Chapter 1: Fundamental Principles and Theories

Question 1

What is Counseling?

Answer 1

Skilled and principled use of a professional relationship to empower individuals to facilitate self-knowledge and the development of personal resources in order to grow and achieve MENTAL HEALTH and WELLNESS.

Question 2

What is Consulting?

Answer 2

Collaborative process in which psychology, counseling, and athletic performance are applied with individuals, teams, and organizations in a sport context to facilitate the development of mental and emotional skills and processes that lead to OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE, WELL-BEING, and PERSONAL GROWTH.

Question 3

What are two theories of behavior change?

Answer 3

1. Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

2. Theory of Planned Behavior

Question 4

What are the 6 parts to the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (Prochaska, 2008)?

Answer 4

1. Precontemplation
2. Contemplation
3. Preparation
4. Action
5. Maintenance
6. Termination

Question 5

Stage 1:

Precontemplation

Answer 5

Individuals are unaware or uninformed that there is a change that is needed

Question 6

Stage 2:

Contemplation

Answer 6

Individuals recognize the need for behavior change and are committed to making the change in the next 6 months

Question 7

Stage 3:

Preparation

Answer 7

Individuals are planning to make a change and are committed to following through

Question 8

Stage 4:

Action

Answer 8

Individuals are implementing their plan and executing their behavior change, usually less than 6 months

Question 9

Stage 5:

Maintenance

Answer 9

Individuals’ changed behavior has become established in their daily life, usually more than 6 months

Question 10

Stage 6:

Termination

Answer 10

Individuals are completely 100% self-efficacious in the new activity, have no desire to relapse

Question 11

Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991)?

Answer 11

Driven by the individual’s intention to perform the behavior.

This intention is driven by underlying motivation, which is influenced by individuals’ attitude toward the behavior, subjective norms (i.e., perceived social pressure to engage in the behavior), and perceived behavioral control (i.e., expectancy that performance of the behavior is within their control).

Question 12

Theory of Planned Behavior dismisses what two factors?

Answer 12

Don’t factor in the influences of emotions and unconscious influences have on behavior.

Question 13

Theory of planned behavior is typically used for which health behavior changes?

Answer 13

Alcohol and Drug Use
Nutrition
Physical Activity
Adherence to Medical regimes

Question 14

TRUE OR FALSE: In the Theory of Planned Behavior, the key factor in influencing a change is the intention to perform the behavior.

Answer 14

TRUE

Question 15

What is Acceptance Commitment Theory (ATC)?

Answer 15

Rapidly evolving third-wave counseling approach used to facilitate MINDFULNESS and VALUES-DRIVEN behavior change

Guided by 6 core processes designed to increase PSYCHOLOGICAL FLEXIBILITY.

Hexaflex Model
1. Accetpance
2. Contact with the present moment
3. Values
4. Committed Action
5. Self as context
6. Difusion

Question 16

What is Systems Theory or Systems Therapy?

Answer 16

HOLISTIC approach to used to examine and understand systems, based on the premise that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Individuals and Teams are considered their own ecosystems, that have effects on those around them.

Useful to help members gain insight into how each individuals role within the group affect its functionality!

MPCs should encourage reflection on each person’s beliefs, values, needs, hopes, and assumptions to help facilitate understanding and new ways of thinking and doing. It is important to help members to move beyond blame and begin exploring how everyone can work together toward a shared goal.

Question 17

What is Person Centered Therapy?

Answer 17

Developed by Carl Rogers

• Focused on developing bond between client and practioner
• creates a positive and safe climate for the client
• Increases clients self-awareness, self-trust, and ability to share in a counseling environment
• unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy are keys in this approach
• Does not use intake questioning, or probing

Rogers’ counseling style has gained tremendous respect and recognition over the years, particularly due to its emphasis on the therapeutic alliance—that is, the bond or connection that develops between a practitioner and client. Rogers postulated that unconditional positive regard, genuineness, and empathy are factors that are indispensable for client progress (Rogers, 1957)

Question 18

How can Person-Centered Therapy (PCT) be used in sports with clients?

Answer 18

It is essential for MPCs to understand their client’s experiences, perspectives, and frame of reference as they work toward achieving performance and well-being goals. PCT offers a lens through which MPCs can empower their clients to harness their capacity to organize themselves, take responsibility for their actions, find their own solutions, and work toward a higher degree of acceptance and comfort in the face of stressful demands (Kirschenbaum, 2004).

In sum, PCT is the foundation of many counseling approaches. It encompasses core ingredients allowing practitioners to establish and sustain effective therapeutic relationships, which directly influence client engagement, adherence, and outcomes. PCT is useful at any point of the consulting process to maintain high-quality alliances, understand experiences, and increase awareness and self-regulation (Corey, 2017).

Question 19

What is Existential Therapy (ET)?

Answer 19

Focuses on the nature of the human condition (what is means to be human).

Clients identify and pursue meaning in life to integrate, mind, body, and spirit into the meaning of life

ET relies on concepts that are universally applicable to human existence. It aims to address and understand issues of freedom and responsibility, isolation and relationships, meaning and meaninglessness, and living and dying (Deurzen, 2012).

Question 20

How and when should ET be used with a client?

Answer 20

ET is well suited to situations such as a developmental crisis (e.g., an adolescent struggling with his athletic identity), a life transition (e.g., an injured athlete involuntarily leaving sport), an existential concern (e.g., a coach coping with a failed marriage), or a need for personal enhancement (e.g., an athlete looking for a new career).

