Are you a college athlete looking into talking through your mental health issues with a professional? Trying to decide whether it's better to go the sports psychology route or traditional therapy or just curious to know the differences? Read along to learn more about both and how they can benefit you.
Related: Benefits of Therapy for College Athletes
Sports Psychology
Sports psychology is a branch of psychology that is targeted and specified for athletes. This counseling helps athletes struggling with problems like anxiety (performance and general), depression, issues with eating or body image, substance abuse and more. This form of therapy is typically designated to help athletes who have developed these issues due to problems with their sports. Athletes are more prone to developing some mental health issues so these professionals are qualified to be able to target the source and work through them using slightly different techniques than traditional therapy.
Some of the approaches these therapists take to help athletes include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, Mindfulness Practices, Interpersonal Psychotherapy. Talking to and/or working with sports psychologists can help athletes enhance their performance, cope with the stress coming from competition, and learn to enjoy their sport again. If you think your issues are caused directly from your sport, sports psychology might be the way to go for you.
Related: Rate your Coaches, Facilities, and Campus Visits
Traditional Talk Therapy/Counseling:
Traditional talk therapy/counseling involves primarily talking through your problems with a qualified specialist. Talking about exactly what you're going through with a licensed professional can help you and your therapist get a better understanding of where these issues are coming from and how you can work through them. Talk therapists are trained to be able to navigate these problems and identify patterns in order to find solutions. This form of therapy can help those struggling with some of the issues mentioned above like depression, anxiety, and eating disorders as well as relationship issues, phobias, grief, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. These issues don't necessarily stem from an individual's sport, instead they may come from traumatic events or be genetically inherited.
Similar to sports psychologists, talk therapists may also take the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy approach to work through issues with clients. Other therapy methods they may use include Dialectical behavioral therapy, Psychodynamic therapy, and Humanistic therapy. The course you may take depends on what you are struggling with.
If you have issues that you think have been caused by something other than your sport and/or your issues are affecting your quality of life outside of competing, traditional talk therapy/counseling may be the best for you. Whatever route you choose, remember: it's okay to ask for help.
Some other resources to look into:
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255
National Institute of Mental Health
The Centers for Disease Control Mental Health Resource List
Have an idea for a story or a question you need answered? Email us at [email protected]
* Originally published on August 25, 2022, by Sammie Grant
