This unique book provides a practical framework for and coverage of a broad range of mental health concerns applicable to the care of athletes, including depression, suicide, mood disorders, substance abuse and risk-taking behaviors. To this end, it presents content relevant to the care of athletes, including doping and the use of performance-enhancing drugs, the mental health impact of concussion, bullying and hazing, the impact of social media and exercise addiction, among other pertinent topics. Current basic and translational research on behavioral health and the relationship of brain to behavior are reviewed, and current treatment approaches, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological (including mindfulness training), are considered. This practical resource targets the stigma of mental in athletes in order to overcome barriers to care by presenting a definitive perspective of current concepts in the mental health care of athletes, provided by experts in the field and targeting sports medicine providers, mental health providers and primary care physicians involved in the direct care of recreational and competitive athletes at all levels.
Mental Health in Elite Sport: Applied Perspectives from Across the Globe provides a focused, exhaustive overview of up-to-date mental health research, models, and approaches in elite sport to provide researchers, practitioners, coaches, and students with contemporary knowledge and strategies to address mental health in elite sport across a variety of contexts. Mental Health in Elite Sport is divided into two main parts. The first part focuses globally on mental health service provision structures and cases specific to different world regions and countries. The second part focuses on specific mental health interventions across countries but also illustrates specific case studies and interventions as influenced by the local context and culture. This tour around the world offers readers an understanding of the massive global differences in mental health service provision within different situations and organizations. This is the first book of its kind in which highly experienced scholars and practitioners openly share their programs, methods, reflections, and failures on working with mental health in different contexts. By using a global, multi-contextual analysis to address mental health in elite sport, this book is an essential text for practitioners such as researchers, coaches, athletes, as well as instructors and students across the sport science and mental health fields.
The demands of the high-performance athlete are huge, with many celebrated for their achievements, and put on a pedestal for admired personality traits such as discipline, sacrifice, commitment, and focus. This book seeks to explore the celebrated traits of the high-performance athlete and, by doing so, to increase awareness of the vulnerability that such traits also present. Through discussion with professional sports people and presentation of their own personal stories the book explores obsessionality, masochism, and focus, and how these characteristics can enhance performance on the field yet hinder life off it and may even develop into clinically diagnosable mental health difficulties. In psychology, assessments are based on statistical phenomena; the title Skewed to the Right is based on the 'bell curve' that is shown through a graph whereby the majority sit in the middle with a few clusters at either on of the extremes. The suggestion is that elite athletes are 'skewed to the right' on a number of key traits that put them between the 'general' population and those with a clinical diagnosis. The book opens with an exploration of weight-restricted sport and how making weight is achieved through practices that become culturally acceptable in the sporting world yet would be seen to be classified as clinically diagnosable eating disorders in the medical world. It then moves on to personality traits that help and hinder - those skewed to the right: masochism, obsessionality, and focus. Part 3 looks at one trait skewed to the left - acceptance - that many sportspeople struggle with. The book closes with a section exploring points of vulnerability for all athletes and ends with a look at where we can go from here. The aim of the book is to increase social awareness of the reality of life for the successful high-performance athlete and the challenging dynamics that exist in sporting culture today. It will be of interest to psychologists, psychotherapists, trainees, and anyone with an interest in sporting culture.
This pioneering book in elite athlete wellbeing brings together the narratives of athletes and wellbeing practitioners in high-performance sport with cutting-edge theorizing from world-leading academics to explore pertinent mental wellbeing matters that present for elite athletes both during and after their careers. The journey of the elite athlete is considered from entering the high-performance system as a youth performer through to retirement, with contributions illuminating the ways in which mental wellbeing can be impacted – both negatively and positively – through common place experiences. Methods of creating holistic high-performance sports cultures along with common mental wellbeing influencers, such as parents, education, faith, injury and (de)selection are explored, as well as the ramifications of uncommon events on mental wellbeing, such as whistleblowing, legal disputes, psychological disorders and COVID-19. Drawing on this analysis, the book then proffers thought-provoking strategies for how the mental wellbeing of both athletes and staff can be understood, developed and supported, ultimately driving elite sport cultural transformation to put the person first and the athlete second. Each chapter presents the wellbeing experience from the vantage of the athlete or the wellbeing practitioner, followed by an academic unpacking of the situation. This makes the book a must read for students and researchers working in sport coaching, sport psychology, applied sport science or sport management, as well as practitioners interested in facilitating a duty of care for high performing athletes, and working in coaching, sport science support, athlete development programs, NGB policy and administration or welfare services.
