The Sport Psychologist
Most sport psychologists receive their education in university departments of sports science, physical education, or psychology. They usually obtain a first degree in either a sport related subject or psychology and then study sport psychology at masters and/or doctoral degree level or higher.
To begin with it is important to explain that there are basically two different roles for a sport psychologist to play – a practical consultancy and a scientific research role. Many individuals assume both roles at different times although some remain firmly involved in only one capacity.
Practical Consultancy
In this context the main aim of a sport psychologist is to support athletes in the development of psychological skills which smooth the progress of performance enhancement as well as enjoyment and satisfaction.
The Success Cycle:
(Reference http://content.answers.com/main/content/img/oxford/Oxford_Sports/0199210896.success-cycle.1.jpg)
The Success Cycle simplifies the work carried out by practical sport psychologists. They teach athletes techniques for coping with stress and anxiety, strategies for improving concentration. They also teach methods of maintaining motivation and ways of enhancing self-confidence. In athletes overall program of training and preparation the mental side compliments the technical, tactical and physical components. These are usually handled by the coach and trainer, in this way the sport psychologist can become a valuable member of the coaching staff providing an additional element which can often allow the other three components to be expressed productively.
Many, although not all sport psychologists are lecturers at universities, polytechnics and collages. They teach undergraduate and graduate students in physical education and sports science. They are usually experienced athletes themselves and have sometimes coached their chosen sport or sports.
Some sport psychologists have training and qualifications in clinical psychology and are thus licensed / charted clinical psychologists. Individuals with this background and expertise sometimes have an important role to play as practical sport psychologists since they are well placed to help athletes deal with emotional and personality problems which may occur. Clinical problems which occur in the sporting environment include alcohol and drug abuse, relationship difficulties (between coach and athlete, parents and athlete, or partner and athlete etc) eating disorders, and severe depression. These are problems for which most sport psychologists are not trained for. So these skills and expertise of a clinically trained individual are consequently needed.
The role of a sport psychologist with clinical training is less prominent and such skills are less frequently employed in most sporting contexts. The majority of athletes from all sports can benefit from education in the application of mental skills training, but the number who requires clinical help is much less.
Nevertheless access to a clinically trained sport psychologist is a valuable asset to a coaching network because the individual can be used if and when needed.
Scientific Research
Although much less evident, the role of a research sport psychologist is a very important one. The creditability of the practical sport psychologist depends on the scientific body of knowledge accumulated by researches. Research sport psychologists are interested in investigating the factors which influence behaviour and performance in sport. Put in another way they undertake research experiments in the psychology of sport and physical activity itself. These experiments are sometimes carried out in a laboratory, sometimes in a gymnasium, and sometimes at sporting venues when competition is actually occurring. The research sport psychologist makes use of a range of different methods and equipment, including laboratory apparatus (such as heart rate monitors and reaction timers) as well as observations techniques for monitoring behavior patterns (for instance how often an aggressive act is committed during a particular period of play).
One of the most common forms of investigation is through the use of questionnaires. A number of different questionnaires are regularly used in sport psychology research and one of the most popular ones was the Sport competition Anxiety Test (SCAT):
(Reference http://www.powerclinic.co.za/news_articles_info/News/joe_average/scat.jpg)
The Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) was developed by Rainer Martens in 1977. It measures competitive trait anxiety, and there is a children’s version as well as adult version. Martens and his colleagues also developed another very popular questionnaire in 1982. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CASAI-2) measures state anxiety in sport and it assesses three different dimensions worry, physiological arousal and self confidence. However, doubts were being expressed about the factorial validity of both the English and the Greek versions of the scale. Hence, a revised version of the inventory (CSAI-2R) has recently been suggested to be more psychometrically sound (Cox et al., 2003).
The Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (TAIS) was developed in 1976 by Robert Nideffer. It measures a person’s attention characteristics and skills in different types of concentration. The Causal Dimension Scale (CDS) assesses an athlete’s perceived causes for results, and relates closely to reasons people give for success and failure. The questionnaire was developed by Dan Russell in 1982 and is used by researchers investigating attribution theory.
