Taylor is a Division I college athlete at a high-level school looking for sports psychotherapy before her second year. She plays varsity softball and is getting excellent grades. She is a sophomore hoping to improve her performance even further and increase the joy she feels in her sports.
Taylor is doing well on the diamond but is finding that two challenges have arisen: First, she is not experiencing the same periods of being “in the zone” at the plate that she once had, leading to a lower batting average than she is used to; and second, she is not enjoying the sport as much as she once did. In both cases, she found that the problems started shortly into her first year, but she is unsure why. She has chosen my sports psychology intensive therapy.
The following outlines the path we might take, the expected outcomes, and then a description of how my services can help you.
Sports Psychotherapy First Step: Collect a History
Sports Psychotherapy has a specific therapeutic process. We start with a detailed athletic history from the beginning of her competitive softball career. We talk about the times when she experienced “feelings of flow,” times when she struggled, and everything in between. With this information, we work to paint a picture of when she garnered the most enjoyment from her sport and what factors contributed. Taylor talked to her parents and her former coaches in this exploration, seeing what input they had from their years of knowing her as an athlete.
Barriers and Challenges
We were able to generate a detailed history that included many factors that may have affected her along the way – everything from how challenging other aspects of her life were at those times, what role she had on each team, the type of seasons her teams were having and her overall schedule. Taylor began to realize that she did better historically when her role on a team was clear, she had time to work on her craft, and her teammates were supportive but not critical. She didn’t mind tough coaching but did better when she developed a relationship with the coach that allowed her to read her moods and not take feedback too personally.
Opportunities with Sports Psychotherapy
Our first goal is to help Taylor improve her mindset and find additional success on the playing field. We also want to increase her confidence, stress management, and coping strategies. The hope is that these improvements from Sports Psychotherapy carry over into other aspects of her life, including school performance, her achievements at her upcoming internship, and her social life. Sports psychology is rarely done in a vacuum, so we want to work together to help her improve her outlook and performance in a wide number of areas.
Sports Psychotherapy: Next Steps
We temporarily leave history behind to explore what is going on now. Taylor watches video sessions that she edited involving some recent at-bats. We watched the video and reviewed her thoughts and feelings at each point. We look for patterns and other clues to what might get in the way of “flow.” We also discuss her general anxieties and the automatic, often exaggerated, and even irrational thoughts that bring her down. Finally, we discuss the imagery her mind is conjuring that is negative and unhelpful and work to replace it with positive images.
Now, we compare this with her history to see what was different during periods of flow and being in the zone. We are not just looking for the automatic thoughts but also the ways they are different from her more positive thought patterns.
Sports Psychotherapy Toolkit
Throughout our work together, Taylor builds a toolkit of strategies to reduce irrational and exaggerated thoughts and build confidence. These powerful and proven cognitive-behavioral techniques can be paired with quick relaxation and stress management techniques. We also work on visualization methods, choosing among many options to see which techniques work best for her. Finally, we work on self-talk and how she can mirror the positive feedback she continually receives from coaches and her teammates, as well as her growing confidence, to develop positive trains of self-talk.
Homework Assignments
Homework assignments often include incorporating something we discussed in session, such as a phrase she will use, an image she will bring to mind, or a specific technique she will incorporate into practices or games. During treatment, we also discuss what she loves about her sport and what sometimes gets her down. We also talk about many other aspects of her life and how it all fits together for her as a college student-athlete. Part of the homework is to track all aspects of her life, how much joy she derives, and how sports fit in.
Day of game homework
We also discuss things that Taylor can do on the day of her games as part of her sports psychotherapy homework. Much of this involves remembering to use the techniques she learned in sessions- the toolbox. She’s also instructed to remember certain things, like how she felt at each at-bat or when she fielded a ball. She might also think about the feedback she received directly or perceived from her teammates and coaches. Finally, she might be asked to write in a journal-style fashion what she ate before the game, how she slept, and generally what her stress level was.
Sports Psychology Therapy Outcomes
Through Sports Psychotherapy, Taylor has learned much about herself and her game. She makes the following changes in her routine:
- She talks more with her college coach and assistant coaches to better understand their styles and how they like giving feedback.
- She changes her college routine overall, so she has some time to work independently on her sport without giving up too much of the overall college experience.
- She developed closer relationships with her Captains, asking them for feedback and advice.
- These insights led to learning exactly what type and timing of visualization works best for her and improved and refined her self-talk.
- She used effective relaxation and mindfulness techniques that helped her focus.
- She was also to recognize even fleeting irrational and exaggerated negative thoughts and shut them down.
Taylor found that she could change her mental approach and see the keys to getting in a groove more often. She also finds ways to magnify what she loves about her sport while finding the balance she seeks. She felt renewed motivation and drive, looking forward to using these new techniques.
My Sports Psychotherapy Services
As with our treatment examples, this is not based on a specific person but is a braiding of many sports psychotherapy courses. It is an example of what sports therapy entails and its process. Every client I see for sports psychotherapy charts their unique path, determined by their background, experiences, goals, and the specific sport they play. We also ensure we set goals to carry over into other aspects of the athlete’s life. The goals are clear from the start and as measurable as possible, and we continually follow up to ensure we’re progressing.
Please contact me to review your situation and discuss the sports psychology therapy techniques and approaches that may work for you. You can also check out our sports psychology self-help page as well.
