SP6041 - Psychological Skills Training

This module is taught by staff who are experienced sport psychology practitioners.  We bring an applied, real world focus to the module and will present you with information, situations and challenges that we have faced in our own work with athletes as well as those that are relevant to sport psychology across a range of cultures and contexts. This module is taught using a blended learning approach, which means that it involves a mixture of lectures, small group seminars, online activities and practical tasks.  You will be an active learner so you will learn by doing practical tasks, applying your knowledge from the module to real-world problems and completing activities that require you to make evidence-based, informed decisions. You will be presented with key information in lectures, directed reading and online activities, and will use that information to complete tasks in seminars and as directed learning.  During the module, you will be able to discuss and share your own sporting experiences with your classmates. You will also complete some practical mental skills training in which you get the opportunity to try out some of the mental training techniques yourself and will learn how to use these techniques to manage your own thoughts and emotions.

Each week will build on what you have achieved the previous week so that your knowledge, skills and confidence develop as the module progresses.  At the start of each session we will recap the key take home messages from the previous week and provide the opportunity for you to ask questions to aid your understanding. During taught sessions we will give you the opportunity to think about, and apply, key knowledge from the academic literature to real-world situations. You will work individually or in small groups to complete a variety of problem-solving tasks and to receive feedback from your tutor and peers.  You will complete practice case studies that allow you to develop your mental training programme design skills, in a safe and supportive environment. In sport psychology there is no one right answer to a problem or challenge, and in this module you will try out different ways of approaching tasks and solving problems and will reflect on and evaluate the different approaches. You will have the opportunity to practice and receive feedback on each of the elements of the summative assessment during seminar sessions.  By the time you reach the summative assessment point you should feel confident in your skills and abilities and will have learned about different ways of tackling the challenge. 
Outside of formal scheduled teaching, each tutor will have office hours available for small group or individual tutorial sessions on any aspect of the module.  We will also use an online discussion board that students can access to ask questions of their tutors and their peers.  There will also be additional information and activities on the eLP relating to key topics from the module. 

If this module is in option pot two for your programme, you will receive advice and guidance at a module options event to help you make an informed decision about how it fits with your own academic and professional development. Online pre-learning material will be made available to help you prepare for the module.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

On successful completion of the module you will be able to: 

Knowledge & Understanding:  

1. Apply knowledge of the existing evidence base to make informed decisions about sport psychology practice.

2. Apply a creative approach to solve a real-world problem in sport psychology 

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

3. Apply knowledge of how to operate within a multidisciplinary team.

4. Apply emotional intelligence and an appropriate professional philosophy when completing a psychological needs analysis of an athlete.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

5. Operate within professional guidelines to assess and make justifiable recommendations for psychological support for an athlete  

Summative Assessment
 
Athlete management plan 100% (2000 words), which addresses all module learning outcomes (KU 1,2; IPSA 3,4; PVA 5).
 
You will be provided with athlete case study data. Using the case study data, you will work individually to produce an athlete management plan for that athlete. The plan is to be written for a multidisciplinary athlete case conference. Your athlete management plan should detail the athlete’s psychological issues, how you as a sport psychologist would intervene to address the issues and how you would work with other sport science professionals to manage the athlete’s psychological plan.  (All module learning outcomes assessed). 
 
Formative assessment: 
During taught sessions you will practice completing a needs analysis of an athlete and will use recognised case formulation and diagnostic classification systems to understand and classify your athlete.  You will have the opportunity to practice designing one-to-one mental training programmes and will receive peer and tutor feedback and support. You will learn about how a sport psychologist works as part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure effective athlete management. 

Summative Feedback
You will receive written or audio feedback on your summative assessment to help you identify areas of strength and areas for development. There will be the opportunity to discuss your feedback with a member of staff during a tutorial.

N/A

N/A

This module is for students who are interested in how the mind affects sporting performance. The module is designed and taught by experienced sport psychology practitioners who use their own experiences in the field to introduce you to the reality of working with elite athletes and coaches. Using the existing evidence base you will explore how to manage athlete and coach expectations, and how to classify and deal with a variety of athlete issues ranging from performing under pressure when it really matters, to coping with injury, career termination and cultural transitions.  You will try out a variety of performance enhancement techniques commonly used by sport psychologists with top athletes and will learn how to design individualised mental training programmes. You will experience the real world of sport psychology and will learn about how sport psychology is carried out in different countries and contexts. In this module, you will develop some key skills necessary for working in the elite sport environment such as emotional intelligence, creative problem solving, self-awareness, evidence-based decision making and working as part of a multidisciplinary team.