Psychological interventions aim to enhance performance and facilitate a positive approach to competition through deliberate practice of psychological skills and strategies. Common interventions include imagery, goal-setting, self-talk, and relaxation techniques. These skills are developed through psychological skills training in sports, exercise, and rehabilitation from injury. Foundational, performance, and facilitative skills are targeted depending on the phase of training or competition. Motivational techniques are also used to increase exercise adherence.

1. Psychological
Interventions in
Sports and Exercise

2. Psychological Skills Training Programme
• Psychological skills training (PST) is the deliberate, systematic
practice of strategies and methods designed to enhance an
athlete's performance, by enhancing their psychological skills.
• PST includes the strategies and techniques used to develop
psychological skills, enhance sport performance, and facilitate a
positive approach to competition.

3. PST-Related Terminologies
• “Psychological qualities” are the characteristics or attributes that facilitate
optimal performance, and they can be experienced to varying degrees (e.g.,
high and low self-confidence; Holland, Woodcock, Cumming, & Duda,
2010).
• “Psychological skills” involve the ability to regulate psychological qualities,
such as the ability to maintain self-confidence (Holland et al., 2010; Vealey,
1988).
• “Psychological strategies” are the interventions or the methods used to
purposefully teach those psychological skills and qualities (e.g., thought
control; Vealey, 1988).

4. Historical Background of PST
Interventions
• In North America, several pioneers in sport psychology began working in the
research and practice of PST as early as the 1920s.
• In 1925, Coleman Griffith (known as the grandfather of American sport
psychology) was the director of the first research laboratory devoted to sport
psychology and worked with coaches at the University of Illinois to improve the
performance of their athletes (Gould & Pick, 1995; Green, 2003).
• He was subsequently hired, in 1938, by the Chicago Cubs baseball team to improve
players’ performance (Green, 2003). With the Cubs, Griffith conducted one of his
largest sport psychology research projects (Gould & Pick, 1995) and implemented
several psychological techniques, such as goal-setting, confidence building, and
competitive simulation (Green, 2003).

5. • Like Griffith, Dorothy Yates (1943) was a researcher-practitioner who
reported positive results in investigations of the effectiveness of PST
interventions on performance.
• Yates is historically known for implementing PST interventions with
boxers and aviators that primarily focused on the relaxation set-
method and mental preparation, (Kornspan & MacCracken, 2001)
Historical Background of PST
Interventions

6. Historical Background of PST
Interventions
• Unfortunately, after the work of Griffith and Yates, sport psychology remained
largely dormant; it wasn’t until the 1980s that the systematic study and practice of PST
in sport emerged and became a major focus. It was during this time that the field of
sport psychology transitioned from being an academic research discipline to an
interdisciplinary profession providing services to various consumers (Vealey,
2007).
• Greenspan and Feltz (1989) in their review of PST intervention research identified only
four published studies prior to 1980 that employed PST interventions with athletes who
competed on a regular and organized basis in actual competitive situations as
participants. Richard Suinn (1972) conducted one of those studies and found that a
PST intervention employing relaxation, imagery, and behavioral rehearsal with
elite skiers improved their performance during races.

7. Historical Background of PST
Interventions
• There was a call in the 1990s for a renewed commitment to the scientist-practitioner
model - emphasizing the integration of theory, research, and practice.
• In discussing sport contexts, the focus is on the research employing an educational
approach to PST based on the premise that participants (e.g., athletes, coaches) are
basically mentally healthy and have the psychological skills needed to succeed. SEP
professionals, therefore, help participants learn and optimize psychological skills and
strategies to cope with the various demands of performance (Vealey, 2007).
• In exercise settings, there is a common thread of utilizing psychological skill building
or psychological manipulations in exercise- and physical-activity-focused
interventions to help individuals to begin exercising, increase physical activity, or enhance
adherence to regular exercise habits (see Berger, Weinberg, & Eklund, 2015; Buckworth et
al., 2013).

8. Myths Surrounding PST
1. That it is for "problem" athletes only—PST focuses on developing
psychological skills of "normal" athletes;
2. That it is for elite athletes only—Young and developing athletes (Hellestedt,
1987) and special populations will benefit from PST (Asken, 1991, as cited
in Weinberg & Gould, 1999; Clark & Sachs, 1991, as cited in Weinberg &
Gould, 1999);
3. That it provides "quick-fix" solutions; and
4. That it is not useful (Weinberg & Gould, 1999).

