Providing Psychological Support for the Junior to Senior Transition in Professional Female Football: An Individual Case Study

Abstract

This article presents a reflective account of psychological support provided to a professional female footballer. Underpinned by a client-led counselling approach, the client engaged in a process of self-exploration to facilitate managing the challenges of the juniorto-senior transition within professional women’s football. The athlete experienced challenges around balancing roles, self-concept, and self-induced pressures. Through the use of Socratic questioning and a role-play technique, the client increased her self-knowledge (e.g., awareness of the pressures she placed upon herself) to manage the challenges (e.g., physical demands, social life) she experienced. The athlete demonstrated subjective improvements in both performance and wellbeing. Pertinent issues such as transference and countertransference are discussed, and readers are encouraged to consider incidents of when they may occur.

Keywords:

• Transition
• junior-to-senior
• applied sport psychology
• professional football