Helen Oliver

Sport psychology means different things to different people, as I found out when the question was put to a group of football coaches in a sports performance workshop recently. To some, it meant being observed, and to others it meant lying back on a sofa and being analysed. Such views...

Simply ‘Google’ coping in sport and thousands of research papers appear. Even on this website 10 articles are listed under the topic. As sport psychologists, being able to assist athletes with the pressures of competition, performance slumps, and a range of other worries is recognised as an important area not...

Impressions that people hold of athletes commonly change in response to media reports. The phrasing of these can also affect how athletes consequently view themselves, which in turn affects their performance. Indeed, the effect that words can have on athletes is starting to be recognised. Team GB triathlete Hollie Avil...

As a physically active population, athletes are typically viewed by the general public as healthy and strong, and so are not considered to be an at risk group for suffering from eating disorders. However this perception is part of the reason that eating disorders can be overlooked in sport. The...