The purpose of this paper is to show how philosophies and guiding theoretical models have helped develop the mentoring practices of a master’s degree program with students seeking to become Certified Mental Performance Consultants. We present a series of challenges that we have encountered as mentors in this program. These challenges center around the consulting student, coach interactions, situations that have warranted a need for referrals, and mentor burnout. In each challenge, we discuss how our philosophy and models of supervision helped guide our decisions and the lessons learned from these various situations. Ultimately, these challenges and experiences helped us improve the program through changes in our mentorship structure and general logistics. We hope that our lessons, ideas for program improvement, and the rationale of how our mentoring philosophy supported our decision making at the time may be useful to mentors who oversee graduate-level programs.
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Mentoring Philosophy as a Guide to Navigate Challenges From the Lens of Certified Mental Performance Consultant Mentors
Janaina Lima Fogaça and Leilani Madrigal
Effect of Neurofeedback Training Along With Swimming Exercise on the Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Severity of Dependence, and Craving in Methamphetamine-Dependent Patients
Atefeh Fadaei, Mahmoud Najafi, Hossein Miladi-Gorji, Mohammad Ali Tajik-Mansoury, and Mohammad Afkar
This study investigated whether neurofeedback (NFB) training and swimming exercise (Swim) would reduce the stress, anxiety, depression, severity of dependence, and cravings in patients addicted to methamphetamines. Participants were allocated randomly to four groups: control group, NFB, Swim, and NFB/Swim. All groups completed the study questionnaire before and after treatment. The NFB, Swim, and NFB/Swim groups reported significantly less stress, cravings, and severity of dependence than the control group. The Swim and NFB/Swim groups had significantly lower depression scores than the control group. Also, the NFB/Swim group experienced less anxiety than the control group. However, the NFB/Swim group had lower levels of stress than the Swim group, and lower levels of anxiety and severity of dependence than the NFB group. These findings suggest that NFB training along with swimming exercise was effective in managing methamphetamine-related behavioral disturbances, which may help patients to manage their cravings.
The Relationship Between Childhood Trauma, Exercise Addiction, Emotion Regulation Difficulties, and Basic Psychological Needs in Türkiye
Sema Gültekin Arayici and Serap Tekinsav Sutcu
Exercise addiction manifests as a behavioral compulsion where physical activity becomes excessively pursued, leading to potential harm to both physical and mental well-being, as well as interpersonal connections. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of basic psychological needs and emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between childhood trauma and exercise addiction. The study sample consisted of 386 regular exercisers who completed several questionnaires, including the Childhood Trauma Scale, Exercise Dependence Scale, Basic Need Satisfaction Scale, and Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale. The results of the analyses revealed that basic psychological needs and emotion regulation difficulties were significant predictors of exercise addiction symptoms, and they mediated the relationship between childhood trauma and exercise addiction. The findings contribute to the understanding of the factors that may lead to exercise addiction and have implications for prevention and treatment. In this context, the results and limitations are discussed in light of the relevant literature.
Early Maladaptive Schemas, Cognitive Fusion, and Anabolic-Androgenic Steroid Use Attitudes: The Mediating Role of Muscle Dysmorphia in Iran
Mehdi Ebrahimi, Zahra Zamani, and Ebrahim Bagheri
In recent decades, the interest in having an ideal body in men has caused a pathological tendency to be muscular, followed by a tendency to use anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs). This study was designed to evaluate the mediating role of muscle dysmorphia in the relationship between early maladaptive schemas and body image-related cognitive fusion with the tendency to use AAS in male athletes. Out of the total number of men referring to fitness clubs in Isfahan, Iran, 474 men were evaluated using a multistage random cluster sampling method. The questionnaires used in this research included the Muscle Dysmorphic Disorder Inventory, Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire—Body Image, Young Schema Questionnaire—Short Form, and Prototype Willingness Model Questionnaire. The results demonstrated that the relationship of AAS use with body image-related cognitive fusion and the three maladaptive schemas with the mediation of muscle dysmorphia is significant. The present study provides significant implications in the discussion of prevention and treatment of AAS addiction.
Volume 18 (2024): Issue 1 (Mar 2024)
The Impact of Athletic Identity, Psychological Flexibility, and Value Consistent Living on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Retired Elite Rugby Players
Jacqueline Mooney, Andrew Bethell, Chris Wagstaff, and Ross White
Retirement from sport is widely accepted as an important period of change for athletes. Existing studies have focused on investigating the mental health and well-being of current players, while limited research has explored the impact of retirement on elite rugby players. The present study aimed to examine how athletic identity, psychological flexibility, and valued living impact subjective well-being and psychological distress in retired elite rugby players. A cross-sectional, between-subject, factorial design was adopted. Seventy-seven retired elite rugby players were recruited to the Tackling Next Steps project and completed an online survey between March 2021 and December 2021. Suboptimal levels of subjective well-being were reported by 64% of retired players, and 43% reported clinical levels of distress. Valued living and psychological flexibility were shown to significantly predict subjective well-being. The results show that promoting psychological flexibility and valued living may have positive effects on subjective well-being in retired rugby players.
