Sports Psychology

By Yvonne Brett

bretty@usq.edu.au

Hi. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Yvonne Brett and I am currently completing a Master of Psychology (Sport and Exercise) at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. I am originally from country Victoria. I completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement) at the University of Ballarat; I then moved to Canberra to complete a Graduate Diploma of Applied Psychology (Sport Psychology). I was introduced to weightlifting by the Toowoomba Weightlifting Association and haven’t looked back since.

I began working with the TWA late last year as their Psychologist. It was here that I learnt about weightlifting and began to introduce Sport Psychology to club. The next step, for me, has been to begin working with other lifters in Queensland. This was initiated by becoming an executive member of the TWA and the QWA. My next step is to establish a Sport Psychology clinic for all QWA members.

Firstly, what is Sport Psychology and what role can Sport Psychology play in weightlifting? There are a number of areas where a Sport Psychologist can help you and these can be explained by four main topics: a) team building, b) lifeskills, c) crisis intervention and d) psychological skills training.

Team Building is about working with a group of people who have something in common, and looking at their team structure and how they can better operate together. For example, a team travelling interstate for a period of time may need to consider travel and accommodation arrangements and how they are going to live together for an extended period of time.

All of those things which occur in our everyday life would be considered under the lifeskills topic. For instance, you have had some trouble at work and are being placed under a great deal of stress. At the end of the day you come to training, but can’t seem to stop thinking about work, which results in you having a bad training session.

A crisis situation can occur for no apparent reason and without warning (such as loss of a job) or it could be caused by a build up of a number of small stresses over a period of time. It is during this time that the Psychologist can to help you cope as a form of emotional support.

Psychological Skills Training is looking at areas which are specific to your performance in weightlifting, which you may have already heard about. For instance, you have difficulty staying focused when you walk out onto the platform, or maybe you can’t seem to relax when you are competing, or you feel unmotivated and need some direction with your lifting. Sport Psychology can be used to try and overcome these issues with the help of the Psychologist, your coach, and your practice.

This is a little about Sport Psychology and how I can help you with your lifting. I will be to establishing a Sport Psychology clinic which will be provided to all members of the QWA at no cost and will be conducted in accordance with the Australian Psychological Society Code of Professional Conduct and the Queensland Registration Board. The clinic will be based at the QWA headquarters and will be operating on Monday or Thursday afternoon/evenings (specific times will be established in the near future). More details about the clinic will be made available to members such as how to make appointments soon, as I hope that the clinic will be in full swing in early June.