Mental Health Performance - Psychedelic Athletes

Feb 3

Ben Foodman - Sport Psychology & Certified Brainspotting Consultant in Charlotte North Carolina

About the Author

Ben Foodman is a licensed psychotherapist & performance specialist. He owns his private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina where he specializes in working with athletes to help them overcome mental blocks (the yips), PTSD, ADD / ADHD and achieve flow states through the techniques of Brainspotting & Neurofeedback. If you are interested in services, use the link here! Enjoy the article below!

Ben Foodman | Sport psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consultant in Charlotte North Carolina

Athletes, Psychedelics & Healing Trauma

There is a general consensus that experiences in sport provide us opportunities to learn about ourselves. However, within the sport environment these opportunities can be overshadowed by individuals who have taken a rigid approach in dealing with athlete mental health issues. Whether it be through negative coaching, poor athlete support amongst team administrators, or the stigma associated with seeking mental health services, athletes have an uphill battle when it comes towards achieving true self-healing and self-discovery. Fortunately, there is a growing number of individuals who are finding alternative methods to help achieve homeostasis in mental health while also breaking down the barriers of stigma associated with this issue. I recently came across this incredible interview where Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers discusses his mental health journey through the use of Ayahuasca. Hopefully this exchange provides one example of the power in addressing mental health needs, dismantling mental health stigma, and providing valuable insight into alternative healing processes. Enjoy!

Note To Reader:

If you are an athlete reading this segment of the TRAINING REPORT, hopefully this content was helpful! I put the Training Report together because I felt like many of the discussions on issues such as the Yips/mental blocks, strength training & other subject matter on athlete performance concepts were really missing the mark on these ideas (e.g. how trauma is the direct cause of the Yips). If you are interested in learning more, make sure to subscribe below for when I put out new content on issues related to sport psychology & athlete performance! Also, if you are looking to work with a mental performance specialist, you are in the right place! USE THIS LINK to reach out to me to see if my services are the right fit for your goals!

ARE YOU ON THE LIST?

Make sure you’re signed up to Ben’s mailing list to receive news & updates on new strategies in sport psychology, upcoming workshops & products. Don’t wait, sign up now!

Check Out The Previous Training Reports!

Featured

Mental Health Performance - What Athletes Need To Know Part II. Depression, Trauma & Sports

Many athletes struggle with depression but are often told by sport psychologists that this is a mental health issue and not a performance issue. For this issue of the Training Report I want to explore what depression is and how seeking mental health treatment is part of the performance enhancement process…

Mental Health Performance - What Athletes Need To Know Part I. Anxiety, Panic Attacks & The Role Of Sport Psychology

Many athletes suffer in silence dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. Because the field of sport psychology has largely failed to establish the connection between mental health issues and sports performance, I want to take the time to review how seeking assistance for these issues will enhance performance outcomes…

Mental Health Performance - Football Athletes, Sport Injuries & Muscle Guarding: Understanding The Connection To Trauma

When American football players go through physical therapy to recover from a sports injury, they will often report symptoms of muscle guarding during and post recovery. For this issue of the Training Report I want to review why muscle guarding can be a trauma response…

Mental Health Performance - Why Trauma-Informed Psychotherapy For The Yips Is A Form Of Athlete Mental Training & Performance Enhancement

Athletes will inevitably experience traumatic moments in sports such as injuries, sports humiliations, and conflict with others. Because this is a general feature of sports performance participation, athletes need to use trauma-informed psychotherapy help them deal with these issues…

Mental Health Performance - The Connection Between Athletes, Sleep & Sport Outcomes

Most athletes don’t put much thought into how they can or why they should maximize on their sleep performance. But new emerging neuroscience research shows us that there is a direct connection to sleep performance and sport performance outcomes…

Mental Health Performance - How Music Can Help Athletes Recover from Sports Injuries

Athletes that undergo sports-related injuries often struggle with the psychological side of this problem. For this issue of the Training Report I wanted to provide a link to an article I wrote for the Association For Applied Sport Psychology on this issue…

Mental Health Performance - How To Build Mental Toughness As An Athlete: A Guide For Athletes Of All Levels

Within the field of sport psychology, there is a popular term that coaches & athletes love to use: mental toughness. For this Training Report I want to take some time to redefine what mental toughness actually is and how athletes can achieve this important skill…

Mental Health Performance - Athlete Mental Blocks & The Yips: A Review Of How These Issues Affect Sport Performance

I have talked extensively about mental blocks and how prevalent of an issue this is within the world of sports performance. The truth is that the overwhelming majority of the time, mental blocks are the symptoms of deep rooted trauma. For this Training Report I want to re-examine the topic of mental blocks & trauma in sports…

Mental Health Performance - Baseball Yips: Why Traditional Sport Psychology Won’t Help & Why Brainspotting Will

The sport of Baseball has a repuation for being one of the most mentally demanding sports. A common issue that arises from these psychological experiences in Baseball is called the yips. For this Training Report, we will provide an explanation about the Yips…

Mental Health Performance - Reviewing Possibilities Of Psychedelics In Athlete Populations