This book has it all - written by national and international experts and edited by world authorities, it is the first book on sport psychiatry in over a decade. Dealing with psychopathology, mental health problems and clinical management, it differs markedly from sports psychology books that focus on performance issues. Eating disorders, exercise addiction, drug abuse are all problems that are seen in 'everyday' athletes, not just elite performers. This book shows how to help. This text covers the most important topics in contemporary sports psychiatry/psychology from an international perspective. Chapter authors are experts in the field and global leaders in the related professional organizations, including current and past Presidents/Chairs of the International Society for Sports Psychiatry and of the World Psychiatric Association Section on Exercise and Sports Psychiatry. Authors are mainly psychiatrists: the rest are PhD sport psychologists. The book comprises representative chapter authors from around the world, to an extent unprecedented in this topic. The authors and editors are well-informed in global perspectives, e.g., having served as consultants to numerous Olympic teams, in addition to service on the International Society for Sports Psychiatry's Board of Directors. Specifically, this book covers four main categories of topics: 1) mental health challenges faced by athletes (including substance use disorders, exercise addiction, eating disorders, depression, suicide, and concussion), 2) treatment approaches and therapeutic issues with athletes (including different types of psychotherapy for psychiatric disorders, psychotherapeutic performance enhancement approaches, transference and countertransference issues, achievement by proxy, psychotherapeutic issues as applied to a couple of sports that are played around the world, and use of psychiatric medications in athletes), 3) psychosocial issues affecting athletes (including sexual harassment and abuse, cultural issues, and ethics issues), and 4) the field of sports psychiatry (including work within one common sports psychiatry practice setting, and current status of and challenges in the field of sports psychiatry). There is a growing need for this book. Performance-enhancing drugs, use of psychotropics in impaired athletes, head trauma, sexual abuse, eating disorders, ethics, and depression and suicide in athletes, are just a few of the timely subjects addressed in this text. This is the only comprehensive reference available for those working in the field (or merely interested in it) to consult for current information on these topics. The existing sports psychology texts all focus on performance issues, with little, if any, attention paid to these areas of clinical significance. The book addresses the core differences between sports psychiatry and sports psychology, as well as the areas of overlap. Emphasis is placed on how the disciplines should work together in diagnosing and treating athletes dealing with emotional stress and psychopathology. Chapters include case examples and specific goals listed at the beginning, along with tables and graphs to highlight key concepts.
Elite sport typically provides obvious rewards in terms of recognition, finance and acclaim for athletic performance. Increasingly, we are becoming aware of the risks that elite athletes, their entourage, including families, sport-science support team and coaches are exposed to. Twelve original articles, seven commentaries and a corrigendum, are structured in a five chapter format. Chapter 1, comprising the Editorial, is titled “An Overview of Mental Health in Elite Sport: Changing the Play Book” to reflect the advocacy role of this article. Chapter 2 (“Finding the Sweet Spot”) amplifies the voice of key stakeholders across three qualitative studies with three additional commentaries. Quantitative evidence is presented in Chapter 3 which has the sub-title the “State of Play.” Chapter 4, entitled the “Field of Play”, includes three original publications which present contrasting conceptual approaches to guide researchers in hypothesis generation, formulation and implementation science. Finally, in Chapter 5, “Seeing the Ball Early”, prospective perspectives are provided in three publications reinforced by two commentaries. The future thinking ideas includes the use of virtual reality training, a broadening of the concept of mental health literacy, tackling stigma and focusing on the potential positive effect of the natural environment on well-being and recovery. To date the research topic has generated widespread in the field. For example, several articles have generated an Altmetric score above 40 with one publication meriting an Altmetric score of 102. We envisage that the impact of this e-book will not simply be measured in citations, views, downloads nor social media impact, but in the discourse that emerges from this collection of contributions from a combined total of 53 authors from across three continents. It is our hope that this e-book, providing a snapshot of global challenges for elite athletes mental health and well-being, becomes a touchstone for researchers and practitioners in the field.
