The self-practice of sport psychologists : Do they practice what they preach?

The maturation processes of applied sport psychologists have received little research attention despite trainees and practitioners having often reported experiencing challenging circumstances when working with clients. Within clinical psychology literature the self-practice of cognitive techniques, alongside self-reflection, has been advocated as a means of addressing such circumstances, and as a significant source of experiential learning. The present study sought to identify the possible types of, and purposes for, self-practice amongst twelve UK-based sport psychology practitioners. Thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews indicated all participants engaged in self-practice for reasons such as managing the self, enhancing understanding of intervention, and legitimising intervention. Some participants also described limitations to self-practice. Subsequently, three overriding themes emerged from analysis: a) the professional practise swamp, b) approaches to, and purposes for, self-practice, and, c) limitations of self-practice. It is concluded that self-practice may provide a means of better understanding self-as-person and self-as-practitioner, and the interplay between both, and is recommended as part of on-going practitioner maturationPeer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

A Preliminary Investigation into the Use of Humor in Sport Psychology Practice

‘Creative efforts’, such as the use of humor,have been found to be beneficial to the nurse-patient, teacher-student , and psychologist-patient alliance. Potentially humoruse might benefit the working alliance in applied sport psychology, yet to datethere is limited research. Sportpsychology consultants (n = 55) completedan online survey that explored humor use within their practice. Statisticalanalyses revealed most participants used humor for adaptive purposes such as tofacilitate the working alliance, reinforce knowledge, and create healthylearning environments. Therefore, possible client change is likely to befacilitated by practitioners’ personal qualities and skills such as humor useand humor style. Recommendations are made for sport psychology practitioners inrelation to humor use and further research.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Athletes’ Expectations About Sport-Injury Rehabilitation: A Cross-Cultural Study

Context: Athletes enter injury rehabilitation with certain expectations about the recovery process, outcomes, and the professional providing treatment. Their expectations influence the effectiveness of the assistance received and affect the overall rehabilitation process. Expectations may vary depending on numerous factors such as sport experience, gender, sport-type and cultural background. Unfortunately, limited information is available on athletes’ expectations about sport injury rehabilitation. Objective: To examine possible differences in athletes’ expectations about sport injury rehabilitation based on their country of residence and type of sport (physical contact versus non-physical contact). Design: A cross-sectional design. Setting: Recreational, collegiate, and professional athletes from the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK) and Finland were surveyed. Participants: Of the 1209 athletes ranging from 12 to 80 years of age (Mage = 23.46 ± 7.91), of which 529 US [80%], 253 UK [86%], and 199 Finnish [82%] provided details of their geographical location, were included in the final analyses. Main Outcome Measures: The Expectations about Athletic Training (EAAT) questionnaire was used to determine athletes’ expectations about personal commitment, facilitative conditions, and the expertise of the sports medicine professional (Clement et al., 2012). Results: 3x2 MANCOVA revealed significant main effects for country (p = .0001, ηp2 = .055) and sport type (p = .0001, ηp2 = .023). Specifically, US athletes were found to have higher expectations of personal commitment and facilitative conditions than their UK and Finnish counterparts. Athletes participating in physical contact sports had higher expectations of facilitative conditions and the expertise of the sports medicine professional (SMP) as compared to athletes participating in non-physical contact sports. Conclusions: SMPs, especially those in the US, should consider the sport and environment when providing services. In addition, SMPs need to highlight and demonstrate their expertise durin

The potential psychological benefits of Active Video Games in the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries and deficiencies: A narrative review of the literature

Background: Recent literature suggests that Active Video Games (AVGs) may offer potential psychological benefits during the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries and their corresponding deficiencies. Objectives: To review existing literature regarding the potential psychological benefits of AVGs within the context of rehabilitation from musculoskeletal injury or debilitation. Method: A narrative review of the literature that used the Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcomes PICO method was conducted. The literature review included studies that discussed and/or investigated potential psychological benefits of AVGs during musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Of the total 163 papers that were identified, 30 met the inclusion criteria. Results: The Nintendo® WiiTM (Nintendo Co., Ltd, Kyoto, Japan) was the most commonly-used games console that was employed in AVG interventions (15 out of 21), and these studies that investigated potential psychological benefits were typically conducted with elderly populations. These studies reported that using AVGs in musculoskeletal rehabilitation resulted in a number of positive psychological effects (e.g., enjoyment, effects on self). However, most studies lacked a clear theoretical framework, and varied greatly in their designs and methodologies. Conclusion: Despite encouraging findings of AVG use, insufficient evidence exists to reliably verify or refute the potential psychological benefits of AVGs in musculoskeletal rehabilitation. It is recommended that future studies in this area contain a theoretical framework to ensure greater consistency in the methodology used and the execution of the intervention. The potential findings of such investigations may result in the development of optimal, client-tailored rehabilitation programmes

