What to Know When Providing Therapy for Elite Athletes
Curt and Katie chat about the specific competence required to work with elite athletes. We explore how elite athletes present (including diagnosis) as well as what treatment looks like for elite athletes. We also talk about the training cycles and periodization, developmental stages, and identity formation for competitive athletes. We also look at what healthy training environments include and how athletes can take care of their own well-being.
In this podcast episode we look at what therapists need to know about working with elite athletes
For our second continuing education worthy podcast, we wanted to support therapists in understanding what they need to know (or know that they don’t know) about working with elite athletes.
The differences between being a fan and being competent to work with elite athletes
The types of competence needed to support athletes who are at an elite level
Sports psychology and other areas of specialty to support athletes
The stringent criteria to be called a sports psychologist
What diagnoses do athletes present with when they enter therapy?
Not necessarily anxiety, but it can be anxiety related or unrelated to sport
Diagnoses can be related to the sport due to body, substance, or changes in circumstances
Diagnoses can also be related to other elements of their life and transitions
What does treatment look like for elite athletes?
High school and college athletes are most likely the clients we’ll see
The integral nature of their team and who is best to be included in the treatment team
Logistics and scheduling due to games and practices, obtaining required consents
Training schedules, food information is relevant to therapeutic work
The different goals for elite athletes than for other folks who enjoy sports
Looking at in the moment frustrations versus a desire to leave the sport
Sports assessments to identify athletic coping skills
Helping athletes to make decisions for themselves and identify when it’s burnout and when it’s a mismatch
Understanding training cycles and the impact on athlete clients
Specific language that athletes may use
Periodization, micro, meso, and macro cycles in training
The importance of planned growth and rest as well as peaking at the right time
The focus of timing for everything
How injuries or changes in schedule (like with covid) can impact this timing and what that means for athletes
Developmental factors for young athletes
The focus of training for younger children as well as the investment phase for youth
Developing one’s identity as an athlete
What can positively impact and negatively impact the future commitment to sport
Other developmental factors related to being a teen interacting with these developmental elements
What a balanced life looks like for elite athletes
Who athletes spend time with, share their life with
The hobbies that complement the sport
Understanding how maintenance impacts the rest of the schedule
The factors that improve an athlete’s well-being
Myths related to the tangential benefits of being an elite athlete (i.e., I’ll get college paid for)
The importance of having a therapist who isn’t just a “fan”
The differences between team and individual sports
The competency needed related to understanding the sport to understand all of the dynamics
What good social systems around athletes have in common
The understanding of how each person in the athlete’s circle interacts with the goals
The culture created within the team and with the people around the athlete
Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka – a look at how they have been taking care of themselves
The transition out of being an elite athlete
Injury and unplanned retirement
Planning for an intentional retirement
Moving out of the athlete identity into something new
