Why Sports psychology?

Mental strengths of an athlete determine part of the athlete’s success. Depending on the sport there are various psychological skills an athlete has to possess for increased performance, like the ability to control one’s thoughts, arousal and attention, self esteem, confidence in ones abilities, communication, leadership skills, self awareness and stress management. Other skills that affect the outcome of a sports performance are the athletes motivation for the competition, how she is managing her lifestyle of balancing practices, rest, school, social aspects and healthy food intake or how he mentally is able to recover after a sports injury. Sports psychology provides athletes with various tools and techniques that support growth in these areas. Some of these tools can be learned by athletes and then used independently, whereas others will be applied through trained mental health counselors with an emphasis on sport performance or sport psychologists. If you wonder how sport psychology can support you in your athletic career then contact Kathrin Winkler Therapy, LLC in Costa Mesa. We can set up an appointment and discuss your concerns and goals.

EMDR in Laymen’s terms – Introduction to EMDR therapy for PTSD, trauma and other anxiety concerns

Have you experienced something very frightening, were exposed to an accident or are a survivor of sexual abuse? Whatever traumatic past you have had, you know that in most cases counseling and therapy can help you feel better. But who to turn to and what to look for? While EMDR therapy is not as new as some people may think, it is receiving more and more attention through media, PTSD support groups, Veteran organizations, survivors of sexual abuse programs and many other mental health related platforms. So in today’s blog, I decided to give some layman information and facts on EMDR therapy, plus EMDR therapists and counselors.

EMDR's founder, Francine Shapiro, discovered the concept by chance in 1987. While walking in a park she realized on herself how eye movements had a calming effect on emotional distress. She then had other individuals experience and confirm her personal observations. However, Shapiro realized that only the eye movements themselves were not enough, so she added a cognitive treatment component and developed a standard protocol. In 1989 the first research studies about the effects of EMDR and the treatment of PTSD (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder) were published that showed significant treatment effects for a majority of clients. Shapiro continued to research the treatment effects and kept developing her therapy approach by implementing client and other therapist’s feedback. Until today various studies have been published that show the positive treatment effects of EMDR in trauma therapy. Overall EMDR is not effective with every mental health problem, but shows effectiveness with disorders that are due to a trauma related memory (www.EMDR.com).

So what is EMDR? EMDR, which is short for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, presents a psychotherapy and counseling model that allows people to heal from the emotional distress and symptoms as a result of an upsetting or traumatic life experience. This therapy has proven to provide quicker relief than other previously applied counseling methods, which makes it become more and more popular. Generally, the brain has the power to heal itself after a psychological trauma. However, sometimes it gets blocked and this is when EMDR can help by removing this block and allowing healing to take place. You can compare it to the healing of a scrape cut on your knee. Usually it heals quickly unless something is stuck in the wound. Whenever the wound has been cleaned recovery can continue rapidly which is what EMDR tries to achieve.

The EMDR therapy protocol includes 8 phases starting with the history taking, (assessment of readiness). Phase 2 incorporates learning and practicing of distress tolerance skills (coping skills) to control strong emotions that are coming up in and outside of session while receiving EMDR therapy. Phases 3-6 include the following components: identifying the target(s) for processing, describing a visual image that represents the specific event, stating a negative believe connected to the event, identifying related emotions and body sensations, finding a positive thought to connect with the event and rating the current emotions plus feelings of truth of the positive thought. The goal of phases 3-6 is to decrease the intense negative emotions and body sensations through bilateral stimulations while holding the image and target in mind plus installing the positive thought. Phase seven is the closure stage by helping the client calm down and applying self-soothing strategies. Furthermore, the client will be instructed on using a personal journal to keep track of new material that may arises outside of session. The last phase, which usually is at the beginning of the following session, presents an evaluation of the previous week’s process and possible identifying of new materials that have to be addressed.

Side effects of EMDR can be upsetting and unresolved memories that come up. Some clients experience reactions during a session that neither they nor the therapist expected like very high levels of emotions and/or physical sensations. Also, after a session the processing of materials very likely continues and other dreams, memories and feelings can arise. Due to these possible side effects it is crucial that the client is ready to start EMDR therapy, has a good support system and a pallet of coping skills to choose from in order to self-regulate in and outside of the counseling session. Certain individuals who have been exposed to severe trauma may show high levels of dissociation, which in layman terms presents an altered level of awareness. In these instances, it is important to work with an EMDR therapist that is experienced in handling these issues because further unexpected emotions, and feelings may arise which need more attention.

 If you are considering EMDR therapy and want to look for a counselor who is providing these services, a good website to check is www.EMDRIA.org. You will have the choice to search for EMDR trained and certified therapists. Counselors and therapists who are EMDR trained have had the basic level 1 and 2 training, which includes internship and supervision hours. EMDR certified therapists have provided a certain amount of EMDR therapy after their level 1 and 2 training, completed continuing education hours and supervision through an EMDR consultant. Certified EMDR counselors are in most cases better equipped to help clients who are experiencing high levels of dissociation due to a traumatic event Since the term high levels of dissociation is very difficult to measure for a layperson, EMDR trained and certified therapists are able to use an assessment tool which can help determine the severity of dissociation. Overall, every individual experiences some level of dissociation throughout the day. One example of this experience would be driving in a car and making it home but then having forgotten how you got here or being surprised of how late it already is even though the car ride seemed to have gone by quickly. These instances of dissociation do not mean they are a problem, which has to be addressed by an EMDR counselor. Dissociation due to trauma can be much more severe with various types of memory loss or out of body experiences. In very tough cases they may include the development of various new identities to suppress the pain. If you are struggling with hyper-vigilance, muscle tension, anxiety which appears to come out of nowhere or in response to certain triggers, have trouble with your sleep, flashbacks, nightmares, anger or emotional outbursts and other symptoms that possibly could be related to one or many frightening past events, consider consulting a therapist who provides EMDR treatment. The counselor can determine through a thorough assessment if this type of therapy is appropriate for you. Feel free to contact me with any questions, leave a comment or contact me to schedule a consult if you are interested to see if EMDR is right for you.

