Sports Psychology Training for Practitioners - Course Outline

Sponsored by: The Professional Sports Psychology Group.

CEU Credit: 15 Continuing Education Units for Psychologists awarded though the American Psychological Association (APA).

Training Site: Boston Madison Square Garden Room, TD BankGarden, Boston, MA.

Program: Sports Psychology Training for Practitioners: Day 1

Continental breakfast 8:30 am - 9:00 am.

• Welcome, History, & Resources 9:00 am -12:00 pm, 3.0 hrs.
• Introductions of participants and presenters
• Professional Sports Psychology Group’s purpose
• History of sport psychology: a movement from pathology to positive psychology
• The "State-of-the-Profession" & contemporary resources including: Professional associations, literature, websites, sports psychology certification, advanced degrees & directory of sports psychology
• Goal setting in performance enhancement training- Didactic exercise

Lunch: 1.0 hr. 12:00-1:00

• Working With The Athlete: What's Your Game Plan? 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm, 3.0 hrs.
• Preparing the athlete for sports psychology interventions
• Evaluation & assessment of mental toughness
• Introduction to the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style; TAIS
• Introduction to the Psychological Performance Inventory; PPI
• Culture of athletics: Unique problems athletes face
• Suck it up: Psychological symptom expression in athletes

Sports Psychology Training for Practitioners - Day 2

Continental Breakfast 8:30 am - 9:00 am.

• Mental Skills Training: Getting Your Head in the Game. 9:00 am - 12:00pm/ 3 hrs.
  • Regulation of arousal: Making a relaxation recording.
  • Visualization: Building on the relaxation exercise.
  • Use of self-talk: ABC's of Building Confidence.
  • Case material- 5 vector model
  • Concentration: Test of Attention and Interpersonal Style.
• Exercises used to develop concentration skills.

Lunch 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. TBA

• Mental Skills Training: Continued 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm/ 3.0 hrs.
  • Motivation
  • Confidence
  • Anxiety management
  • Preparation for competition/pre performance routines
  • Developing a “Mental Recovery Device” for competition
  • The optimistic side of pessimism
  • Utilizing an individual differences approach to maximize effectiveness
    

Sports Psychology Training for Practitioners - Day 3

Continental Breakfast 8:30 am - 9:00 am.

• Integrating Sports Psychology Consultation into your Practice 9:00 am - 12:00 pm /3.0 hrs.
• Marketing
• Possible Externships and Supervision
• PSPG affiliation - Sports Psychology Consultants. Where do you go from here?
  

As evidenced from the Sports Psychology Training for Practitioners outline, participants will be exposed to a comprehensive overview of sports psychology. They will have the opportunity to develop, or in some cases augment, their skills in performance enhancement consulting. They will learn from professionals who have worked extensively in the field of sports psychology and will gain “how to” information about breaking into the field. In addition, they will also learn state-of-the-art assessments used to determine an athlete's "mental toughness.” Each participant will take the TAIS, Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style (pre-class) and the Psychological Performance Inventory (in-class). This didactic training will also include: case discussions, videos, exercises in concentration and arousal control, and all participants who enroll in the training program will leave with a comprehensive resource book. PSPG is also working with local resources to provide an "externship" for those who wish to participate in a continued supervised experience.

Our goal for the training program is for each participant to emerge with a greater awareness of the field of sports psychology and to have learned the necessary skills to begin working with athletes. PSPG will also be available on an on-going basis as a resource for continued learning and supervision. We feel that once participants complete the training program they will have the confidence and abilities to call themselves sports psychology consultants.