2: Understanding your athlete’s needs Flashcards
Why is it important as a sport psychologist to understand the context of the situation/sport?
– Increased ‘buy-in’ from athletes/coaches
– Adds to knowledge-base
– Determines the approach adopted and skills/strategies that you might implement with the athlete
– Creates understanding of the challenges of implementation (eg. environment)
– Builds rapport with client
– Enhance contextual understanding
Key outcome of the initial meeting:
– Raising an athlete’s self-awareness (i.e., holding up the mirror!)
– Pivotal in creating a commitment to starting psychological skills training (PST)
– PST must be viewed as an equal partner to the practicing of physical skills
Emphasising the importance of PST
o Emphasise that PST does not mean that there is something psychologically wrong with them
– No different than staying after practice to work on an important technical skill
o Have the athlete decide what percentage of their game is mental vs. how much time they spend on mental preparation etc.
o Discuss with athletes the benefits mental training has had on some of the world’s top athletes
o Realistic expectations
– No miracles/ quick fix, poor technique etc.
Other aspects to consider about pst
factors outside the psychological realm influence performance (e.g., physiological conditioning, biomechanics, strategy, equipment)
detailed understanding of the sport in which the psychologist is working in
3 advantages of having knowledge of the sport
– Ability to converse in technical terms
– Ability to give practical, real-life examples
– An enhancement of credibility and respect from the players
Characteristics of a good listener:
Eye contact, open body language, nodding, relaxed, lean towards occasionally, remain present (don’t try problem solve), talk less, avoid interruptions.
What communication skills and would an effective sport psychologist need?
Genuineness (honesty, integrity, sincerity), trustworthy, good listener, empathetic, friendly, relatable, be comfortable in pauses, be present, express your understanding, reduce close questioning or answering for client.
Characteristics of sport psychologist that are perceived to be essential for effective practice
– Friendly but not a friend
– Experience
– Athlete-centred approach
– Flexibility
– Open, honest, and respectful
– Collaborative
reflective listening tools to create empathy and rapport when communicating with their clients:
– Questioning
– Clarifying/paraphrasing
– Encouraging
– Understanding
Qualitative methods of assessment
o Initial interview
o Behavioural observation and evaluation
– In practice and/or pre/during-performance
o Assessment of an athletes’ psychosocial environment
– Assessment of motivational climate (coaches, parents’ appraisals)
Initial interviews
o Used to subjectively assess an athlete’s needs
Strengths of using interviews as an assessment method?
– In-depth insight into athlete (sporting and personal issues)
– Builds rapport – helps with implementation of PST programme
Weaknesses of using interviews as an assessment method:
– Time-consuming
– Self-presentational bias
– Scepticism
o Majority of applied sport psychologist will observe their athletes during practice and performance with an aim to:
– Triangulate behaviours with those identified in the intake interview
– Examine the quality of pre-performance routines utilised
– Examine attentional and emotional responses to competition
– Examine behaviour of significant others (e.g. coach, teammates)
Quantitative methods of assessment
questionnaires, surveys
Which assessment method is best?
o It is the best to start with confidence and trust-building measures e.g. Intake interview
o This rapport building lays the ground for diagnosing group processes, athletes’ personalities, individual differences, and current psychological states
