Clinical Care > Specialty Clinics > Sport Psychology
What is Sport Psychology?
Sport psychology is the application of psychological principles to sport performance. Our sport psychologists utilize their unique expertise in both mental health and performance psychology to offer an in-depth understanding of high pressure environments such as athletics. Sport psychology may take the form of mental skills training for performance enhancement or personal counseling.
Mental Skills Training
Our staff is available to teach mental skills to a team or to the individual. Examples of mental skills include: Goal Setting, Relaxation, Imagery, Concentration, Choking, Slump Busting, Energy Activation, Team Cohesion, Self-talk, and Pre-performance Routines.
Personal Counseling
Confidential individual counseling is available to address issues related to relationships, anxiety, depression, injury rehabilitation, stress management, grief/loss, identity, homesickness and substance abuse. We recognize the interplay between performance and personal concerns.
Consultation
We are available to consult with coaches, trainers, physicians, professional athletes/teams and others regarding performance and personal issues. For instance, coaches may call to ask about a team-building exercise, refer a depressed athlete or ask for ways to approach an athlete about an eating disorder.
Staff
Our staff has experience as athletes, coaches and sport psychology consultants for virtually all sports. To set up an appointment, please call the OSU Sports Medicine Center at 614.293.3600. If you would like to speak to us directly, our contact information is below. Please feel free to call us if you have any questions. We are here for you.
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Leif H. Smith, Psy.D Dr. Smith serves as the sport psychologist for athletics at The Ohio State University. He has worked with the coaches, teams, and athletes since 2001. Prior to working at Ohio State, Leif worked with teams at The University of Iowa. He has also worked with teams from Duquesne University. |
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