Psychology is the science that is responsible for the study of behavior and when we talk about sports psychology we refer to the branch that is dedicated to everything related to sports and/or physical activity that anyone can do.
At the time, psychology joined sports through the interactions of coaches from various disciplines, who consulted with psychologists about issues related to motivation, anxiety and other aspects that directly affected their athletes.
“I think mental health is more important in sports right now.”, Simone Biles.
Although it is a relatively new science, it has managed to gain a respectable position within this field, helping to promote the advancement of sport by understanding, studying and addressing one more aspect of the complexity of athletes and each particular discipline.
What does psychology contribute to sport?
Sports psychology is responsible for studying each person from their sporting field, with the purpose of evaluating and intervening at an emotional, cognitive and behavioral level. The objective is to improve motivation and increase performance through understanding the psychological phenomena that occur in each case, understanding that each athlete is different.
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The sports psychologist’s role is to help the athlete with exercises that allow him/her to overcome obstacles that may be interfering with his/her performance, while at the same time creating, together with the athlete, strategies that help him/her to improve his/her performance in the discipline to which he/she is concerned. which one belongs.
At a national and international level, sports psychology has become increasingly integrated into the preparatory and competitive universe, with the aim of enhancing results, allowing them greater self-knowledge while offering them various strategies and techniques to manage topics such as stress. and self-control.
In addition to all this, sports psychology is responsible for promoting mental and emotional health. It is well known that emotional conditions directly intervene in behavior and performance, and sport is no exception.
Sports psychology: definition
Thus, sports psychology, also known as sports psychology, is the branch of psychology that studies all emotional (feelings and emotions), behavioral (actions) and cognitive (thoughts, memory, reasoning, etc.) aspects. ) within the context of any sporting discipline, including any type of physical activity.
All this from a scientific perspective that allows us to explain, understand, predict and address an athlete’s performance and prevent future mental/emotional health problems that may affect them. Its purpose is, therefore, the search for comprehensive well-being for athletes.
Areas of application of sports psychology
Sports psychology has two main areas of application:
- Therapy: It is dedicated to evaluating athletes in relation to their emotional world, in order to be able to intervene in any type of problem that may be present or that the specialist determines may arise in the future. Depression, anxiety, stress or self-esteem problems, among others, can negatively impact the athlete’s performance. In addition, it also seeks to have a positive effect on the athlete’s general life.
- Orientation: He dedicates his time to evaluating the performance of the athlete or the team, as the case may be. Identify the strengths to enhance them and the weaknesses to strengthen them based on the qualities or abilities of each of the people involved. They are often known by the name of sports advisor, advisor or coach, and generally, they work together with other specialists, carrying out an interdisciplinary approach to achieve better results with the athlete(s).
How do you work in sports psychology?
The functions that the psychologist who specializes in sports must fulfill begin with the evaluation of athletes, in order to be able to make a complete diagnosis of the case. For this, the same evaluation tools are used as in any other branch of psychology, according to Cox in the book (2008).
This means the application of tests and interviews. Observation is an important factor that helps evaluate athletes, being a widely used resource within the diagnostic process.
Once this is done, the role of the psychologist continues with the creation of strategies that help the athlete to improve their performance, emotional control and concentration at the time of competition, in addition to enhancing motivation to achieve.
Its activities also include the preparation of reports for individual or group work and the multidisciplinary approach in many cases, which allows the programming of activities that help improve the athlete’s results.
“We have to protect our minds and our bodies, and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do,” Simone Biles.
When can sports psychology help you?
It is not necessary to wait for something bad to happen to request psychological help. Ideally, a specialist in the area of mental health should always be on the team.
You can use this resource when you need help to know yourself better, be aware of your weaknesses and strengths and work on them. Additionally, it provides techniques to improve your stress management skills, a common topic among athletes and even more so when it comes to high-performance athletes.
Finally, the intervention of a sports psychologist is obviously necessary in those cases in which emotions or thoughts directly affect performance in your discipline, psychological support being essential.
Bibliographic reference: Cox, R.H. (2008). Sports psychology: concepts and their applications. Pan American Medical Ed.