Sport Psychology

After a decade of successful treatment with clients in the national professional sport arena, clients have found CBT extremely effective, and have given them a distinct motivational edge in the following areas:-

• Improved concentration on set goals.
• Improved motivation to win.
• Improved self-control/and self discipline.
• Improved self-esteem and self belief.
• Improved self understanding and self awareness.
• Improved time-management.
• Improved work-life balance.
• Improved stamina in training.
• Improved ability to recuperate after training.
• Improved mind-set, and mental attitude.

CBT in Sport Psychology

In the first session clients are given a cognitive behavioural therapeutic psychological assessment. These include tests which measure the clinical symptoms of stress (anxiety and depression, Type A/B personality questionnaire, Myers Briggs occupational test, self esteem questionnaire, attitude scale, and a core belief test).

In conjunction with diagnostic tests a semi-structured interview is administered to target (through a problem list) the specific areas clients want to develop using CBT for psycho-educational training. This provides a blueprint with clear cut aims and objectives for CBT, and a treatment protocol where clients know exactly what they hope to achieve, and what steps they need to follow to obtain maximum results in the shortest possible time frame.

The increased self-understanding using CBT in Sport Psychology begins by understanding the relationship between how you think - how you feel - and how this effects what you actually do. Negative thoughts about oneself - the world in general - or the future can cause a division between the actual sport performance, and the way you observe and analyse your game.

CBT is used to increase the unity of the observing and participating self by challenging negative self-talk and providing more balanced reality-tested alternatives. Techniques to improve Mindfulness which originated in Buddhism and developed into use in a sport setting teach clients to 'let thoughts' be, and dissociate themselves from sensory input which is a distraction from their 'single focus' of the goal in hand.

Visualisation and imagery techniques are used to rehearse the desired aim, statistically, it is shown that those people who visualise the end they hope to achieve are twice as likely to succeed as those who are non-visualisers.

Specific breathing techniques are used both for sensory impression management and to practice moving between the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This is an effective aid in shifting from low arousal, goal within goal thinking associated with the left brain hemisphere to a high arousal process orientated, 'take it as it comes' right brain hemisphere.

These psychological reversals give a specific attunement to the rigours of the present moment without the need to reflect, analyse, or assess performance until after the challenge has been mastered. To be wholehearted, single-minded and present focused to sustain for that pre-planned delivery as a constant throughout the entire match with the most effective use of physical energy and motivation is the goal of CBT training.