."
From NPR: Depression and Exercise (2026):
"Exercise has been adopted as a first-line treatment in guidelines for depression globally with good acceptability and safety...yet it remains underappreciated and underutilized."
What's a dink?
A Pickleball shot players hit in a controlled manner with the goal of keeping the ball low and in the kitchen (7' x 20' area closest to the net).
Photo Credit: Pickleball Hub
The Details
Duration: Two 8 Week Sessions
Location: Public courts in Albany, CA
Day/Time: Tuesdays 11 - 12:30
Cost: $95/Session
DISCOUNT: Use code SAVE40NOW on the INTEREST FORM and get $40 off the regular price
Program:
1. Individual intake with Jason or Patrik
2. Two 1-hour group orientation sessions
3. Fifteen 90 minute on the court sessions w instruction and support
4. Weekly check ins with wellness tracking and emotion regulation skill instruction
Next Cohort:
Orientation Session: Ongoing Enrollment
For Potential Clients
Discover a New Path to Healing: Dink About It!
When you're living with anxiety, depression, burnout, or daily life stress, it can feel like you’re stuck inside your own head. Traditional sit-down talk therapy has its place, but sometimes sitting on a couch talking about your pain just isn't enough to break the cycle of isolation, emotional pain, and avoidance.
That is why we created Dink About It!—an active, experiential emotional wellness group where therapy leaves the office and meets you right on the pickleball court.
Instead of staring at four walls, Dink About It! combines evidence-based psychological tools with physical movement, giving you a safe, uplifting space to heal, reconnect, and rediscover joy.
Jason and Patrik will be on the court to provide realtime support, skills, and coaching to ensure that your experience is both fun and therapeutic.
What Makes Dink About It! So Different?
Rather than traditional talk therapy, our program relies on a powerful blend of three active clinical pillars:
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Pickleball as a Real-Time "Therapeutic Lab": Pickleball is easy to learn and offers instant feedback. On the court, missed shots, tight games, and teamwork become real-time practice grounds for working through frustration, stuckness, perfectionism, and stress in a supportive environment.
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Practicing Behavioral Activation (BA): Depression and anxiety tell us to hide, stay home, and withdraw. Behavioral Activation shifts your neurochemistry by using intentional movement and action to lift mood inertia, boost dopamine, and break out of social avoidance.
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Learning & Applying DBT Skills: We integrate practical Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills—such as distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, and mindfulness—so you can practice staying present and calm under pressure, both on the court and in your everyday life.
Key Benefits You’ll Experience
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Lower Anxiety, Stress & Depression: Consistent, accessible movement combined with skill-building regulates your nervous system, clears reluctance, and relieves physical and mental tension.
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A Built-In, Supportive Community: Isolation thrives in silence, but pickleball offers organic, low-pressure social interaction. You won't face awkward icebreakers or forced sharing; instead, you’ll connect naturally with others who understand what you're going through.
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Building Mastery & Confidence: Going from a complete beginner to a confident player creates a tangible sense of "I can do this!" that carries directly over into your personal life, career, and relationships.
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A Lasting Lifestyle Shift: Unlike standard therapy groups that end when the sessions are over, our program bridges you directly into local public pickleball communities, giving you a fun, healthy hobby and social network for life.
There is Hope—And a Place for You Here
If you've been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or isolated, please know that you don't have to navigate it alone. You don't need any prior athletic experience or pickleball skills to join—just an open mind and a willingness to try something fresh.
Ready to step off the couch and onto the court? We’d love to welcome you to our community.
👉 Additional Details and the Interest Form
🌐 Learn more about our facilitators & their approach:
More about Jason Hsu, LCSW
More about Patrik Karlsson, LCSW
The Courts
For Referring Providers
Dink About It! — A Clinical Adjunct for Behavioral Activation & Social Engagement
Designed for: Referring Therapists, Psychiatrists, and other Health Providers
Facilitators: Patrik Karlsson, LCSW & Jason Hsu, LCSW
Program Overview: Augmenting Outpatient Care
As clinicians, we often see clients with mild-to-moderate depression, persistent anxiety, or severe workplace burnout hit a plateau in traditional sit-down care. Dink About It! was specifically created as an active, experiential clinical intervention designed to augment individual psychotherapy, psychiatric medication management, and traditional group therapy.
