The ever-popular SST Webinar series made a brilliant return for 2022, focussing on ‘The Role of Psychology within Injury and Rehabilitation.’
The evening saw two highly articulate speakers, Dr Dale Forsdyke and Dr Adam Gledhill, expertly combine their knowledge, interests, and experience to
highlight the multitude of reasons why Sports Therapists should consider and address psychological factors with their injured athletes.
Not only did the audience hear about the ‘why’, but also the ‘how!’ Dale and Adam shared numerous top tips on how Sports Therapists can integrate psychological assessment into their rehabilitation programmes, ensuring an athlete’s psychological readiness is prioritised alongside the physical and biological factors. Furthermore, they encouraged everyone to go back to basics and explore the importance of how we communicate and build relationships with athletes, creating avenues for trust and providing platforms for approaching sensitive matters.
The webinar was superbly hosted by Society Member and Chair of the SST Communications Group Hayley Clarke. She said:
“As a Sports Therapist with a passion for psychology, I had a lot of anticipation for this webinar and I have to say, it most certainly did not disappoint. I was immediately drawn in by Dale’s incredible approach to the topic. It’s just fantastic to see a fellow Sports Therapist showcasing our breadth of practice with so much conviction!
“It was also brilliant to hear the opinions of Adam, who as a Sport and Exercise Scientist, advocates for us as Sports Therapists to address psychological factors within our practice. Both Dale and Adam highlight the fact that we are the go-to individuals who share the injury journey with our athletes, and it’s therefore really important that we acknowledge our role in recognising psychological factors and addressing these wherever possible.”
The evening finished with an excellent Q&A session which generated some insightful discussion relating to applied practice, such as how to approach situations when athletes display fear avoidance behaviour, and how to adapt your techniques when working with U18s.
Society President, Professor Graham N. Smith said:
“It was a great webinar. There was so much information that was pertinent to all members, regardless of experience and background.”
Hopefully, the webinar has provided SST Members with enough information and insight to help explore psychological concepts in more detail. Key gems included -always remember there is a person behind the injury. Your athletes are individuals and there are many factors that influence injury recovery. Instead of “how’s the injury” try “how are you doing” … a small change that can make a big difference.”
Finally, our sincere thanks go to both Dale and Adam for providing such an insightful, enjoyable evening and to Hayley for facilitating the webinar in such a calm and professional manner.
If you missed the webinar, you can watch the recording on the SST Youtube Channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ozHZWbTFcc
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