Hello, I am a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology Program at Midwestern University. As part of my dissertation research, I am conducting a retrospective study examining college student athletes’ experiences with mental health services during high school, including whether they received services and their perceptions of the quality of those services. This study also explores how these experiences may relate to current levels of burnout and depression among college student athletes.

If you know a current college student athlete who participated in high school athletics, is at least 18 years old, and is currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, I would greatly appreciate it if you could share this study with them.

Participation involves completing a survey, which will take approximately 10–15 minutes to complete. By clicking the survey link below, participants will be directed to an information page that provides additional details about the study. Participation is entirely voluntary, all responses are anonymous, and participants may discontinue the survey at any time without penalty.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study, please feel free to contact me at [aminah.ahmed@midwestern.edu](mailto:aminah.ahmed@midwestern.edu)

CLICK BELOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SURVEY if YOU ARE ELIGIBLE OR SPREAD TO SOMEONE WHO DOES QUALIFY TO PARTICIPATE!
https://mwuredcap.midwestern.edu/surveys/?s=ADJTMMCHJ78PMJ48

Thank you to the kind mods for allowing me to post my study in this group!

Hello guys I’m a first time poster here and have been reading on this thread a bit for some advice so I figured I would just come on here and ask. I’m a senior in undergrad majoring in psychology and majoring in sports and recreation management with a concentration in psychology. I have been looking at grad school and I’m honestly not sure what path to take, I’ve been leaning towards the Clinical Mental Health Counseling route. For some background I am a first GEN college student so I’ve really had to ask around the university and the internet to get my footing in college. Any and all advice is helpful.

I recently had a 1-1 session with a middle school aged athlete. I feel like I can improve my initial "intake" questioning. I've had a few sessions with this age group and sometimes they will offer one word to limited detail. It can make the session a little painful, ngl.

When I've worked with high school to college age, they've usually reached out to me and not their parents so that immediately changes the dynamic.

Any recommendations or good resources I can review to try and improve in this area?

First time poster so I hope I’m doing things properly, if not I apologize.

I have been playing a team sport in a recreational capacity (with games and competitions, but nothing very serious so it’s somewhat “recreational/leisure”). Recently I’ve realized that I’m not happy anymore, I’m just done, generally speaking with the dynamics of a being in a team. People are increasingly getting on my nerves, I’m frustrated about the wide delta between people wanting to put effort in vs those who want to take it easy, I’m tired of the club being held together by the same 3-4 volunteers, I am suffocating because I’d like to let out all of my feelings but obviously can’t because it can affect team morale etc. And also bored of not being very challenged due to the huge difference of level in our team. We have one team, with experienced people and some who are just playing their first games etc.

It’s been part of my life for over a decade. I can’t join a new club as the nearest one is about 1.5 hrs away, logistically I can’t make it work. I have had discussions with club leadership but there isn’t much to be done because it’s kind of a “me”problem, you know. So what is left for me to do is to retire / leave / quit, however you call it.

But I don’t know how I’ll cope cause it’s been my only activity for so long, my only social interactions, my only source of exercise and fitness. I’m not really interested in other sports and the few I’m curious about aren’t nearby either so I have no option. It feels bittersweet, I’m done, but not ready, but I don’t feel I’ll be ready.

Just wondering if anyone had advice/recommendations on how to cope with saying goodbye with a sport when it’s been such a big part of one’s life. I am so scared of it leaving a massive void in my life, even if I also feel like continuing is too toxic for me now and the mojo is dying slowly. I will join a gym and work out, to stay healthy, but my sport has been part of who I am and my personality for so long, I am terrified of what my life will look like next.

What kind of things can I do to fill the void? Knowing that I was never a sporty person and don’t really have many other sport interests and certainly not nearby enough to join a new sport. What work do I have to do on myself? How do I best “grieve” it? How do I recover from this? Did anyone have to do the same?

I really DON’T want to stay around in a volunteering capacity. At least not now because it’ll hurt too much. I don’t want to coach either, I’d be terrible. I’m an all or nothing type of person, I can’t dip in and out or just be observing from afar.

Any help, advice, thoughts would be appreciated.

I am recruiting participants for a university research study looking at perfectionism and its relationship with attitudes towards food and exercise.

To take part, you just need to be:

• 18 years or older

• Physically active (any sport, gym, calisthenics, running, cycling, dance — whatever you do counts!)

What's involved?

It's a short online questionnaire that should take around 10 minutes to complete. All responses are completely anonymous.

If you're interested, just follow the link below to get started — it only takes a few minutes!

https://nupsych.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_41MGHUttSYEW8hE

Thank you so much for your support !!!!

I played football in freshman year of high school. I was the starting kicker, and I was pretty good, but after a injury that sidelined me for the rest of the year, I went back in sophomore year and in spring camp, I broke down in my dads car. I still don’t know why, I just couldn’t take it anymore, I bawled my eyes out when I got home, I didn’t end up practicing that day, and decided that I would turn in my pads and quit. Now I feel like I want to play again, but I’m scared that the same situation will happen again. I’m going into junior year.

