All of these are critical tools used by a sport psychologist to assist an athlete with his or her problem. Sport psychology involves preparing the mind of an athlete, just as one prepares the body. Sport psychology is an emerging field in the worlds of psychology and athletics. The problem that an athlete is facing will dictate what type of approach a sport psychologist takes. Issues such as motivation, self-efficacy, and depression are common in the athletic arena.
Athletes can also suffer greatly from anxiety and stress.
Any of these conditions can be detrimental to ones competitive ability. Techniques such as mental imagery training and relaxation techniques can be used to attack problems in these areas. Marianne Miserandino s research was focused on failure, and why athletes believe that they don t accomplish their goals. She learned that starting at young age, athletes are told that failure comes from their lack of ability. This is called learned helplessness.