Self-care in Sport Psychology

My enthusiasm for the contemporary topic of self-care (SC) in Sport Psychology is demonstrated through my devotion to evidence-based content on my social media platforms, delivery of self-care workshops to groups, and encouraging SC practices within 1:1 consultancy. When advocating and promoting engagement in self-care plans for Sport Psychology practitioners and clients (experienced and inexperienced), I emphasise the significant impact this can have on enhancing well-being, positive mental health, and performance. It imperative to develop an individualised self-care plan that is grounded in one’s values to ensure congruence in personal and professional identities and stimulate personal growth. SC routines should constantly be monitored, evaluated, and prioritised to measure their effectiveness and subsequently improve to optimise holistic wellbeing and performance for both clients and practitioners.

Exploring values and meaning can help improve self-awareness and psychological flexibility and therefore self-care practices, which may ultimately lead to you being the ‘best version of yourself’ and personal satisfaction. Using support systems in a collaborative manner whereby you care for others (e.g., friends, family) and are cared for by others (e.g., supervisor, coach), also known as ‘connected care’, and is a reliable self-care tool. Other examples of strong SC practices include mindfulness, socialising, exercising / playing a sport (or different sport), nature walks, and scheduling to optimise work-life balance.

I consider it imperative for us, as practitioners, to integrate self-care within our profession and everyday routines to improve the quality and ethicality of service delivery, whilst acting as strong role models for our clients. The positive effect this can have on our personal and professional functioning and wellbeing overall can be relayed to clients to support their growth and development via implementation of meaningful SC practices.

Ask yourself this: Can I be more proactive in my approach to developing and engaging in self-care plans both personally and professionally? Are there any barriers to me implementing these?

Please get in touch if you’d like to find out more about self-care or book on a workshop / 1:1 session to start evaluating and implementing your own individual self-care plans.

#selfcare #sportpsychology #wellbeing #personalgrowth #performance