Potentials and Pitfalls: Short-Term Involvement versus Long-Term Involvement in Sport Psychology with Olympic and Paralympic Athletes

Abstract

In some occasions, sport psychologists have a long time to prepare their athletes before important competitions. In other instances, the time to work with mental skills might be short. This article shares some of the experiences that two sport psychologists had during their work with Olympic and Paralympic athletes before and during the Olympic Games (2010) in Vancouver, Canada. In particular, the authors will share some of the potentials and pitfalls that both long- and short-term involvement by the sport psychologist might instigate. In short, there are both negative and positive aspects of having a long or short time during the preparation phase. However, we highlight that we prefer to work with athletes over several seasons, because the sport psychologist then has time to see the athletes in action and to help the athletes develop the necessary skills before important competitions.

KEYWORDS:

• Olympic Games
• long-term versus short-term
• professional services