Psychology is a science that has different fields and each of them addresses different aspects of the individual, since sport is an activity with important psychological implications, there are many reasons why any athlete can benefit from the help of a sports psychologist.
Thanks to this type of professionals, athletes can count on a balance, accompaniment and intervention based on psychological aspects, in this way, they can improve their performance and feeling of well-being.
- The psychology of sport focuses on an athlete’s emotions.
- Thoughts and behaviors.
- Which affects an athlete’s performance and well-being.
Throughout this article we will talk about the most relevant roles of sports psychologists and the benefits of working with them. Let’s go further.
Among the main functions of the sports psychologist are the assessment and diagnosis of the athlete, taking into account both the sports and psychological aspects.
To carry out this type of interviews, tests, follow-up forms and various techniques are used to know the athlete in all their vital areas.
Once the interviews are over and the cognitive behavioral and emotional aspects are identified, the sports psychologist makes a diagnosis that will help you define the areas in which you will work; although it is important to mention that new aspects can be incorporated over time.
The sports psychologist is also in charge of psychoeducation, in performing this function, shows the athlete different strategies to improve their performance through different methods of education.
Psychoeducation can be introduced at different points in the therapeutic process, the important thing is that the athlete gradually learns and internalizes the teachings to apply them in the future.
Through the psycho-educational process, the athlete receives information about various areas that can influence his athletic performance, that is, information related to his social, work, family, health or emotional world, among others.
Once the evaluation and diagnostic process is complete, the sports psychologist moves on to the planning phase, let’s see how he does it:
The sports psychologist is, therefore, a great organizer: he must distribute both the therapeutic time and the different activities to achieve the objectives of his intervention.
In addition, he is in charge of advising his patients so that they not only fully understand the details of the intervention process, but also how to do so, in this way, each step that is taken will be conducive to the progression of the sport and the athlete will develop. adherence to the psychologist’s guidelines.
Intervention is the key point where everything previously planned is achieved to achieve a higher performance and well-being of the athlete, so it is the fundamental step in the right direction to achieve the objectives set.
In his orientation, the sports psychologist uses a lot of different strategies, techniques and instruments to achieve the defined objectives, this process is always carried out with the athlete, his team and his community.
To achieve the result, the professional must know the sport he will focus on and the people he will work with, so it is essential that the sports psychologist adapts to the people he will work with and the environment in which he works.
The sports psychologist can also devote himself to the field of research. This can happen from a pragmatic point of view, after completing the therapeutic process with an athlete, or from an academic point of view, focusing on the psychology of sport as science.
So, although it is a recent area of psychology, we already have many studies on this subject, for example, Olmedilla, García and Martínez, in their article for the Journal of Sporty Psychology, present their research on the relationship between psychological factors and vulnerability to injury.
In addition, the sports psychologist can also act in the field of health promotion and prevention, in this field is dedicated to proposing strategies associated with the world of sport and its benefits to promote health and prevent diseases.
For any sports fan who wants to increase their performance, that of their team or promote sport in the community, working with a sports psychologist can offer the following benefits:
However, it should be noted that no psychologist can devote himself to this field of psychology, specialization in this area is necessary to perform the work effectively.
As can be seen, the sports psychologist can work with athletes, high-performance teams, coaches, teachers, parents or communities. Thanks to your professional skills, you can help improve athletic performance and contribute to a better quality of life.