Acceptance and Commitment Approaches for Athletes’ Wellbeing and Performance The Flexible Mind

Elite sport can be an unforgiving and harsh environment. This book explores psychological predictors of wellbeing and performance excellence in elite level athletes, and presents an innovative approach for optimizing mental wellbeing and sporting performance. Jointly developed by performance psychologists, clinical psychologists and sport scientists the Flexible Mind approach draws on contemporary psychological theory and research to help athletes build ‘psychological flexibility’ - the ability to experience challenging thoughts and emotions and still be true to one’s values. A range of case studies relating to different sports are used to demonstrate how three core components - Being Present, Being Open and Doing What Matters - can improve athletes’ performance and wellbeing. This book will be a game-changing resource for sports psychologists, mental health practitioners, coaches and support staff who are committed to helping athletes to excel and stay well.

2 Mindfulness- and Acceptance-Based Interventions for Performance and Mental Health Outcomes in Sport

3 Setting the Scene for the Flexible Mind Approach

4 Introducing Athletes to the Flexible Mind Approach (Session 1)

5 Mind Full Versus Mindful (Session 2)

6 Orientating to Our Inner Compass (Session 3)

7 Being Open, Living Big (Session 4)

8 Getting Present with the Discomfort (Session 5)

10 Developing the Game Plan (Session 7)

11 Getting the Environment Right

Ross G. White is Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Liverpool, UK. He undertakes consultancy work in elite sport environments including providing mental health support to a Premier League Football Club academy and a Pro-14 Rugby Team. 

Lewis Charnock is a BASES accredited sport scientist (psychology) and Performance Psychologist at Everton Football Club Academy, UK. He has substantial experience working in youth and elite sport settings. 

Stephen Leckey is Lecturer in Sports Coaching at Ayrshire College, UK, having previously completed a PhD assessing mental toughness in Rugby Union. He is also Director of a sports performance consultancy, Athlete Focused. 

Victoria Penpraze is Senior Lecturer in Physiology and Sport Science at the University of Glasgow, UK. In a consultancy role she has more than 15 years’ experience providing sports science support and research within elite rugby, football and golf.

Andrew Bethell is a clinical psychologist. Andrew trained at the University of Liverpool, UK and currently provides mental health support to individual athletes, teams and staff groups across several high performance sport environments in the United Kingdom.