Rather than replacing primary care, our 16-week group serves as a dynamic "live-action lab" where clients translate the insights and coping tools gained in your office into real-world behavior.
Clinical Framework & Key Benefits for Referred Clients
By leveraging Pickleball as our therapeutic medium, we combine low-barrier physical movement with evidence-based behavioral healthcare:
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Accelerated Symptom Relief & Neurochemical Shifts: Physical exercise is a proven first-line treatment for depression and anxiety. The rhythmic physical movement of pickleball helps regulate the autonomic nervous system, boost dopamine, and lift brain fog faster than talk therapy alone.
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Real-Time DBT Skill Application: On the court, missed shots, dynamic gameplay, and court pressure create immediate opportunities to practice Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) skills—including distress tolerance, radical acceptance, mindfulness, and emotional regulation.
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Structured Behavioral Activation (BA): Depression and social anxiety thrive on avoidance and inertia. By getting clients out of the house into a fun, structured environment, we break through social avoidance patterns without the intimidation of traditional group processing.
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Rapid Social Connection & Scaffolding: Because interaction is anchored around playing a game, the awkwardness of traditional social anxiety is significantly reduced. Clients build organic, supportive peer connections while learning together.
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Building Self-Efficacy & Mastery: Learning and improving a tangible skill builds immediate, visible competence. This sense of "I can do this" directly transfers back into clients' personal lives, careers, and treatment goals.
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Sustainable Community Transition: Unlike short-term clinical programs that leave a void upon conclusion, our group bridges graduates directly into local public pickleball networks, ensuring ongoing physical activity and social connection long after the group ends.
Ideal Patient Profile
This program is particularly effective for clients experiencing mild-to-moderate symptoms of:
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Unipolar Depression / Dysthymia
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Social Anxiety & Avoidant Behaviors
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Workplace Burnout & High Stress
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Life Transitions & Social Isolation
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Trauma
Collaborative Care & Referring Provider Partnership
We view ourselves as adjunct partners in your client's overall care team. When you refer a patient to Dink About It!:
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Care Coordination: Patrik Karlsson, LCSW, and Jason Hsu, LCSW, maintain open communication lines with referring individual therapists and psychiatrists.
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Progress Updates: With proper ROI authorizations, we coordinate on clinical goals, share key behavioral observations from the court, and ensure our group work reinforces your primary treatment plan.
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Seamless Integration: Clients retain their primary therapist or psychiatrist while utilizing our group to accelerate behavioral activation and social connection.
Skills and Clinical Targets
When a client comes to group with a history shame in social settings, we use behavioral principles to address the unneeded shame (unjustified shame in DBT speak). One such practice involves playing doubles and turning toward the partner, making eye contact, and touching paddles after every point especially after missed shots or mistakes (scoring error, served from wrong side, etc.,). The very next step is resetting and focusing on the next point using unique breath sequence with the goal of regulating the autonomic nervous system. After the game, during check in, we tie the court practice to social situations where we highlight how these very same skills can result in values and goals aligned behaviors. Ultimately, we want to help them integrate their new skills to improve social, occupational, and relationship functioning.
How to Refer a Client
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Ongoing Enrollment: Clients can enter the group at any time following an individual intake.
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Special Referral Promotion: Remind your clients to enter code SAVE40NOW on their interest form to receive 40% off per session.
👉 Please share our website and the interest link with your clients: https://forms.gle/nTejH4KDZbKkBcg59
Recent Graduate
"I appreciate what the two of you have created; the concept is cool, the group format and community is special, and the skill building on and off the court has been invaluable"
Current Member
"I was not leaving the house very much and basically avoided most social and work situations. Now I can't wait to get out and play. Sometimes 3-4 times a week. I have a whole new energy and passion for life. Even my wife says I'm different. In a good way!"
New Member
"You guys do a wonderful job. My life has changed since starting your group. I feel more confident, less anxious, and just freer."
"Dink about it!"
Emotional Wellness Group
Palomarin Wellness
405 Kains Ave, Suite 201
Albany CA 94706
(510) 491-9273