BASES Psychology Division Day
1st June 2018
The BASES Psychology Division Day, a free member only event, was hosted on Wednesday 9 May by Nottingham Trent University at the impressive Clifton Campus. Places for the day were sought after and these were filled with a good range of applied practitioners, lecturers and students just starting out on their professional journeys.
The day started with an excellent, open and honest keynote by Ian Braid who discussed mental health in elite sports and the duty of care we all have in the support we provide to athletes but also to ourselves. Attendees were captivated by his own story and it was refreshing to hear someone talk so candidly about their own struggles.
A key message from Ian’s keynote was who is looking after the people who are looking after the athletes. He highlighted the need for practitioners to be able discuss openly when they are struggling because they are not only trying to deal with their own issues but also the issues of the athletes they are supporting. For Ian, a strategy he used was to get a dog as they are great listeners and good at keeping you grounded.
Fred the dog was the star of the presentation and everyone needs a Fred for balance and perspective! Another message was for practitioners to be careful with the language they use and highlighting the importance of listening to the people we work with.
The attendees were then given updates on the positive work being done in the division particularly around developments with the BASES HCPC training route. This highlighted the current position and the likely future developments for those undertaking accreditation and reaccreditation.
After lunch there was an opportunity to complete workshops relating to the various strands of the division. Dr Jamie Barker, Dr Martin Turner and Dr Andrew Wood hosted an interactive workshop on their research on REBT and how this model can be applied to performance.
The next workshop was hosted by Dr Julie Johnston who provided an overview of her research on positive youth development in sport and the implications of actions speaking louder than words for people involved in working with young people in sport. The final workshop was hosted by Dr Laura Healy who discussed mental health and the lessons learnt from a mental health initiative.
The final keynote of the day was by Dr Maria Kavassanu who discussed her research around moral action in sport and the need for practitioners to encourage prosocial behaviour to increase the quality of the sport experience.
It was a great day with lots for the attendees to reflect on in relation to some key and current issues in sport psychology. It was good to see the day so well received and the organising group led by Dr Mustafa Sarkar did a great job in planning and delivering an excellent and enjoyable day.
