5 Myths about Sport Psychology that you need to know

Team ithinksport No Comments Sport Psychology

The use of Sport Psychology support has been gaining momentum in recent years. More athletes, coaches and team managers understand the benefits of engaging with it, but there are still some myths flying around. So here’s a few that I've debunked:

  1. It involves sitting on a couch and sharing my problems

No! Not usually! Sport Psychology support comes in a range of shapes and sizes depending on your needs. When I work with individual sportsmen and women, I often meet in a venue that the athlete is happy with. This could be a space at their training venue, a meeting room or even a coffee shop (some of those have couches!).

2. Sport Psychology is only for Elite or Professional athletes

Nope! An increasing number of elite / professional athletes and teams use the services of a Sport Psychology practitioner, but the good news is that it’s available to all! I work with a huge range of people from grassroots right up to elite, and you can see some examples on my portfolio page.

3. It doesn’t work

It does! There is a whole heap of academic research from a range of sports and lots of different levels to challenge this argument. Sport Psychology can benefit performance and assist athletes in lots of different ways. Often, its about finding what works best for you by finding a practitioner and approach that is best suited to your needs.

4. It’s too expensive

Nooooo! Like any Sport Science service there will be a cost attached to it, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. One of the main reasons that I set up ithinksport was to make Sport Psychology more accessible by providing affordable services. This is part of the reason why I'm developing a range of online workshops and webinars so that I can reach more people without cost being a barrier.

5. It’s only for athletes with ‘issues’

Nope! It’s also about supporting those who are performing well and want to maintain that form. I work with a mix of people – some who come to me for a specific purpose (e.g. motivation, confidence, anxiety), and others who just want more information on a particular topic (e.g. mental toughness).

Thanks for reading and please get in touch if you’d like me to work with you.