Sport psychologists & sport psychiatrists are beginning to take a closer look at the possible benefits psychedelics may have on athlete performance. For this Training Report, I will review some of the discussions surrounding psychedelics, athlete mental health & performance…

Mental Health Performance - ADD / ADHD, Trauma & Neurofeedback: Review & Analysis

Attention Deficit Disorder and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADD / ADHD) are controversial mental health diagnoses that spark a wide range of opinions. For this Training Report I want to review what ADD / ADHD is, and discuss how Neurofeedback / QEEG can potentially be a great intervention…

Mental Health Performance - Psychedelic Athletes

There is a general consensus that experiences in sport provide us opportunities to learn about ourselves. However, within the sport environment these opportunities can be overshadowed by individuals who have taken a rigid approach in dealing with athlete mental health issues such as the stigma associated with seeking mental health services. I recently came across an interview with Aaron Rodgers discussing his Ayahuasca experience…

Mental Health Performance - Neurofeedback, Brainwaves & The Neuropsychology Of Sport Injury

Many athletes are consulting with sport psychologists to address issues surrounding the psychology of sport injury, but most sport psychologists are not focused on approaches that are based in scientific fundamentals of sport injury and trauma. For this Training Report I want to discuss a relatively new application that can help deal with psychological component of sport injury which is known as Neurofeedback.

Mental Health Performance - Athletes, Stress & Scheduling Energy

While many athletes have incredible insight into their athletic abilities, sometimes they can underestimate the impact that life stress has on their bodies, and overestimate how much energy they have internally to ‘attack the day’. For this Training Report I want to discuss this issue by exploring what stress is, how it affects the body and how you can manage your energy to deal with stress…

Mental Health Performance - How PTSD Affects Tactical Athletes & Veterans

Many veterans face complex issues that affect their lives in significant ways compared to civilians. One common issue that many veterans face is how to effectively deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For this Training Report I want to take the time to explore the science of PTSD from a neuropsychological perspective, and explain the importance of why trauma needs to be thoroughly explored throughout one’s life…

Mental Health Performance - Athlete Psychology, Sports Injuries & Chronic Pain

Many medical professionals helping athletes rehabilitate sport-related injuries & chronic pain rarely include mental health professionals during the physical rehabilitation process. Because our neuropsychology significantly impacts chronic pain and physical therapy outcomes, I want to explore why we need to use mental health interventions to complete the process of treating physical injuries & chronic pain…

Mental Health Performance - Cannabinoid-Based Medications, Athletes & Psychological Health Considerations

There has been a debate within the field of mental health about both the benefits and detrimental aspects involving Cannabinoid-Based Medications (CBMs). Because there are so many different avenues of discussion on this topic, for this Training Report I want to explore the different components of Cannabinoid-Based Medications as well as providing an introduction to the issue of Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome…

Mental Health Performance - Exercise Prescription For Improving Athlete Psychological Outcomes

Research strongly suggests that exercise is a critical component towards maintaining positive mental health outcomes. For this Training Report I will cover three critical areas of exercise that can improve psychological health. These areas include weight training, cardiovascular training and rest & recovery tactics…

Mental Health Performance - Psychedelics: A New Frontier In Sports

There is growing interest in the possible benefits that psychedelics can have on athlete mental health outcomes. For this Training Report I want to discuss the different variables of utilizing psychedelics within the field of mental health by exploring the science behind psychedelics, the neuropsychological implications, how sport psychology may potentially advance through the use of psychedelics, and considerations of sub-perceptual doses…

Mental Health Performance - ADD / ADHD & Athlete Considerations

Many of the athletes that I have worked with who have been diagnosed with ADHD will describe the experience of ‘walking through a fog’ until they received proper medications and therapy to help alleviate their symptoms of ADHD. For this Training Report I will be reviewing the diagnostic criteria of ADHD, unique considerations for athletes & some simple strategies to help improve focus.

Mental Health Performance - Psychological Sports Trauma & Athletes

There is no diagnostic criteria for Psychological Sports Trauma, yet millions of people participate in sports every year and are potentially susceptible to these issues. I believe a more serious discussion needs to be had on widespread psychological trauma experienced during sport performance. For this Training Report, I want to discuss what Psychological Sports Trauma is & why the overwhelming majority of effective sport psychology work needs to be rooted trauma work…

Mental Health Performance - Psilocybin & Brainspotting: A Multi-Modal Approach

For this Training Report, I want to review the relatively new treatment options of Psilocybin & Brainspotting, how they can potentially help patients, and why we should consider a multi-modal approach using these interventions. I want to explore the theoretical concepts associated with these treatments and why mental health practitioners with the proper resources should start to investigate whether these interventions can be utilized…

mh vol 1series 2

Benjamin Foodman

LCSW, Performance Consultant

Mental Health Performance - Psychedelic Athletes

About the Author

Athletes, Psychedelics & Healing Trauma

Note To Reader:

ARE YOU ON THE LIST?

Check Out The Previous Training Reports!

Sport Psychology Tactics - Using Your Eyes To Conquer Mental Blocks

Precision Nutrition - What Should I Eat For Mental Health?!