UNIT 3
GETTING STARTED.
Difference between Sport psychologist and “coach psychologist”
- referral
- purpose of required information
- scope of relationship
Sport psychologist:
1. Create a platform for observation (being in the right place right time)
2. Be available for coaches and athletes, advertise.
3. Referral: - self referral
- coach, parent, therapist, others
4. Establish a good, professional, trustful relationships
5. Sport Clinical Intake Protocol (initial interview)
6. Form good working relationships
7. Talk: manifest approach (how athletes think about themselves, sport, coach, competition….)
latent approach (info about past and present relations)
8. Agreeing to communicate may lead to a request for help
9. Transference and counter-transference problems
SOAP
SUBJECTIVE: athlete's views, perceptions
OBJECTIVE: psychologist's observation
ASSESSMENT: S and O lead to evaluation of the problem
PLAN: develop a plan for action
KEEPING RECORDS:
Intake summary:
Date:
Name: Age: Contact:
Sport: Coach: Contact:
Referral:
Background:
Academic:
Family:
Medical history:
Friends:
Sport experience:
Achievements:
Goals:
Likes/dislikes:
Problem verbalisation:
CLINICAL INTAKE PROTOCOL
Style:
formal record-----informal record-----discussion
1. Have an agenda of several questions that have to be addressed.
2. The goal of the initial interview is to allow the athlete to tell his story not to construct it for him
3. Note info about adaptive and mal adaptive behaviours. Questions: “What makes you happy?” uncomfortable? frustrated?” Or “ Describe the day of competition”
4. Detect differences between where the athlete is and where he would like to be (or thinks he should be)
5. Note athlete’s
- associations (I am anxious when…)
- operant and classical condition mechanisms
- current contingencies of reinforcement (maintenance of current behaviour)
6. Family, team friend (how the athlete fits)
7. Patterns of communication
8. Psychodynamic information about early experiences, family environment, relationships with others should be collected and used only if necessary
GOAL IS TO ESTABLISH COOPERATION, TRUST AND BELIEVE THAT SPORT PSYCHOLOGY CAN HELP
PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT – REMOVING PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
OBSERVATION AND EVALUATION:
1. All behaviour has meaning (psychodynamic approach)
2. Past events and unconscious processes influence present functioning (psychodynamic)
3. Significance of awareness, responsibility and present experience (gestalt therapy)
4. Thinking is a major determinant of feelings and behaviour (cognitive)
5. Feelings as the mediator between thinking and behaviour (cognition – behaviour)
Athletes have the capacity for functioning optimally if they would not have obstacles in their way. (Humanistic (growth) model)
Psychological experience:
Thoughts, feelings, needs, wants and behaviour
Thoughts: Ideas, opinions, judgments, decisions. Speculations, memories of past experience
Feelings: emotional part of experience, fear, anger, sadness, joy, shame guilt and embarrassment
Needs: safety, security, self- worth, self acceptance, mastery, belonging, meaning and purpose, self-actualization
Wants: striving, desire, ways to meet out needs
Behaviour: is an expression of a link between inner self and outside world – between ourselves and others
IDENTIFYING PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS:
1. Cognitive barriers can be detected in the language, facial expressions or gestures
self-criticism, low self-esteem, unrealistic expectations, negative or faulty thinking patters
2. Affective barriers can be detected in tone of voice, gestures, overt excitement.
Anger, sadness, disappointment, embarrassment, shame
3. Behavioural barriers are expressed in actions such as overtraining, pushing too hard, impulsiveness, poor communication
4. Conative barriers low motivation, loss of interest, conflicting wants between sport and other interests, between what I want and what others want
Conation is a mental process involving the will, impulse, resolve and desire
EXPLORING BARRIERS
1. Describe the content of the barrier “ I had a bad game”
2. Determine the power and intensity of the barrier
3. Consider the context (situation, personality trait…)
4. Identify origin of the barrier
INITIATE CHANGE
The goal is to diminish impact on the athlete, alter the habits that lead to anxiety, negative emotion and troublesome behaviour
1. Explore behavioural options
2. Help the athlete to recognize wrong cognitive patters – thinking
3. Identify pessimistic anticipations
4. Compare reality and fantasy
All changes require practice, persistence, reward structures in order to become permanent
METHODS OF OVERCOMING PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS
LISTENING:
Revealing hidden thoughts, feelings and wants
- lack of self-confidence
Words that are not spoken are important
-shame
-guilt
-unpleasant feelings and thoughts
Non-verbal messages
-tone of voice
-a look
ENTRY POINTS:
Identify unwanted behaviours, unexpressed feelings, unrecognized want,
Give and athlete more opportunity to EXPLORE and UNDERSTAND their experience.