My Philosophy

Over the last couple of decades both research and applied practice in sport psychology has been in constant development and change (e.g. Poczwardowski, Sherman and Ravizza, 2004; Sanders, 2010; Neil, Hanton & Mellalieu, 2013). Through the development of applied practice ethics, education and philosophy has been some of the key features discussed in order to increase the awareness, quality and validity of the applied practice, when working with athletes/teams (Poczwardowski, Sherman, & Ravizza, 2004). During applied practice, the consultants are usually basing their work on several elements of past experiences of ethics and set values. Poczwardowski et al. (2004) however, highlighted that the consultant’s philosophy is one of the determining factors deciding the technical aspects and approach of the consulting process (e.g. assessment, conceptualisation of the issue and intervention). Through applied work there are several philosophical approaches created from theory to practice and visa versa. Some of these includes; social-educational, developmental, educational/developmental, cognitive-behavioral, and social psychological etc. (Halliwell, 1990; Ravizza, 2002; Gordon, 2008). This essay will focus on my cognitive-behavioral philosophy based on a holistic approach, and how I would work with clients relative to their optimal performance.

Poczwardowski et al. (2004) suggested five components of philosophy in practice which needs to be explicitly and coherently integrated into and effective approach, following; personal core beliefs and values, theoretical paradigm concerning behaviour change, models of practice and the consultant’s role, intervention goals, and intervention techniques and methods. As mentioned in the introduction there are several philosophical approaches used in consultancy work. Poczwardowski et al. (2004) also discussed the importance of creating a holistic picture of the athlete/team when starting to work with clients, which includes; the issue of the prime individual (e.g., athlete, coach, organization, administrator, family member), long- versus short-term benefits of the consultancy service, recognition of the importance of the consultant-client relationship. These factors are important in order to understand the fuller picture surrounding the client.

Some of the main philosophical approaches used in sport psychology practice are gestalt therapy (Giges, Petitpas & Vernacchia, 2004), cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) (Poczwardowski et al., 2004; Sanders, 2010; Neil et al., 2013), and an educational approach model (Ravizza, 2002; Poczwardowski et al., 2004). In gestalt therapy, the process continuum of awareness observes the individual’s moment-to-moment awareness and flow of need and satisfaction. When disruptions are occurring (e.g. conflict of desires or troubling thoughts) these thoughts and feelings may interfere the flow until this interruption is released (Giges et al., 2004). According to Ravizza (2002) the educational approach model provides information, support and skill practice, during the experimental process, that helps the athlete increase their understanding of mental skill training over time (Poczwardowski et al, 2004). Through the perspective of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) focused on four integrating elements of the human experience, viewed as cognitive, physical, emotions and behaviour (Poczwardowski et al, 2004; Sanders, 2010; Neil et al., 2013). The CBT methodology aims to help the individual change her/his maladaptive behaviour by relieving current believes, perceptions and emotional disturbance (Sanders, 2010; Neil et al., 2013).

To gain a good and effective work relation to an athlete it is of significance to understand where the athlete comes from, what is their story is and what I can provide as a consultant to help the athlete overcome and cope with their issues. Building a collaborative and trusting relationship with the client is essential in order to help the client understand his/her current challenges (e.g. experiencing stress and pressure whilst in the sport arena) and how this influences the performance (Ivey, Ivey, & Simek-Morgan, 1993; Holm, Beckwith, Ehde & Tinius, 1996; Poczwardowski et al., 2004).

My aim of my consultancy is to use the foundation of the cognitive-behavioral approach. I believe that building a collaborative and trusting relationship with the client is essential to help the client understand her/his current challenges (e.g. experiencing stress and pressure whilst in the arena) and how their performance is influenced (Ivey et al., 1993; Holm et al., 1996; Poczwardowski et al., 2004). When assessing the client’s needs and educate mental skill based upon given information, the athlete can use this knowledge to develop greater self -awareness, attention control, which could lead to a greater level of self-confidence (Poczwardowski et al., 2004). Combined with concrete changes in problem behavior and development of control of his/her thought process, the individual could refocus or modify the thinking pattern in terms of the issue (Ivey et al, 1993; Holm et al, 1996; Poczwardowski et al., 2004). In the research study by Neil et al. (2011), they found that when the athlete perceives emotions as debilitative there is a general appraisal that causes negative emotions to performance and potentially causes stress and anxiety. However when the emotion is perceived as facilitative the initial stressors seem to decrease. Additionally, the athletes demonstrated a motivational dialogue that encompassed task focused elements (Neil et al, 2011; Neil et al, 2013). Nevertheless the adaptive cognitive process incorporates a rationalisation of the negative emotions experienced and restructuring of thoughts through encourage more effort and increase concentration to performance. The feeling of nerves and anxiety is not necessarily a negative thing (Finn, 2008; Neil et al, 2011; Neil et al, 2013). In the study by Neil et al. (2011), they found that when the athlete recognises and identifies that he/she is feeling anxious, the process through rationalisation can manipulates the feelings into believing the symptoms are positive for the athlete. The process rationalise the negative though pattern and therefore helps the athlete increase motivation, concentration and technical process to sport performance (Neil et al, 2011; Neil et al, 2013). Poczwardowski et al. (2004) emphasized how thoughts patterns are the core of an athlete’s performance, as automatic thoughts could be a source of (e.g. generalised or dichotomised thinking etc.). Through identification, controlling and modification of these thoughts could benefit athletic performance (Hardy, Gammage, & Hall, 2001; Johnson, Hrycaiko, Johnson, & Halas, 2004). The CBT approach is not a quick fix method, however if offers several effective coping mechanisms and interventions tools through education (e.g. learning important concepts of self-confidence) (Poczwardowski et al., 2004).

I believe that when working with athletes it is important to understand the whole athlete and not only focus on one aspect of the issue experienced by the athlete. This implies that I would need to investigate further into different aspects of the athlete in- and outside of the arena (e.g. sporting environment and parents etc.). This holistic approach is were recognized by Friesen and Orlick (2011), who purposed that sport is a multidimensional phenomenon where the method recognizes the “whole individual” composed of an athlete’s thoughts, emotions, physiology, and behavior, which opens up the idea to collaborate with other sport science practitioner if necessary (Henriksen, Stambulova, & Roessler, 2010a; 2010b).

The take home message is that every athlete is different and the consultant should therefore carefully consider and customize the approach based on his or her own philosophy to provide the best possible help for the client. I believe that building a collaborative and trusting relationship with the client is essential to help the client understand his/her current challenges (e.g. experiencing stress and pressure whilst in the sport arena) and how this influences the performance and how this can be solved in order for the client to reach full potential.