Sport Counseling and Psychological Skills Training

Catalog description

The practice of sport counseling uses psychological skills training (PST). This method is grounded in mental health training principles, such as cognitive behavioral approaches, mindfulness techniques, and goal setting used by elite athletes, business professionals, and special operations personnel to achieve and maintain the highest levels of resilience, readiness, and performance. Classic PST techniques that define the canon of mental toughness will be presented with history, theory, and extensive embedded self-exercises. This course will include self-awareness training, goal setting, imagery and visualization, attentional and concentration techniques, arousal and intensity regulation, as well as stress management. A complete mindfulness sports performance enhancement (MSPE) protocol using the latest research from the sport sciences, counseling, psychology, and neuroscience will be presented including guidance for building mindfulness skills essential to consistent, optimal performance.