9. Subsections of Psychological Skills
• Psychological skills, like technical or tactical aspects of a
sport, must be learned, developed, and practiced by the
athlete.
• There are three subsections of psychological skills:
Foundation skills, performance skills, and facilitative
skills.
• Like physical skills, psychological skills have different
times in which they should be developed and practiced

10. Subsections of Psychological Skills
• Foundation Skills
• As aerobic endurance is the foundation for any athlete's physical
fitness, so foundation skills are the psychological skills that form the
'foundation' for the rest of the psychological skills that an athlete
needs. Foundation skills include commitment, motivation, self-
confidence, and self-esteem (Hodge, 2007).

11. Subsections of Psychological Skills
• Performance Skills
• Once the foundation skills have been developed, performance skills need
to be concentrated on. These are the psychological skills that the athlete
uses during training and their actual competition. These are
concentration/attention, coping with pressure (arousal regulation)
(Weinberg & Gould, 1999), and control activation (mental preparation and
readiness).
• For example, an athlete needs to know how to block out the irrelevant
aspects of competition, such as the crowd in a 500 meter time trial, and
focus on the important details, like the gunshot that starts the clock, and
trying to keep their cadence and speed up throughout the duration of the
time trial.

12. Subsections of Psychological Skills
• Facilitative Skills
• Facilitative skills are necessary in order to be able to utilize
performance skills effectively. These include communication,
training motivation, teambuilding, teamwork and team spirit,
psychological rehabilitation from injury, and retirement and lifestyle
management.
• For example, an athlete may never be able to compete to the best
of their ability or reach the level that they desire if they have no
training motivation, and thus miss most of their scheduled training
sessions (Hodge, 2007).

13. PHASES of PST
1) Educational Phase: This phase consists of the psychological skills being
learned and practiced. It takes time to develop and refine these skills over
time.
2) Acquisition Phase: This phase is used to focus on strategies and
techniques for learning the different psychological skills. This aspect of the
training program needs to be tailored to meet the individuals needs.
3) Practice Phase: This phase consists of the transferring of psychological
skill from practice and simulated situations to actual competitions. The focus
should be on making the psychological skills automatic.

14. Psychological Interventions in Sports
• The psychological techniques that have been most widely used by sport psychology
practitioners, and the focus of most PST intervention research, are imagery, goal-
setting, thought management and self-talk, and physical relaxation and
arousal regulation (Vealey, 1988, 2007)
• 1. “Imagery” involves athletes’ use of their “senses to re-create or create an
experience in the mind” (Vealey & Forlenza, 2013, p. 240); it has been argued to
be the most widely studied technique in the PST literature, as well as the most
popular psychological technique used by athletes (Vealey, 2007).
• Guided Imagery Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbckuluEdM0

15. Psychological Interventions in Sports
• Imagery is the same thing as visualization, mental rehearsal and
mental practice. It involves creating or recreating an experience in your
mind. All the senses are used - visual, kinesthetic, auditory, tactile and
olfactory. It involves moods and emotions. There are certain things that are
involved if effective imagery is used:
• * The Nature of the task: Imagery affects performance on thinking tasks
* Skill level of the performer: Imagery helps performance for both
experienced and non-experienced performers.

16. Psychological Interventions in Sports
• 2. Whereas a “goal” is simply a target one strives to attain, “goal-setting”
for athletes involves developing a plan that focuses on specific task
demands, mobilizes effort, encourages persistence through adversity,
and promotes problem-solving and the development of strategies to
progress toward achievement of the goal (Locke & Latham, 1990).
• Guide to Goal Setting video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpKvs-
apvOs

17. Psychological Interventions in Sports
• 3. “Thought management” involves athletes’ awareness and
management of self-talk - that is, the internal dialogue athletes have with
themselves, often in the form of giving reinforcement or instruction, self-
evaluation, and interpreting feelings and perceptions (Vealey, 2007).
• Use of self-talk video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BKWlMBleYQ

18. Psychological Interventions in Sports
• 4. Physical relaxation and arousal regulation are techniques used to help
athletes’ manage their energy or level of activation in order to match what is
needed for optimal performance (Williams, 2010).
• It is important to regulate arousal because athletes that don't cope effectively with
stress, may experience decreases in performance and have physical and mental
distress. It is important to them in order to stay focused and in control. In order to
control arousal, you must increase your awareness of your psychological states, and
by doing so you will be able to control your thoughts and feelings. Once you are
aware of your optimal arousal you can use certain techniques to control it.

