Mental Health Challenges in Elite Sport: Balancing Risk with Reward

Mental Health Challenges in Elite Sport: Balancing Risk with Reward

Author: Tadhg Eoghan MacIntyre

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2018-01-29

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 2889453839

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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.


Mental Health Challenges in Elite Sport: Balancing Risk with Reward

Mental Health Challenges in Elite Sport: Balancing Risk with Reward

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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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.


Sport and Physical Activity for Mental Health

Sport and Physical Activity for Mental Health

Author: David Carless

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2011-08-02

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 1444348205

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With approximately 1 in 6 adults likely to experience a significant mental health problem at any one time (Office for National Statistics), research into effective interventions has never been more important. During the past decade there has been an increasing interest in the role that sport and physical activity can play in the treatment of mental health problems, and in mental health promotion. The benefits resulting from physiological changes during exercise are well documented, including improvement in mood and control of anxiety and depression. Research also suggests that socio-cultural and psychological changes arising from engagement in sport and physical activity carry valuable mental health benefits. Sport and Physical Activity for Mental Health is an evidence-based practical guide for nurses, allied health professionals, social workers, physical activity leaders, and sport coaches. The authors provide comprehensive analysis of a broad range of client narratives, integrating theory and the latest research to explore the effectiveness of various interventions. The book offers readers detailed recommendations, suggestions, and ideas as to how sport and physical activity opportunities can be tailored to provide the greatest mental health benefits.


Stress, Well-Being, and Performance in Sport

Stress, Well-Being, and Performance in Sport

Author: Rachel Arnold

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-03-08

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 1000353109

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Stress, Well-Being, and Performance in Sport provides the first comprehensive and contemporary overview of stress in sport and its implications on performance and well-being. It explores how athletes’, coaches', and support staffs' performance can be enhanced while simultaneously optimizing their well-being in contemporary sport. Divided into four sections following the stress process, Stress, Well-Being, and Performance in Sport covers key topics including: Appraising and coping with stress in sport Responses to and outcomes of stress in sport Moderators of the stress process in sport Stress management to promote thriving in sport Bringing together theory and practice, each chapter discusses conceptual and theoretical issues, current research, and innovative practical implications. Written by scholars around the globe, Stress, Well-being, and Performance in Sport offers an international perspective. It is important reading for students of sport psychology as well as coaches, athletes, and support staff.


Fostering the Mental Health of Athletes, Coaches, and Staff

Fostering the Mental Health of Athletes, Coaches, and Staff

Author: Charles A. Maher

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-09-28

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1000632245

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This book describes a systems approach for fostering the mental health of athletes, coaches, and staff in sport organizations at professional, collegiate, and secondary school levels. Through this approach, readers can collaborate effectively with a range of professionals in sport organizations, helping to create a mentally healthy entity. Fostering the Mental Health of Athletes, Coaches, and Staff includes a set of sequential, interrelated chapters that detail precise steps along with practitioner exercises. Following an introductory chapter about the evolution of mental health in sport organizations, the systems approach is overviewed in terms of its constituent dimensions. Chapter-by-chapter guidance then is provided about the following activities: Creating a vision and direction for mental health in a sport organization Assessing the readiness of a sport organization for mental health initiatives Identifying and involving people as key contributors to mental health Assessing the mental and emotional development of athletes, coaches, and staff Designing and implementing mental health programs and services Educating and training coaches, staff, and administrators about mental health Establishing a team environment conducive to mental health Formulating and enacting mental health policies, plans, and procedures Coordinating mental skills, life skills, and mental health Evaluating mental health programs and services Making decisions about improving mental health initiatives Through its unique and important nature and scope, as well as being the first of its kind to discuss athlete mental health through this specific lens, this book is essential for licensed sport, clinical, and counseling psychologists, as well as other professionals who communicate and collaborate regarding mental health, including mental performance consultants, athletic trainers, and administrators.


Acceptance and Commitment Approaches for Athletes’ Wellbeing and Performance

Acceptance and Commitment Approaches for Athletes’ Wellbeing and Performance

Author: Ross G. White

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-05-17

Total Pages: 308

ISBN-13: 3030649423

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Elite sport can be an unforgiving and harsh environment. This book explores psychological predictors of wellbeing and performance excellence in elite level athletes, and presents an innovative approach for optimizing mental wellbeing and sporting performance. Jointly developed by performance psychologists, clinical psychologists and sport scientists the Flexible Mind approach draws on contemporary psychological theory and research to help athletes build ‘psychological flexibility’ - the ability to experience challenging thoughts and emotions and still be true to one’s values. A range of case studies relating to different sports are used to demonstrate how three core components - Being Present, Being Open and Doing What Matters - can improve athletes’ performance and wellbeing. This book will be a game-changing resource for sports psychologists, mental health practitioners, coaches and support staff who are committed to helping athletes to excel and stay well.