The Psychological Skills Inventory for Sports (PSIS) is a wide ranging questionnaire which measures a number of different factors. It was developed by Michael Mahoney and his colleagues in 1987 and assesses the skills of anxiety management, concentration, self confidence, motivation, mental preparation and team emphasis. A similar test developed by two British sport psychologists; Dave Nelson and Lew Hardy in 1989 is the Sport-related Psychological Skills Questionnaire (SPSQ). This measures skills in imagery, mental preparation, self confidence, anxiety management, concentration, relaxation and motivation.
The Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ) was developed in1985 by Neil Widmeyer and his colleagues. It measures the cohesiveness of sports teams and relates closely to team building and the development of team spirit. The Trait Sport Confidence Inventory (TSCI) and State Sport Confidence Inventory (SSCI) both measure confidence in sort and were developed by Robin Vealey in 1986. The TSCI assesses general level of sport confidence, whereas the SSCI is concerned with specific confidence prior to some type of performance or competition. The Leadership Scale for Sport (LSS), developed by Chella Chelladurai in 1980 relates closely to the psychology of the coach-Athlete relationship. It assesses leadership style and types of behavior used when coaching in sport.
These questionnaires are some of the most commonly used by sport Psychology researchers and though there use they have yielded some interesting results which have helped psychologists to understand and predict behavior and performance in sport. Sometimes practical sport psychologists also use these tests in their work with athletes although views are mixed regarding the appropriateness and use of research instruments in an applied setting. Some individuals feel that the tests offer no help in their work with athletes whereas others suggest that they provide useful information when assessing areas in which an athlete needs to improve.
A multitude of areas are open to investigation by research sport psychologist. A few examples are below:
- How best to use reward as a means of maintaining motivation during long hours of training or a long season of competition
- The relationship between competitive anxiety and performance in different types of sport
- Better and more efficient methods of assessing psychological skills related to exceptional athletic performance
- Techniques for building teamwork
- The different ways of using visualization to assist in the execution of sport skills.
The research results into these and other areas are clearly of vital importance to the work of sport psychologists who are actually dealing directly with athletes and coaches. The skills and strategies which they teach athletes will be firmly based on the results accumulated by the research sport psychologists.
Psychological Support
I am going to focus on five different categories and explain how and why psychological support is needed.
Performance Enhancement Training
Mental skills training is the most obvious and evident service which sport psychologists provide. Sport psychologists can teach athletes skills and strategies relating to motivation, anxiety and stress management, also concentration, self-confidence and mental practice. These techniques are based on knowledge acquired through scientific research and their implementation will vary according to the needs of the athlete and the demands of the sport.
Lifestyle Management Training
Many athletes lead very stressful lives. They travel a great deal, work to strict deadlines, and are hounded by the media, pressured by the global expectations in their sport. Sport psychologists can therefore provide a valuable service in the form of lifestyle management training. Athletes can benefit from learning how to cope with daily stresses, how to manage their time effectively and how to organize their lives so that their training time is as productive and efficient as possible.
Team Building and Social Development
Not many athletes or coaches would deny the importance of team harmony and togetherness in achieving success. However intra-group rivalries, personality clashes etc, can threaten the cohesion of a team.
Some sport psychologists have received extensive training and education in group dynamics, and have a special interest in team building and social development. They are able to implement group activities designed to improve group cohesion within a team and therefore develop greater team ethos, spirit and unity.
Dealing With Injury
Sports psychologists have a crucial role in supporting injured athletes through injury. There are five areas in which help can be provided for an injured athlete.
Relaxation training: Pain, anxiety, tension and boredom often accompany sports injury and lead to a variety of physical and psychological stress responses. Instruction in appropriate relaxation training can assist the athlete in coping with these symptoms and hence contribution to a more tolerable period of acceptance and rehabilitation.
Goal setting: Athletes sometimes lose motivation when suffering a serious injury and the prospect of not taking part for a long period of time is clearly disruptive to training schedules and progress goals. During the rehabilitation process after an injury, goal setting can become an incredibly important tool to make sure that the athlete continues to focus on making progress. One of the problems with having persistent and prolonged injuries is the feeling of helplessness that often accompanies such an injury. It can become a very frustrating experience for the athlete, when returning to full fitness becomes a waiting game. It is often this lack of control over the situation that can leave the individual feeling depressed and disheartened by the unfortunate circumstance. Arguably goal setting programs should be integrated into all rehabilitation programs. By clearly charting the athlete’s progress, attention is directed towards marked and measurable improvements. It is important that the goals are achievable and are clearly recognizable once achieved.