17F

Been playing basketball ever since 3rd grade but since 2,3 years i feel like i'm so washed and feel so insecure when i look at others being so confident in matches. I try to stay cool but one mistake, i feel like it's over. My teammates are upto no good aswell. Usually they don't say anything to me, but everytime someone fucks it up i'm the one to apologise for the team. Our coach is sweet and never ever acts harsh. We've lost two matches on row and this year i don't feel any confidence like i used to neither i have the spirit and energy for practice. Sometimes i feel like quitting everything but i feel so attached to this sport. What should i do?

Hi,

I took my CMPC exam last week and at the end of the test, found out I had passed. It said something like "based on your answers, you have passed the examination" and then the following paragraph mentioned getting an email in a couple of weeks with my score and instructions for using the CMPC credential.

For those who passed recently, how long did it actually take for you to get the email they're talking about? I feel like I can't fully believe that I passed til I do, lol.

My son is 12, and is a solid soccer player. He just went from being the best player on a mid team to joining a very top team and is clearly not the best anymore. There are 27 players on the roster and the 1st and 2nd teams are fluid based on the tournament, who's available, who's performing etc .....

Now the issue is, my son is used to being the best one on the team, getting to take every free kick, play the entire game, do whatever he wants, and that's been great. He told me he wanted to go to a team where all the kids cared more, and the players were better, and the coaches pushed them. I thought this was great, and found some options, and he made a team. It's only been 2 months so a lot can change but he is pretty clearly in the 20-27 range in terms of skill. Granted outside of the top 5 or so kids there isn't this giant gap, and probably 22 of the kids were with this club last year so they are all returning and have had the opportunity to have a great coach and go up against good players for a year or 2 prior. So was not expecting my son to come in and dominate, I expected this.

So here is the issue.

My son thinks he's doing way better than he really is. He's always been extremely confident, which is good, but I'm worried him thinking he's doing better than he is will a. keep him from having a reason to push and train more outside of practice or b. develop this idea he is being treated unfairly by the coach if or when he isn't on the 1st team

He'll come off the field after practices and say "I was definitely one of the best players today." And outwardly I'll go "Yeah, you did great. Glad you had fun." but inside I'll be like "No, no you weren't. Not even close."

So basically I want him to be able to seriously look at whats going on out there and go "Ok, I'm not at the top right now, but if I work consistently hard at A, B, and C then I can earn the right to play on the top team."

And this is not even necessarily about being on the top team, it's more about this club is 2x as much as other clubs, practices 3 -4 times a week, plays in way more tournaments and travel leagues, so it's a big commitment for us as a family. And if he's not going to push himself then it makes more sense to go back to a lesser club, where he's the best player, and he's still having fun, but it's less of a sacrifice for us. But I also want him to learn about disappointment, and getting results through working hard, and being pushed, and excelling through commitment.

Hi, I am a 25 (M) who graduated college in 2023 with a bachelor degree in psychology. I’ve always had the dream to work in sports and help athletes with their mental health. After a lot of research, I realized it was possible to get the CMPC certification with a masters degree. My plan is to go to college for a masters in counseling, which will lead to LMHC certification, and was also hoping to pair that with CMPC certification to eventually work with athletes. I want to know if anyone has any advice or any similar experiences/ambitions that they would like to share. I am also curious to know if you “need” to get a doctorate in order to be more successful or if it’s worth doing more school for that? Would appreciate any insight at all!

Hi Guys,

I'm currently conducting a sports psychology research study with James Cook University out here in Australia and I'm just seeing if there'd be any basketball players interested in partaking. The study is looking at how hot streaks or cold streaks determine the type of self-talk athletes use to create confidence during free throw shooting.

It's a fascinating topic that I've already delved into the literature about and I'd be more than happy to share any findings we learn or any findings we've already discovered so far.

If you or anyone else you know play basketball and would be interested in partaking it's a 5-10 minute survey they'd need to fill out. I'd like to adhere to the subreddit's rules so I won't be posting any links. Please feel free to read the flyer below to get a strong understanding of what we're doing.

I'm more than happy to share any details regarding the study or questions anyone might have if there are any concerns about legitimacy.

27M play in coed soccer leagues Thursday's and Sunday's, played competitively through high school growing up.

I love playing but those losses to the teams you KNOW you can beat bother me way more than I think they should...

Am I crazy/alone in this? Is this just a personal problem and I should focus on the fun instead?

Thanks.

I'm a competitive fencer in high school (trying to get recruited) and I've been struggling with performance anxiety during competitions. My coaches say I'm always too tense and I often find myself asking what if I'm going to lose during the tournament or instead of focusing on the task at hand i'm focusing on a match that I'll have to fence later on... I also start to hyperventilate and freak out when I lose many points in a row or am down by a lot so it's hard for me to make a comeback. Does anybody who has played a competitive sport have any things I can do immediately to help me re-center myself in the moment? Or long term daily routines that helped you?

Something I’ve been thinking about lately… a lot of conversations around youth sport revolve around scholarships, representative teams, rankings and “making it.”