A Mental Toughness Playbook for Athletes, Parents, and Coaches In sports, and in life, mental toughness matters-even more than raw talent and skill. But young athletes can't develop it, and master other vital aspects of the "inner game," on their own. Coaches and parents play a vital role as well. In The Mental Training Guide for Elite Athletes, David Angeron speaks to all three audiences. He draws on his expertise as a sport psychology coach and his background as a college athlete and baseball scout to help readers overcome the fear, doubt, and negativity that derail players and teams. In This Book You Will Learn: - The fundamentals of the "Mental Master Method" - How personality type plays into athletic excellence - How to develop traits like work ethic, grit, and desire - Why tools like visualization and imagery and deep breathing help "weaponize" pressure and supercharge your game - How positive energy can change the trajectory of a losing season In The Mental Training Guide for Elite Athletes, Angeron will teach you the routines and exercises that great athletes use to take their performance to the next level-whether "next level" for you means making the team for the first time, or moving up to varsity, or being offered your first professional contract. When you practice these regularly and incorporate them into your life, you will be able to set and exceed goals and eventually reach your true potential. Packed with self-assessments, exercises, and engaging examples, this book is a must-read for athletes who want to transform their game- and coaches and parents who guide and support them on the journey.
There is increasing recognition of the mental health needs of elite athletes and sports professionals. The first of its kind, this important new book draws on lived experience from professional athletes bringing together the latest evidence-based research on severe mental illness recognition and management within elite sport. Each chapter focuses on a different sport with a case-study example to guide you through diagnosis and developing a biopsychosocial management plan, followed by self-assessment tools at the end of each case to help consolidate your learning. Each chapter has been co-authored by a mix of psychiatrists, sports medicine specialists and allied health care professionals to bring a diverse range of professional opinions and insights relating to optimising athlete mental health. Each chapter also features the unique perspective of a professional athlete from that sport, to gain insight from lived experience.
This book is designed to advance both theory and practice in the psychological preparation of high-level sports performers. The authors integrate the relevant qualitative and quantitative research literatures with practical knowledge gained via their own personal experience of working with elite athletes. Seven aspects of psychological preparation are considered: basic psychological skills; self-confidence; motivation; arousal and activation; stress and anxiety; concentration; and coping with adversity. Each discussion ends with a summary of the implications for future research and best practice. Elite performers from around the world share their techniques for mentally preparing for competition. The authors then explore the links between the practices that these athletes use and theories which underlie psychological preparation for performance. This book develops a model of psychological preparation for elite sports performers incorporating two unique features: the research-to-practice orientation which is taken to preparation for high-level sports performance; and a global perspective using evidence derived from North American, European, Australian and other research literatures in both general and sport psychology. This is the first book of its kind and should be a valuable resource for sport psychologists, students and professionals with an interest in sport or high-level performance.
Sports provide people around the world with unmatched entertainment, from the excitement of victory to the agony of defeat. Unfortunately, it also has become painfully clear that the agony of sports goes well beyond athletes losing games or competitions. Playing through concussions, the abuse of pain medicine, the use of performance-enhancing substances, and other health-related issues have become a constant reminder that being a professional athlete can be as dangerous as it is lucrative. In The Athlete's Dilemma: Sacrificing Health for Wealth and Fame, John Weston Parry examines the health-related transgressions and hot-topic issues in America’s top spectator sports, particularly in football, baseball, hockey, soccer, cycling, tennis, and Olympic competitions. Parry delves into the unique health risks that pertain to each individual sport and scrutinizes how the various leagues and organizations have handled these issues. Controversies and scandals surrounding elite athletes are also included, highlighting the need for changes in how sports are governed and regulated in the United States and worldwide. From football and soccer players returning to the field too soon after concussions to Olympic athletes using performance-enhancing substances, The Athlete’s Dilemma provides a broad perspective on the health risks prevalent in sports and what can be done to reduce these risks in the future. Accessibly written yet carefully researched, this book will be of interest to athletes of all levels, sports fans, academics, and health professionals.