Self-Reported Depression in Collegiate Athletes: The Effect of Privacy on Symptom Disclosure
Chloe M. Ouellet-Pizer, Sebastian Harenberg, Justine Vosloo, and Barbara B. Meyer
Prevalence studies on depressive symptoms in collegiate athletes have yielded varied estimations, which may be due, in part, to survey administration privacy. However, the influence of survey administration privacy (i.e., anonymous and confidential) on depressive symptom disclosure remains unknown in sport. The purposes of the current study, therefore, were twofold: (a) compare depressive symptoms reported under high- and low-privacy conditions and (b) examine factors associated with underreporting (i.e., social desirability). College athletes (N = 123) were randomly assigned to high- and low-privacy conditions. Results indicated no significant difference, F(1, 120) = 0.59, p = .446, between the prevalence of depressive symptoms reported across conditions when controlling for sex, and no significant correlation between depressive symptoms and social desirability (r = −.01, p = .886). Taken together, results indicated that survey administration privacy did not impact depressive symptom disclosure in the current sample.
Examining the Feasibility of a Mindfulness Flow Program for the Hong Kong Archers
Ka K. Lo, Mimi M.Y. Tse, Joanne W.Y. Chung, Queenie P.S. Law, and Fenghua Sun
Mindfulness-based interventions have gained popularity among elite athletes, but their effectiveness in enhancing archery performance has been inconsistent. This study examined the feasibility of a 12-week mindfulness flow program (MFP) specifically designed for the archers and assessed the effect of the MFP on shooting performance. Twelve members of the Hong Kong Archery Team voluntarily participated in the present study. Their shooting performance, anxiety, mindfulness, and flow state were assessed before and after the MFP intervention. The results showed that the MFP was highly feasible, with 100% attendance. The athletes highly enjoyed the MFP sessions (mean rating: 7.9/10). Improved shooting performance, increased mindfulness, and flow state levels, and reduced anxiety were also observed after the intervention. These findings suggest a positive reception from and potential benefits for athletes. However, it is suggested to conduct additional research using randomized controlled trials to explore the program’s effects and applicability in enhancing sports performance.
An Exploration of the Sources of Self-Efficacy Information in Athletic Injury Rehabilitation
Amber M. Shipherd, John E. Coumbe-Lilley, and Chelsea K. Duncan
Self-efficacy plays a vital role in an athlete’s injury and rehabilitation experience and is linked to successful rehabilitation outcomes. We sought to develop a deeper understanding of self-efficacy sources throughout injury rehabilitation using an interpretative phenomenological analysis design grounded in a pragmatist paradigm. Semistructured interviews were conducted with nine male Division II collegiate athletes throughout injury rehabilitation. Seven themes were identified as sources of athletes’ self-efficacy during rehabilitation phases, and two themes were identified as influencing participants in their selection and weighing of the sources of self-efficacy. Athletes described several sources as negatively impacting their self-efficacy, and differences were observed in the sources reported across the phases of injury rehabilitation. Results suggest the influence of sources of efficacy information fluctuates over the course of injury rehabilitation. These findings can contribute to further research in the area, as well as strategies and interventions to better assist athletes through injury rehabilitation.
Physical Activity and Engagement Coping: A Key for Stress-Recovery in Mexican University Students
Erick-Yael Fernández-Barradas, María-Luisa Marván-Garduño, Tamara Cibrián-Llanderal, Felipe Reynoso-Sánchez, and Socorro Herrera-Meza
Physical activity and coping styles are factors that contribute to health status and to the reduction of stress. The aim of this research was to analyze the influence of physical activity and coping styles on recovery-stress state among Regular Physical Activity University Students (n = 67) and High-Performance University Athletes (n = 67) from a Mexican university. The results show statistically significant differences in the capacity of recovery from stress in High-Performance University Athletes. Additionally, two positive correlations emerged: one of engagement coping and recovery, and one of disengagement coping and stress. The interaction between engagement coping and physical activity predicted general well-being. In females, the engagement coping style predicts recovery from stress. We concluded that physical activity in combination with an engagement coping style contributes to the development of health in university students.
