Module 6, Sport Psychology Interventions (sport psychology interventions and goal setting) Flashcards
Sport Psychology Interventions (typical and more serious issues)
typical issues: (mental health consultants - can help athletes with performance issues but not mental health issues)
- competitive/performance anxiety (how to help an athlete manage their anxiety)
- confidence
- performance problems
- problems with coach or other athletes
- group dynamics (how can we improve team cohesion, working together efficiently)
more serious issues: (for sport psychologists who have more training in clinical and counselling psychology and training in sport realm)
- depression
- anxiety
- eating disorders
- substance abuse
- gambling/addictions
- abuse
Sport Psychology Interventions
- process of psychological skills development
types of psychological skills (athletes can develop these and work on) - goal setting
- imagery
- relaxation and energizing techniques (arousal control)
- self-talk
- mindfulness
- self-compassion
Psychological Skills
- psychological skills may be used to improve athletic performance beyond physical training or increase enjoyment/satisfaction
- psychological skills can enhance performance, but are not a substitute for physical training (cannot just psychologically train and get better, without forms of physical training)
◦ the conjunction of both psychological and
physical training is often needed
◦ however an athlete that cannot physically train
may take the opportunity to increase their
psychological skills (or when we have offseason)
Disclaimer on Sport Psychology Interventions
- sport psychology interventions depend on relationships (between athletes and mental health consultant/clinical psychologists)
- sport psychology interventions work best if a strong relationship is developed over extended periods of time (cannot work just with one session)
- sport psychology ‘interventions’ work best if they are incorporated into daily practice - they should be part of athletes’ regular approach to training and competition (the suggestions given need to be practiced in order to be helpful and work
Psychological Skills Training (3)
- entails the structured and consistent practice of skills and generally has three distinct phases:
◦ education phase (1)
◦ acquisition phase (2)
◦ practice phase (3)
Psychological Skills Training (explain the 3)
- education phase
A. athletes recognize importance of mental skills
and performance impact (who the athletes are
and what they need, what are their psychological
skills and weaknesses - assessment / teach them
what the skills actually are that they will be
working on) - acquisition phase
A. athletes acquire various psychological skills and
learn to employ them - practice phase
A. implement skills in practice and competition
Education Phase: Assessment
- what does the athlete need?
◦ inventories (questionnaires), interviews
(conversations), observations (observe them on
the pitch, game, practice) - use all these to figure
out what the athlete needs - what skills will address these needs?
individualized approach is important - unique for everyone
Assessment: Performance Profile (wheel)
- an assessment method, a flexible tool that allows us to identify an athlete’s performance related skills and weaknesses
- often used in first step in devising an intervention plan for athletes
- also can allow athletes set goals (what goals do they want to reach)
- first step in performance performance profile is give athlete wheel with no words (all white wheel), then ask athlete to identify 10 important psychological skills in their sport to fill the wheel (athletes decide what skills are important to reach peak performance in their sport) and then athlete will identify where they want each rating to be for each characteristic (1-10)
- in the last step, they will identify where they actually are (current ability)
- pick the top 2-3 that have the biggest discrepancy and then work on those
Acquistion Phase
- prioritize only a few skills at a time
- teach skills based on needs identified
- practice skills in environment that optimizes basic skill learning (do not want it in high pressure context because they are learning)
◦ may be away from the sport context (rather in
office, classroom), low stress environment etc.
Practice Phase
- simulate situations where skills will be used
◦ in practice, simulated competitions, before
competitions - over-learn/automate skills
◦ use in practice situations frequently so that new
skills become the automatic response (for ex.
practicing mindfulness so much that is becomes
the automatic response for pregame anxiety -
might a little bit of a cue but should be fairly
automatic) - integrate skills into performance
◦ once skills mastered in practice, use in
competition
◦ caution: trying new skills initially in performance
environments
Common Problems Implementing Psychological Skills Training
common problems implementing psychological skills training:
lack of conviction
- not wanting to something new
- not convinced that this will help (not convinced that the psychological skills will help)
lack of time
- priorities (physical training instead)
- integrating psychological skills training into practice time
Why are Psychological Skills Important?
- strong mental skills can lead to improved:
◦ focus
◦ motivation
◦ preparation skills
◦ emotional control
◦ performance
Goals
- “a target or objective that people strive to attain”
- most commonly used mental skill strategy among athletes
Why Goal Setting Works
- directs attention towards a task
- help in increasing motivation
◦ short and long term
◦ fosters persistence and effort - allows an athlete to evaluate their performance in practice and in performance
◦ what is working? what is not working? does the
plan need to change? - team goal-setting is effective team-building tool for enhancing cohesion (if we have targets as a group, it will allow us to build cohesion because we are working together making us closer)
Types of Goals - Outcome Goals
- goals that focus on the results of the competition between opponents
◦ winning the world championships
◦ making the varsity, provincial, or national team - focus on some type of outcome
