Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic population
Through the awareness-raising efforts of several high-profile current and former athletes, the issue of common mental disorders (CMD) in this population is gaining increasing attention from researchers and practitioners alike. Yet the prevalence is unclear and most likely, under-reported. Whilst the...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2016-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01067/full |
| _version_ | 1819180041455534080 |
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| author | Claire-Marie Roberts Andrea Leigh Faull David Tod |
| author_facet | Claire-Marie Roberts Andrea Leigh Faull David Tod |
| author_sort | Claire-Marie Roberts |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Through the awareness-raising efforts of several high-profile current and former athletes, the issue of common mental disorders (CMD) in this population is gaining increasing attention from researchers and practitioners alike. Yet the prevalence is unclear and most likely, under-reported. Whilst the characteristics of the sporting environment may generate CMD within the athletic population, it also may exacerbate pre-existing conditions, and hence it is not surprising that sport psychology and sport science practitioners are anecdotally reporting increased incidences of athletes seeking support for CMDs. In a population where there are many barriers to reporting and seeking help for CMD, due in part to the culture of the high performance sporting environment, anecdotal reports suggest that those athletes asking for help are approaching personnel who they are most comfortable talking to. In some cases, this may be a sport scientist, the sport psychologist or sport psychology consultant. Among personnel in the sporting domain, there is a perception that the sport psychologist or sport psychology consultant is best placed to assist athletes seeking assistance for CMD. However, sport psychology as a profession is split by two competing philosophical perspectives; one of which suggests that sport psychologists should work exclusively with athletes on performance enhancement, and the other views the athlete more holistically and accepts that their welfare may directly impact on their performance. To add further complication, the development of the profession of sport psychology varies widely between countries, meaning that practice in this field is not always clearly defined. This article examines case studies that illustrate the blurred lines in applied sport psychology practice, highlighting challenges with the process of referral in the U.K. athletic population. The article concludes with suggestions for ensuring the field of applied sport psychology is continually evolving and reconfiguring to ensure that it continues to meet the demands of its clients. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T22:08:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8659a5637b36471ba73be761a42a3582 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T22:08:02Z |
| publishDate | 2016-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-8659a5637b36471ba73be761a42a35822022-12-21T18:10:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782016-07-01710.3389/fpsyg.2016.01067202316Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic populationClaire-Marie Roberts0Andrea Leigh Faull1David Tod2University of WorcesterUniversity of WorcesterLiverpool John Moores UniversityThrough the awareness-raising efforts of several high-profile current and former athletes, the issue of common mental disorders (CMD) in this population is gaining increasing attention from researchers and practitioners alike. Yet the prevalence is unclear and most likely, under-reported. Whilst the characteristics of the sporting environment may generate CMD within the athletic population, it also may exacerbate pre-existing conditions, and hence it is not surprising that sport psychology and sport science practitioners are anecdotally reporting increased incidences of athletes seeking support for CMDs. In a population where there are many barriers to reporting and seeking help for CMD, due in part to the culture of the high performance sporting environment, anecdotal reports suggest that those athletes asking for help are approaching personnel who they are most comfortable talking to. In some cases, this may be a sport scientist, the sport psychologist or sport psychology consultant. Among personnel in the sporting domain, there is a perception that the sport psychologist or sport psychology consultant is best placed to assist athletes seeking assistance for CMD. However, sport psychology as a profession is split by two competing philosophical perspectives; one of which suggests that sport psychologists should work exclusively with athletes on performance enhancement, and the other views the athlete more holistically and accepts that their welfare may directly impact on their performance. To add further complication, the development of the profession of sport psychology varies widely between countries, meaning that practice in this field is not always clearly defined. This article examines case studies that illustrate the blurred lines in applied sport psychology practice, highlighting challenges with the process of referral in the U.K. athletic population. The article concludes with suggestions for ensuring the field of applied sport psychology is continually evolving and reconfiguring to ensure that it continues to meet the demands of its clients.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01067/fullclinical psychologycase studyelite athletesReferralCommon mental disorders |
| spellingShingle | Claire-Marie Roberts Andrea Leigh Faull David Tod Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic population Frontiers in Psychology clinical psychology case study elite athletes Referral Common mental disorders |
| title | Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic population |
| title_full | Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic population |
| title_fullStr | Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic population |
| title_full_unstemmed | Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic population |
| title_short | Blurred lines: Performance enhancement, common mental disorders and referral in the U.K. athletic population |
| title_sort | blurred lines performance enhancement common mental disorders and referral in the u k athletic population |
| topic | clinical psychology case study elite athletes Referral Common mental disorders |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01067/full |
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