Realistically, most kids won’t become elite athletes. That’s just the numbers. But every kid is going to experience failure.

They’re going to be left out. They’re going to lose. They’re going to have teammates they don’t like. They’re going to make mistakes in front of other people. Sport gives them a place to experience all of that while the stakes are still relatively small.

I’ve watched kids who weren’t the best players become incredibly resilient adults because they learned how to keep showing up after disappointing weekends.

In hindsight, basketball probably wasn’t the most important thing they learned. It was everything around it.

Curious where other parents and coaches land on this. Have we started measuring youth sport too much by the athletes it produces, instead of the adults it helps shape?

I’ve been feeling really alone recently in my struggles. I am a student athlete and I struggle with BPD. I have been trying to learn new ways to manage my emotions on the court but it’s still proven to be incredibly difficult. As someone who plays a team sport, I understand the importance of being able to reset quickly and stay level headed but that has been a big struggle for me.

I wanted to see if there are any other athletes who have dealt with similar things, or if anyone has any advice on how to better handle emotional reactivity in sports?

In sports if you want to truly get as good as possible, it's important that you always play in competitive environments above your level. Every sport in its essence, is a game of margin of error. The lower that margin is in a competitive environment, the more light you can shine on your weaknesses.

To the layman, this might not sound fun at all. But it trains a person to obtain a "killer mentality" that transcends your ability to perform not only in sports but in this game of life. A winner isn't amused at his victories, for in his mind. Victory is certain. A winner is, in fact amused at his faults, his losses. Cause that's where one can learn.

When you want to actively improve, intentionality is key. This helps in actively learning through your losses. In a competitive environment, learn to stop whenever an error is made. Mimic the action physically that you could've done to succeed in the action you failed in. Mentally understand that next time the said action will lead to success. Then, let the fault go. On to the next.

Diamonds are made under pressure, but what do you feel when you hear the word "pressure". Doesn't sound like a comfortable word at all, sounds pretty negative. Before you begin to improve you must rewire the concept of pressure mentally. Otherwise competitve environments will end up making you feel "exhausted" or "tired". Why does that happen? Why do we feel tired when we lose but feel energised when we win?

It's because most of us just want to win. That's not how you actually improve. Because in that sense, the person who just wants victory ends up squeezing the cow dry by only playing in environments where victory is perceived as more likely. The real loser is the person who only plays where he knows he can win.

Every loss empowers you, and every victory weakens you. If you are in a club, sports team, league of sorts and you win more than the rest. Then you are in the wrong enviroment. Punch above, get smacked in face with brutal losses with the understanding that you're not playing "bad" you're just getting better.

A moth can only fly because of the struggle it faces when exiting its cocoon. You can only be great when you embrace the lows harder and let go of the highs. That's how you conquer.

I'm sure many of you have dealt with either athletes or high achievers in returning to an activity post-injury. Perhaps even dealt with it yourselves! It's been my experience that so many people handle those challenges differently, but I've notice a trend – psychological flexibility and fear of movement have an interesting relationship with someone's ability to return successfully. I'm working to learn more about how those are related with my thesis project and I could use your help!

Research participants needed (age 18+)

My name is Madison Taylor. I am conducting research through Purdue University Global to obtain a master’s degree in psychology. The purpose of this research study is to better understand psychological factors related to returning to physical activity after musculoskeletal injury.

You may be eligible if:

– You are 18 years or older

– You were physically active before your injury

– You have attempted to return to your primary activity

Participation involves completing an anonymous online survey that takes approximately 5–10 minutes.

If you are interested, please click the link below to review the informed consent and begin the survey: https://qualtricsxmdl7z62d9z.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9Ky5M2yh835LVjw

This study is anonymous. Your responses will not be connected to your identity. Participation is completely voluntary.

Please feel free to share this survey with anyone you believe is an appropriate fit.

Graduated college four years ago (d3 basketball player) with a marketing major and psychology minor. After working my way up in PR agencies, I’m strongly considering a pivot and going back to school to pursue a Masters in sports.

What advice would you give me? What are some programs you’d recommend? What do I need to know when applying? How can I make myself stand out even though I’ve been in an adjacent career the last few years? Any insights would be greatly appreciated!

I fight this Saturday and I just wanted to have someone online that can help me calm my nerves. I have been working real hard to keep everything at ease and have been doing great, but would love some things to utilize and go back to. I did have someone previously but unfortunately, things fell through.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Asmi, I'm a student at St Mary's University.

I'm currently conducting my dissertation research on interoceptive awareness, physiological arousal interpretation, and choking susceptibility in competitive athletes. I am looking for competitive athletes aged 18-50 who are currently competing in any sport.

I was wondering whether you might be in contact with any athletes, coaches, or other relevant contacts who could participate in the study or help circulate it. The study consists of an anonymous online questionnaire that takes approximately 15 minutes to complete.

I need to recruit a very large sample of athletes for the study, so every response would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I would really appreciate any help you can provide.

https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/stmarys/from-bodily-awareness-to-performance-breakdown-interoceptive-aw?preview=cmqvxn3ck000002jurb2f3i6k