Athletes | Sport Psychology
Certain attributes make athletes (professional and recreational) unique. Physical challenge requires mental toughness, discipline, drive, and application. It is a common misconception that people with these strengths cannot experience mental health difficulties. However, when engagement in sport is attached to personal meaning and identity, certain difficulties can be exacerbated. Athletic participation can present many challenges which lead to the presence of difficulty, including: injury, retirement, success/failure, competition, separation from sport and change.
It is also a misconception to presume psychological distress is a ‘weakness’ in the sporting environment. When harnessed in the right way, difficult life experiences and their effects can help to bolster mental strength and resilience, aspects central to physical performance. However, when not addressed such difficulties can impact on an athlete’s performance and wider personal life.
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My role is to help individuals and systems (teams, coaches, organisations, families) to think about what is contributing towards or maintaining a given problem. This could be an issue in the athlete’s personal life, such as a mental health difficulty; a problem within the sporting context, such as performance; or difficulties within the coach/athlete relationship.
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If you are an athlete, or a coach/manager working with athletes, experiencing difficulties of a psychological, relational or emotional nature please feel free to contact me for a free initial telephone consultation. During this conversation I can provide you with further information specific to your situation and together decide whether it would be worthwhile for us to meet.
Research
As part of my doctorate I completed a thesis exploring the concept of athletic identity and how this is experienced by people with physical impairments. Self-definition as an athlete is an empowered identity one associated with autonomy and ability. It has the potential to challenge negative connotations of other identities imposed by society. Being an athlete is a state of mind characterised by a love of physical activity and commitment to it. I believe anyone can be an athlete regardless of their perceived 'ability'. This understanding informs my work and I hope to make athletic identity available to all who wish to pursue it.
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If you would like to read more, access can be found here: 'I am simply an athlete': A psychological exploration of athletic identity in physical impairment and amputation.