MPCs can guide clients to explore choices over which they have freedom (i.e., controllables), take ownership of their actions, and remain accountable for their experiences and outcomes. Importantly, ET lends itself well to helping clients recognize and deal with sources of anxiety, insecurity, and fear, which are inherent in competitive situations and transitions in various domains of life, including sports. Finally, through active listening, reflection of meaning, confrontation, and reframing skills, MPCs can challenge clients to perceive or reappraise inevitable obstacles, setbacks, and losses as vital learning and growth opportunities.

Question 21

What is Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT)?

Answer 21

A person-centered approach in which emotions are viewed as a fundamental aspect of human functioning and therapeutic change (Greenberg, 2014).

EFT counselors aim to increase emotional awareness, regulation, and transformation (Greenberg, 2014).

Question 22

What are EFT’s 3 downfalls?

Answer 22

1. EFT can lead to intense emotional expression; if feelings are not fully explored and cognitive work is not completed, clients can be left with no closure and integration.
2. Clients who have difficulty using creativity and imagination, or who have been culturally conditioned to be emotionally reserved, may not embrace EFT techniques and experiments.
3. Some clients may not see how being aware of present experiencing will lead to solving their problems.

Question 23

How and when should EFT be used?

Answer 23

Must develop a relationship like in PCT first, then they actively engage clients to disrupt maladaptive emotional schemas by creating new positive ones (Greenberg, 2014). Specifically, clients learn to “identify, experience, accept, express, explore, transform, and manage their emotions” (Corey, 2017, p. 168).

MPCs can use EFT to help their clients identify and communicate how their emotions influence their overall functioning and interactions in normal and high-pressure situations.

While clients can be encouraged to focus on the present and accept their experiences, it is empowering for them to know that they have ownership over how they feel and can improve their experiences through personal choices.

Question 24

What is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)?

Answer 24

CBT is a structured, time-limited, problem-focused, and goal-oriented form of talk therapy that helps clients learn to identify, question, and change how their thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs relate to emotional and behavioral reactions that cause them difficulty.

Question 25

When should CBT be used?

Answer 25

Relaxation training (including progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and breathing retraining)

Exposure therapy (imaginal or in vivo exposure, including flooding and implosive therapy)

Behavior rehearsal (behavioral training in social skills, habit reversal, or problem solving)

Cognitive restructuring (including direct strategies to identify and alter maladaptive thought processes)

Operant procedures (manipulation of reinforcers or punishers, including behavioral activation)

Question 26

What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)?

Answer 26

Future-focused, goal-oriented approach that emphasized clients’ strengths and resilience.

SFBT counselors act as facilitators to guide clients away from problem talk to solution talk—moving from a problem-dominated conversation into a solution-oriented conversation

Question 27

How and when can SFBT be used with clients?

Answer 27

MPCs can play a role in pre- and post-performance discussions to emphasize strengths and problem resolution, which can help maintain clients’ self-confidence, motivation, and goal-directed behavior. During performance situations in which MPCs have an opportunity to communicate with clients, SFBT can be used to encourage clients to focus on key competencies in the present moment and sustain a positive attitude (Halliwell, Orlick, Ravizza, & Rotella, 1999).

Question 28

What is Behavior Therapy?

Answer 28

Behavior therapy, as a counseling approach, uses classical and operant conditioning and the social cognitive approach as foundations to help people change maladaptive behaviors (Corey, 2017).

Question 29

When and how should behavioral therapy be used?

Answer 29

MPCs can use a behavioral approach to help athletes enhance a variety of skills. In addition, when working with coaches, emphasizing the importance of behavior therapy components such as positive reinforcement, the use of verbal explicit behavior instruction, and timely feedback can help strengthen coaching practice.

Question 30

What is Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy?

Answer 30

The aim of REBT is to help clients dispute their irrational beliefs and “minimize their emotional disturbances and self-defeating behaviors by acquiring a more realistic, workable, and compassionate philosophy of life” (Corey, 2017, p. 273).

Question 31

When should REBT be used with clients?

Answer 31

MPCs using an REBT approach to counseling teach their clients to identify and refute irrational or unhelpful beliefs. For example, MPCs might be working with athletes who believe that their first touch of the ball in their game must be perfect, otherwise it will lead to failure and underperformance. As a result of this belief, athletes experience a high degree of performance anxiety. MPCs using an REBT approach can help athletes replace this type of irrational belief with a more rational one, thereby influencing their emotional experience and actions before a competitive event.

Question 32

What is Mindfulness Based Therapy?

Answer 32

A type of psychotherapy that combines mindfulness, cognitive therapy, and meditation.

Question 33

What is Compassion-Focused Therapy?

Answer 33

CFT helps individuals develop more affiliative feelings toward themselves, along with a more compassionate inner voice (Leaviss & Uttley, 2015), which in turn aids self-regulation and affect regulation (Depue & Morrone-Strupinsky, 2005).

It has also been suggested that self-compassion can be particularly valuable for athletes struggling with any kind of stressful sport-related challenge such as injury, exhaustion, performance anxiety before competitions, and performance errors and setbacks (Baltzell, Röthlin, & Kenttä, 2020).

Question 34

What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?

Answer 34

A type of talk therapy for people who experience emotions very intensely. It’s a common therapy for people with borderline personality disorder, but therapists provide it for other mental health conditions as well.