“I Think I Became a Swimmer Rather than Just Someone with a Disability Swimming Up and Down”: Paralympic Athletes Perceptions of Self and Identity Development

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group in Disability and Rehabilitation on 27 September 2016, available online at:DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2016.1217074.Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the role of swimming on Paralympic athletes’ perceptions of self and identity development. Method: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was taken. During semi-structured interviews five Paralympic swimmers (aged 20-24 years) were asked questions about their swimming career, perceptions of self, integration, and impairment. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Results: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis1 yielded three superordinate themes: a) ‘One of the crowd’; none of the participants viewed themselves as disabled, nor as supercrips; these perceptions stemmed from family-, school-, and swimming- related experiences, b) ‘Becoming me’; participation in swimming facilitated self- and social-acceptance, and identity development, and c) ‘A badge of honour’; swimming presented opportunity to present and reinforce a positive identity. Conclusions: Swimming experiences enabled the participants to enhance personal and social identities, integrate through pro-social mechanisms, and to develop a career path following retirement from competition.through pro-social mechanisms, and to develop a career path following retirement from competition.Peer reviewe

Developing Clinical and Research Priorities for Pain and Psychological Features in People With Patellofemoral Pain:An International Consensus Process With Health Care Professionals

OBJECTIVE: To decide clinical and research priorities on pain features and psychological factors in persons with patellofemoral pain. DESIGN: Consensus development process. METHODS: We undertook a 3-stage process consisting of (1) updating 2 systematic reviews on quantitative sensory testing of pain features and psychological factors in patellofemoral pain, (2) an online survey of health care professionals and persons with patellofemoral pain, and (3) a consensus meeting with expert health care professionals. Participants responded that they agreed, disagreed, or were unsure that a pain feature or psychological factor was important in clinical practice or as a research priority. Greater than 70% participant agreement was required for an item to be considered important in clinical practice or a research priority. RESULTS: Thirty-five health care professionals completed the survey, 20 of whom attended the consensus meeting. Thirty persons with patellofemoral pain also completed the survey. The review identified 5 pain features and 9 psychological factors—none reached 70% agreement in the patient survey, so all were considered at the meeting. Afte the meeting, pain catastrophizing, fear-avoidance beliefs, and pain self-efficacy were the only factors considered clinically important. All but the therma pain tests and 3 psychological factors were consid ered research priorities. CONCLUSION: Pain catastrophizing, pain self-efficacy, and fear-avoidance beliefs were factors considered important in treatment planning, clinical examination, and prognostication. Quantitative sensory tests for pain were not regarded as clinically important but were deemed to be research priorities, as were most psychological factors.</p

Psychological rehabilitation from sport injury: issues in training and development of chartered physiotherapists

Despite growing interest into the role of physiotherapists in providing psychological rehabilitation to athletes during sport injury, very little research exists outside North America, Australia, and New Zealand (e.g., Hemmings & Povey, 2002). Thus, the main purpose of this research was to explore the role of UK chartered physiotherapists in the process of psychological rehabilitation from sport injuries. This thesis consists of four studies. With the intention to gain further insights into the physiotherapists’ views on the psychological aspects of their work, study one used the Physiotherapists and Sport Psychology Questionnaire (PSPQ; Hemmings & Povey, 2002) in a national survey with 361 UK chartered physiotherapists working in sport medicine. The results from the survey provided useful insights into the ways in which psychological interventions are currently employed in rehabilitation physiotherapy. In study two, these findings were explored further, by developing a questionnaire survey to explore chartered physiotherapists’ (N = 22) preferred method of sport psychology intervention training. With the purpose of gaining an insight into the physiotherapists’ personal experiences in using psychological interventions with injured athletes, study three adopted a qualitative approach, in which semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven UK chartered physiotherapists. The findings from the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA; Smith, 1996) provided deeper understanding on physiotherapists current knowledge on, and their past experiences and opinions on using range of psychological interventions in their work with injured athletes. Similarly study four used semi-structured interviews and IPA with ten athletes who had previously encountered moderate or severe sport injuries requiring physiotherapy treatment. The findings revealed useful information on the physiotherapists’ role in providing psychological support and using psychological interventions in their work with injured athletes. In conclusion, the research presented in this thesis makes a contribution to knowledge by: (a) providing an insight into the views of chartered physiotherapists in the UK on psychological content of their practice, (b) making preliminary suggestions into how further training in sport psychology for chartered physiotherapists could be delivered, (c) enabling deeper understanding of physiotherapists current practices and past experiences in utilising selected psychological interventions in their work, and (d) giving a voice to injured athletes with regard to the role of physiotherapists in providing psychological support during sport injury rehabilitation

Back to basics: using goal setting to enhance rehabilitation

The aim of the article is to introduce the concept and present the psychological principles of rehabilitation goal-setting. The article will mainly focus on presenting practical suggestions as to how goal setting could be used to enhance athletes' rehabilitation adherences