Advances in REBT

Advances in REBT

Author: Michael E. Bernard

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-03-13

Total Pages: 391

ISBN-13: 3319931180

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This authoritative volume commemorates six decades of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy by assembling its current state of theory, practice, and research. Bedrock chapters on defining features, assessment and measurement, and empirical findings place REBT squarely in the cognitive-behavioral landscape, reinforcing its status as a significant therapeutic approach. The book’s palette of applications shows the flexibility and effectiveness of REBT in school, workplace, and other settings, with worried parents and “stuck” athletes, and as a foundation for brief interventions. And the survey of guiding principles and the evolution of the method by REBT founder Albert Ellis is a testament to its enduring clinical value. Included in the coverage: · A comparison of REBT with other cognitive behavior therapies. · The measurement of irrationality and rationality. · Empirical Research in REBT theory and practice. · Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and the working alliance. · Brief interventions in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy. · REBT and positive psychology. · Rational emotive behavior education in schools. Advances in REBT will be welcomed as a definitive reference across the REBT community: frontline clinicians, novices, trainees, students, and researchers. Seasoned practitioners looking to incorporate REBT into their repertoires will find it immensely helpful.


Analytical Psychology and Sport

Analytical Psychology and Sport

Author: Andrew Cowen

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-01-31

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 1003825966

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Analytical Psychology and Sport: Epistemology, Theory and Practice introduces the epistemology and psychology of C.G. Jung to the sport psychology readership. In doing so, it considers for the first time the implications of analytical psychology with respect to theorising on well-established psychological phenomena in sport, including confidence, mental toughness and psychological momentum. To date, sport psychology has given limited consideration to how epistemology itself informs the development of knowledge. In light of Jung’s epistemological contributions and more recent developments in psychology, this new book explores how a renewed focus on the philosophy of science can help facilitate the development of sport psychology as a scientific discipline. This new research volume investigates analytical psychology in relation to a number of novel topics, including person–athlete interdependence and the psychology of performance variation, and will be key reading for academics and students of sport and exercise psychology, analytical psychology and related disciplines.


Understanding Extreme Sports: A Psychological Perspective

Understanding Extreme Sports: A Psychological Perspective

Author: Eric Brymer

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2020-03-30

Total Pages: 221

ISBN-13: 2889635430

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Extreme sports, those activities that lie on the outermost edges of independent adventurous leisure activities, where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death, have developed into a significant worldwide phenomenon (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017a). Extreme sport activities are continually evolving, typical examples include BASE (an acronym for Buildings, Antennae, Span, Earth) jumping and related activities such as proximity flying, extreme skiing, big wave surfing, waterfall kayaking, rope free solo climbing and high-level mountaineering. While participant numbers in many traditional team and individual sports such as golf, basketball and racket sports have declined over the last decade or so, participant numbers in so called extreme sports have surged. Although extreme sports are still assumed to be a Western pastime, there has been considerable Global uptake. Equally, the idea that adventure sports are only for the young is also changing as participation rates across the generations are growing. For example, baby boomers are enthusiastic participants of adventure sports more generally (Brymer & Schweitzer, 2017b; Patterson, 2002) and Generation Z turn to extreme sports because they are popular and linked to escapism (Giannoulakis & Pursglove, 2017). Arguably, extreme sports now support a multi-billion dollar industry and the momentum seems to be intensifying. Traditional explanations for why extreme sports have become so popular are varied. For some, the popularity is explained as the desire to rebel against a society that is becoming too risk averse, for others it is about the spectacle and the merchandise that is associated with organised activities and athletes. For others it is just that there are a lot of people attracted by risk and danger or just want to show off. For others still it is about the desire to belong to sub-cultures and the glamour that goes with extreme sports. Some seek mastery in their chosen activity and in situations of significant challenges. This confusion is unfortunate as despite their popularity there is still a negative perception about extreme sports participation. There is a pressing need for clarity. The dominant research perspective has focused on positivist theory-driven perspectives that attempt to match extreme sports against predetermined characteristics. For the most part empirical research has conformed to predetermined societal perspectives. Other ways of knowing might reveal more nuanced perspectives of the human dimension of extreme sport participation. This special edition brings together cutting-edge research and thought examining psychology and extreme sports, with particular attention payed to the examination of motivations for initial participation, continued participation, effective performance, and outcomes from participation. References Brymer, E. & Schweitzer, R. (2017a) Phenomenology and the extreme sports experience, NY, Routledge. Brymer, E, & Schweitzer, R, D. (2017b) Evoking the Ineffable: The phenomenology of extreme sports, Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice 4(1):63-74 Giannoulakis, C., & Pursglove, L., K., (2017) Evolution of the Action Sport Setting. In S.E. Klein Ed. Defining Sport: Conceptions and Borderlines. Lexington Books, London. 128-146 Patterson, I. (2002) Baby Boomers and Adventure Tourism: The Importance of Marketing the Leisure Experience, World Leisure Journal, 44:2, 4-10, DOI: 10.1080/04419057.2002.9674265