Over time I have taken other paths, but I continue to apply in my sport practice, the same principles that I tried to transmit to my clients. This is why I want to illustrate what a sports psychologist does, what it is for and above all what is the difference with the other figures (motivators, mental coach) present in this field.
What is Sports Psychology?
It is an interdisciplinary science that draws on its knowledge, and therefore dialogues with many related fields which include: biomechanics, sports medicine, physiology, sports science and psychology.
What is Sports Psychology for?
- helps the athlete to work better with the coach
- helps you understand yourself better as an athlete
- helps to develop and orient the career / sporting path
- helps prepare the mind
- helps develop concentration
- helps to recover from problems and injuries
- helps to increase and maintain the right motivation is the drive to improve
- helps manage pressure and stress
- helps in managing groups, conflicts, leadership
- helps in the training of coaches and managers
Sport Psychologist is a professional with a degree in psychology, has obtained the state exam, has specialized through a master's degree in sports psychology and is regularly enrolled in the Order of Psychologists.
Sport Psychologist:
- helps athletes, from amateur to professional, to use psychological principles to achieve optimal mental health and to improve performance;
- understands and promotes how sports and physical activity affect an individual's psychological development, health and well-being throughout life;
- It also operates in the field of health psychology, which concerns pathology and clinical recovery and can therefore deal with psychological disorders associated with sports problems, such as food problems or related to the use of doping substances
Sports psychologist is, therefore, also a motivator and a mental coach! He is the most suitable figure to work in the sports field, because he has the most complete range of skills.
Where do all the other figures who deal with mental and motivational aspects in sport come from?
These professionals come from any other type of training, they could have studied law or pharmacy, and then decided to take a training course to become a mental coach, perhaps not even specific in sport.
In short, it's a bit like deciding to go to a doctor who is not a doctor but has taken a one or two year course in general medicine ....
Of course, there are extremely competent and effective mental coaches, but the most important thing is to know who the professional you are targeting is. It is therefore important, as your right, to ask for their the professional path.
Summing up:
MENTAL COACH: sports coaching does not require the possession of a degree and is generally carried out in a short period of time (80/100 hours). There are coaching courses or schools that certify their role.
Mental coaching has the goal to motivate the athlete (or athletes if it is a team) and to improve his sports performance by bringing him to express his maximum potential.
MOTIVATOR: It works, as the term expresses, exclusively to increase the athlete's motivation, leaving out all other aspects of sport, such as concentration, self-efficacy, attention, communication etc.
The real difference between mental coaches and sport psychologist is that the latter relies on a science and in his work makes use of effective techniques that are evidence-based. He also has a wide knowledge the human being and his psycho-physical functioning.
The invitation is therefore to make your preparation complete, deciding to dedicate part of your training to the mental factor, a fundamental element for sports well-being.
For those wishing to contact a professional, it is not enough to find competent ones, but it is essential that they are competent in the relationship.
Now that you have more information, you can then choose to look for someone suitable for you and who aims at your well-being, physical and mental!