19. Psychological Interventions in Sports
Physical relaxation and arousal regulation
• There are certain techniques that can be used to reduce and handle
attention and arousal:
• * Progressive Muscle relaxation: With this technique you learn to feel the
tension in your muscles and let go of this tension.
* Breath control: With this technique you learn to control your breathing in
stressful situations. When you are feeling calm and confident your breathing
is smooth, deep and rhythmic. When you are under pressure and tense your
breathing becomes short, shallow and irregular.
* Biofeedback: This technique causes one to become more aware of their
nervous system and to control responses through feedback from ones body.
* Relaxation Responses: Individuals learn to quiet the mind, concentrate
and reduce muscle tension by basic meditation.

20. Psychological Interventions in Sports
Physical relaxation and arousal regulation
• There are certain techniques that can be used to reduce and handle
attention and arousal:
* Autogenic Training: This is a series of exercises designed to produce
physical sensations - warmth and heaviness, in order to produce a relaxed
state.
* Cognitive affective stress management training: This teaches a person
specific coping responses, using relaxation and thought to control arousal.
* Stress Inoculation training: This kind of training involves a person being
exposed or taught to cope with stress by imagining, thinking about stress and
making self-statements and doing this in increasing amounts in order to
gradually increase their immunity to stress.

21. Psychological Interventions in Sports
Physical relaxation and arousal regulation
• Videos:
• PMR Training: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihO02wUzgkc
• Biofeedback: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcDC_4vn3OQ
• Guided Autogenic Training:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yof5RsL_62s
• Stress Inoculation Training https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxSNd1k-
lAI

22. Psychological Interventions in Exercise
• Interventions focused on a psychological element
or theory on changing individuals’ thoughts or
beliefs about their capability to exercise and,
ideally, increasing their autonomous choices to be
more active.
• Behavioral theories in exercise psychology
interventions: behavior change techniques:
communication training, contingency management, negative mood
regulation, and increasing rewarding shared activities.

23. Psychological Interventions in Exercise
• The psychological technique of goal-setting is
commonly used in both sport and exercise
interventions.
• Motivational interviewing (MI) is a technique
whereby one person guides another toward a more
realistic perspective of goals and success
potential by being empathetic and understanding
and by positively promoting feasible problem-
solving with respect to perceived goal
barriers. MI focuses on a person’s readiness,
willingness, and perceived ability to engage (or

24. Psychological Interventions in Injury
• Injury is a context relevant to both sport and
exercise participants. The integration of PST
interventions with injured athletes and performers has
seen a recent rise in the literature. Work related to
the prevention of injury is largely based on Williams
and Andersen’s (1998) stress-injury model, which
posits that the stress response may increase the
or, through successful intervention, detour or prevent
• The stress-injury model suggests that the stress
response can be influenced by PST interventions,
limiting the likelihood of injury occurrence.

25. Psychological Interventions in Injury
• Psychological techniques for reducing injury risk
were grounded in cognitive-behavioral stress
management.
• When athletes are educated about their cognitive
appraisals and stress-response symptoms and then
taught strategies to enhance their awareness and
coping, they are more likely to avoid injury.

26. Psychological Interventions in Injury
• Mindfulness training is a mental training practice
that teaches you to slow down racing thoughts, let
go of negativity, and calm both your mind and
body.
• It combines meditation with the practice
of mindfulness, which can be defined as a mental
state that involves being fully focused on "the
now" so you can acknowledge and accept your
thoughts, feelings, and sensations without
judgment.

27. References
• https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/psychological-skills-training.htm
• http://www.psychologycampus.com/sports-psychology/enhancing-
performance.html
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322661651_Evaluation_of_Psych
ological_Interventions_in_Sport_and_Exercise_Settings
• Sports and Exercise Psych Module