When anxiety gets the best of you … Part 2 of 2 (list of anxiety self-help skills)

So here are some things you can try the next time anxiety gets the best of you.

First and for most, when you know you get frightened easily, stop watching scary movies and the news. Nowadays the News are filled with too much detail about the cruelty on this planet. While it is nice to be up to date on the disasters and wars, sometimes not knowing is bliss and a vacation for your worried mind.

The next tip is to become aware of your bodies anxiety symptoms which are usually: an increase in heart rate, increase in breathing, maybe sweaty hands, tingling in your stomach, light headedness, and so on. Becoming aware of your bodies signals can help you to apply the upcoming listed calming strategies early and maybe prevent a full on anxiety attack.

Keep a journal in which you will write any triggers that cause you to feel anxious.  This usually takes some practice and personal insight. You will have to calm down first and revisit what maybe has caused you to feel anxious. When did it first start? Triggers can be anything: sounds, smells, visual cues, colors, thoughts, behaviors, feelings, etc. The more triggers you can identify, the easier it gets to be proactive about using calming strategies.

Start to recognize any anxiety provoking thoughts. And the best way at the beginning is to write them down again. After you identify the thoughts that cause you anxiety, revisit them and see if they are true? Can you find evidence that your mind might be tricking you? Challenge these thoughts and try to find more balanced ones.

Now, things to do when recognizing your body’s symptoms: first of all try to take deep breaths also called belly breaths. These help you to slow your heart rate down and keep you from hyperventilating. The breathing will also help your muscles to relax and allow your mind to think more clearly and balanced.

Create a safe place in your mind. This is something you should be doing while not being anxious. Either come up with a place in your imagination or take a vacation magazine and pick a place you could see yourself feeling safe. Try to imagine it as detailed as possible. After you have picked it, close your eyes and envision yourself there. See yourself being calm. Try to focus on what you smell, hear, taste and feel at this place. Please be aware that this exercise/technique is only helpful when there is no anxiety-provoking trigger at this place. To give an example, I ones did this exercise with a client and the person envisioned a place with children. When we went deeper into this situation by imagining smells, sounds, feelings, tastes and activities there, the person started crying and felt more anxious than prior because the children triggered frightening memories from the past. Anyway, after having established this safe place, keep practicing going there in your mind for a couple of minutes. It is important to keep practicing this so it becomes easier to apply when you actually do feel frightened.

The next techniques, you probably have already heard and read about in other articles. They are also often used for depression treatment. In the mental health field we like to call them coping skills which are for example: working out, reading, praying, taking a bath, listening to calming music, getting a massage, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation, etc. Anything that you can come up with that helps you to relax and be safe (no drugs, or alcohol). Often it helps a little bit when you can distract your self from the anxiety-provoking event and revisit it later in your mind to identify the earlier mentioned triggers.

In order to take control of your anxiety, it is also very beneficial to keep being in the here and now (being mindful). Often thinking too much about the future or past can put us in a situation that we cannot control at this point of time. This feeling of being out of control possible leads to more anxiety. If you want to make future goals or process the past, pick a certain time and place for it plus keep your anxiety fighting tools close. Someone ones told me that that they were able to mentally put the fear in a box when it came up uncontrolled and let it out in situations where it was appropriate plus safe to face them. How great is that! Here is a website that gives exercises and information on mindfulness: http://www.the-guided-meditation-site.com/mindfulness-exercises.html.

One more technique that I love and is for sure worth a try: creating a little anxiety emergency kit for yourself. You decide what goes in it but keep in mind the goal is to calm you down. Therefore, it could be a soothing music or sounds (youtube is great to find something like nature sounds, etc.), maybe sun glasses or a peaceful picture, a certain smell that calms you down, a taste that helps to relax (gum, mint, etc.), for the tactile people, having a stress ball handy, some fresh water or cooling pad, or a little soft fabric to relax, plus add a calming phrase like a slogan to remind you to relax. Here is an example of a slogan: “Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” (Thich Nhat Hanh). For more examples of quotes about mindfulness have a look at this website: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/mindfulness.

Put all of your anxiety emergency tools into a little bag and keep it with you, ready to use when necessary to help you ground yourself and be in the moment.

My last suggestion is to seek professional help when anxiety is getting a hold of you and you feel like it is too difficult to control it. A good therapist can support you in identifying ways to stay present, breath, etc. Also, techniques like hypnosis, EMDR, Cognitive behavior therapy, and others are very helpful and promising treatments for anxiety disorders. You don’t have to suffer alone. A good counselor may also send you to a psychiatrist for medication evaluation when your symptoms are too intense to start working through them.

Ok, this will sum up all my suggestions at this point of time. If you have questions or requests for new blogs feel free to leave some feedback. I appreciate you taking the time and reading my blog. www.kathrinwinklertherapy.com