Why I may need a Clinical Psychologist in sports

The intention of this post is to help you make the decision around the professional that suits YOUR needs. In brief, Sport Psychologists are fantastic at working with individuals to maximise sporting performance. However, they commonly refer athletes to a Clinical Psychologist to support people with mental health difficulties; which are indeed common in sporting populations (Gulliver et al., 2015). 

Clinical Psychologists are trained extensively on helping people with a range of mental health difficulties. They have at least 6 years academic training, including a doctorate giving them the title of a Dr. Clinical Sport Psychologists are Clinical Psychologists working in sporting populations and they are the interplay between Clinical Psychologists and Sport Psychologists.

Here are reasons why you may consider a Clinical Sport Psychologist:

1.     The qualities that enhance sporting performance may also promote mental health difficulties. 

I’ll illustrate this with a case example. Person X is training for a marathon. They are a self-described ‘perfectionist’. Such perfectionism helps drive them to research all aspects of training to ensure ‘perfect form’, ‘perfect mindset’ and ‘perfect race nutrition’; ultimately reaching their goal time. However, that same perfectionism could result in an ‘obsession’ and ‘rigid thinking’ around what is perfect to eat and they start to categorise foods as ‘good foods’ and ‘bad foods’. Over time, more and more ‘good foods’ become ‘bad foods’ until they start a cycle of restriction and develop an eating disorder (This is an oversimplified example as mental health is never just one simple factor). A Clinical Sport Psychologist will help you develop awareness of your qualities so that YOU can decide when they may help or hinder your performance and wellbeing.

2.     The ‘athletic norms’ may shift to unhealthy norms that would otherwise be recognised as clinical mental health conditions.

 We can be easily influenced by those we spend time with. For example, let’s think of bodybuilders. Before Person Y became a bodybuilder, they looked in the mirror and just saw a body that they felt content with. However, they enter the world of body building where their friends are talking about their ‘biceps popping today’, their abs being ‘toned’ and their ‘traps looking on point’. This may all be a different language to people outside of that social circle. BUT by being around others who are viewing bodies in this way, Person Y soon looks in the mirror and sees their body differently- they feel distressed at how their biceps aren’t ‘toned enough’ or their thighs aren’t looking great today and may fulfil criteria consistent with Body Dysmorphic Disorder diagnosis. Clinical Sport Psychologists are trained to assess and provide psychoeducation and strategies to help an individual gain insight into how their sporting pursuits impact their mental and physical health.

3.     The way you think about yourself isn’t  limited to just sporting environments or just relationships or just work. It’s across the board.

Person Z talks negatively in the race, ‘you’re not good enough’, ‘you’re weak’. This means that they give up and do not get their goal time. However, they may not see themselves as ‘good enough’ in other avenues of life. In work, they may not chase promotions or put their name down for work because they are ‘not good enough’. They may end great relationships early because they are ‘not good enough’ for their partner despite their partner thinking otherwise. These self-beliefs always come from somewhere in a person’s life experiences. Working with a Clinical Sport Psychologist can help unpack your self-deprecating thoughts, the origin of the thoughts and how they may impact your behaviours in and aside from your sport. You will challenge your beliefs and find ways to see yourself as ‘strong’ or ‘good enough’. Inadvertently, this will help you to feel happier in daily life whilst also enhancing sport performance. 

4.     What happens when a sporting individual is side-lined due to injury or retirement?

THE BIG NIGHTMARE FOR ANY SPORTY INDIVIDUAL… INJURY! Your brain has been used to the endorphins post-exercise and you’re just not getting the same ‘kick’ as you can’t do anything. Clinical Sport Psychologists can help support you through injury by giving a space to be heard and to think together about what you miss about sports and how you might be able to replace that. Clinical Sport Psychologists can also support your injury comeback. It’s tough to be running slower times following injury (trust me, I’ve been there) but sometimes you need a professional to help build your confidence and arm you with a stronger mindset; one that could be even stronger than pre-injury.

5.     The importance of identities: a Sporting Identity and a ‘Me Identity’.

By identifying too much as a ‘sporty individual’, you can be floored when it comes to injury and you now feel like a couch potato as you cannot train. OR perhaps all your self-worth is based on whether you got your goal time in a marathon/Hyrox race or you beat your rival in the boxing ring. A Clinical Sport Psychologist can help you find the real you again through open discussions and evidence-based strategies. Having a separate identity from your sporting one can help you discover more about yourself and stop you losing yourself.

6.     However much you try to work on your sporting mindset, you’re just not getting there.

Some of our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are so deep rooted and based on previous experiences that simply ‘thinking positive’ is just no gonna happen. A Clinical Sport Psychologist can explore your past experiences (both generally and sports-related) to help you understand why you are the way you are and how you can help yourself.

SO if you’re looking at support for sporting performance then a Sport Psychologist might be the one for you. BUT if you think that you could benefit from someone to support your mental health outside of the sport as well, then a Clinical Sport Psychologist may be the one for you.

If you’re interested in our Clinical Sport Psychology Services or are unsure of how we might be able to help you, then please fill in our contact form.