Sport and Performance Psychology
What is a Sport and Performance Psychologist and what do they do?
A sport and performance psychologist is someone who specializes in helping people improve their mental skills, performance, and overall well-being. We work with individuals at all levels—professional, competitive, or recreational—helping them navigate the mental challenges that come with training, competition, and personal life. This often involves:
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Performance Enhancement
Sport Psychology can help athletes and recreational sports enthusiasts enhance their performance by understanding how their mindset, emotions, and mental approach to competition influence their physical abilities. But it can also help individuals, teams and organisations outside of the sports domain. It is for anyone who would benefit from stronger performance skills.
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Anxiety and Pressure
Anxiety, expectations, and pressure can affect us all when we are trying to perform - be that scaling a mountain, competing in front of others, or doing something that is important to us. Sport and Performance Psychology offers a wealth of knowledge and insight that can be drawn from to understand what is happening, and apply pragmatic solutions so we can achieve what we set out to.
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Coping with Injury
There are often psychological consequences to injury, as well as physical. In many ways these can be harder to deal with and we can all benefit from support coping with the psychological challenges of injuries, such as frustration, fear of re-injury, and maintaining motivation during recovery.
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Mental Skill Development
Helping athletes develop techniques for managing stress, improving focus, building confidence, and staying motivated. This can include tools like visualization, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and cognitive restructuring.es here
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Motivation and Goal Setting
Sport and Performance Psychology helps individuals, teams and organisations focus and harness energy to achieve what we most want in our sport or performance area. To reach your goal, you first need to know what it is.
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Well-Being and Balance
Guiding athletes toward mental health and well-being, helping them find a balance between their sport and other life aspects
Why a Sport Psychologist?
Kat is a Sport and Exercise Psychologist in Training (SEPiT). This means she is qualified and insured for applied practice but is not yet HCPC registered. Kat has worked with recreational, competition and national level athletes, including England Surfing.
She has three degrees in Psychology and a wide knowledge base, from working with climbers for over five years as a coach, and a broad background working in conflict zones with the British military, diplomats, and foreign governments.
Getting support from a Sport and Exercise Psychologist means being helped by somebody who is regulated by a national governing body and who adheres to strict ethical and professional practices.
Kat’s philosophical practice is based on an approach that every client is different and as such, what they are experiencing, and how they can best help themselves, is entirely unique. Kat will work with you to find out what the best solution for you is.
What do we offer?
Sport and Performance Psychology support from a qualified and experienced practitioner who specialises in climbing and other adventure sports such as surfing, as well as high pressure situations outside of sport.
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These can be either in person or remote. The first session is an opportunity to look in depth at what you are experiencing and how a Sport Psychologist may be able to help.
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Sport Psychology support to individuals, teams, clubs, and squads.
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We deliver coach education workshops to help coaches harness sport psychology principles and apply it to their own coaching. We also deliver workshops to sport enthusiasts such as our sport climbing falling workshops.
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Public talks on application of sport psychology to climbing.
Upcoming talk at Dynamic Rock, Clydach, Swansea on 21st Feb
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When you get a performance plan with us, this includes psychological profiling of your current use of skills and strategies. We also offer a more enhanced option with direct psychological support embedded into your overall training plan through 1-2-1 consultations.
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On topics such as dealing with expectations, attention and focus, and motivation.