Visualization: Injury usually prevents practice and therefore prevents an ideal opportunity for mental practice. Various studies have shown that visualization is one of the most effective tools to use during an injury; because the injured athlete cannot train physically they often turn to visualization in order to rehearse and practice their sport.
Two applications of visualization specifically tailored for the injured athlete have been outlined below:
Application 1: Emotional Rehearsal
The first application of visualization is emotional rehearsal. During the time of injury, the emotional rehearsal can be used to generate internal states of feeling positive and general feelings of optimism.
In essence, emotional rehearsal involves self indulging in experiences that make the athlete feel good. Here are a couple of sport related situations that can be rehearsed in order to create resourceful and positive states:
- Reminiscing over past sport successes
- Imagining an ideal future in sport (perhaps involving the athlete winning some of the highest accolades available)
Application 2: Physical Rehearsal
The second application of visualization for the injured athlete is physical rehearsal. During injuries, physical rehearsal allows the mental practice of the physical techniques of the injured athlete’s sport. The great thing about the brain is that it does not distinguish the difference between reality and fantasy. Consequently one can take advantage of this by mentally rehearsing the physical actions of your sport, without having to move a single muscle. Steve Backley (Former British Olympic Javelin Gold medalist) was a prolific user of visualization, and he attributes a big part of his success to the application of this tool. Unfortunately Backley was regularly plagued with reoccurring injuries during his illustrious career. During his time on the sidelines he would visualize himself throwing the javelin over and over again, to the point where he actually felt like he was performing in the heat of an international competition.
Self-talk. Many injuries athletes tend to dwell on are rather narrative and irrational thoughts. The sport psychologist can therefore teach the athlete how to develop more appropriate and positive thought patterns which concentrate on the anticipation of returning rather than disappointment arising from injury.
Social support. Athletes often react very badly to injury and become very depressed and dejected. A sport psychologist is well placed as someone to whom the athlete can turn to for a confidential chat or an emotional outburst. The sport psychologist will provide appropriate support, encouragement and guidance on how to deal with feelings resulting from the injury.
Coach Education
Sport psychologists are often employed as teachers on coach education programs. It is important that coaches are aware of the mental skills and psychological strategies which their athletes are using so that they can offer support and encourage the athlete to practice mental training regularly. Some coach education courses equip coaches with skills to teach very basic mental training strategies to their athletes such as using cue words and appropriate goal setting procedures. However coaches should not overestimate the boundaries of their competence by attempting to teach athletes other more advanced mental skills.
Many coach education programs also cover aspects of team-building, communication skills and styles of leadership. Some sport psychologists as mentioned earlier have particular expertise in these areas and can assist coaches developing their coaching behavior and hence motivating their athletes. In some circumstances sport psychologists also work with coaches as they do with athletes. Coaches can often experience excessive levels of competitive stress, periods of decreased confidence more so than the athletes in some cases. They can therefore benefit from mental training education for themselves and can even develop their own individualized training program which is clearly matched with the specific coaching demands of their sport.
Conclusion
The role of the sport psychologist is constantly developing with new theories and methods of sports psychology replacing old ones and the demand for sport psychology aid continues to grow. The sport psychologist can fulfill a number of different roles in performance enhancement training, team building and social development, lifestyle management training, dealing with injury, and coach education. In each of these areas the ethical considerations of athlete welfare, understanding competence and confidentiality are of the utmost importance and should frame the mode of operation employed by sport psychologists. Several countries including Britain, Canada and America now have established registers containing the names of individuals who have met the professional requirements of a sport psychologist. Each of these registers also has an accompanying code of conduct. The process by which an individual becomes credited is a carefully considered one. Documentary evidence of academic qualifications is required and individuals are expected to have demonstrated expertise in sport psychology in the form of research publications and/ or consultancy experience with athletes.
Word count 3,200