EMDR and assisting athletes in coping with a critical incident

This symposium presentation focuses on Eye Movement Reprocessing and Desensitization (EMDR) as an intervention to assist an athlete in recovering from the distressing effects of a critical incident and the adverse impact that such an event can have on the athlete's performance. Two cases will be presented; that of a major league baseball player and a male pair skater and national competitor. Each experienced a life threatening critical incident which triggered symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. The EMDR methodology was first used as a treatment for trauma, its original utilization. However, the extension of the EMDR protocol for performance enhancement was also employed, to help restore the athlete's desire for engaging in his sport and to provide mental rehearsal for future participation. The presenter will also discuss the current EMDR neurophysiological research, and the relevance of this method of enhancing athlete performance.

Conference

English

Sandra "Sam" Foster

Foster, S. (1999). EMDR and assisting athletes in coping with a critical incident. Symposium conducted at the annual conference of the Association of the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology, Banff, AB