It Happens to the Best of Us
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The Mental Side of Injuries
Reality is such that, at some point during their athletic career, the majority of athletes will sustain an injury. How an athlete manages his or her injury can impact considerably, either positively or negatively, on mental state and rehabilitation outcome.
When working with injured athletes, our focus is to help the athlete understand and adhere to the rehabilitation process, approach injury rehabilitation with the same focus and attention as in sport performance, and to learn mental skills that will enable a confident return to play.
A similar approach is used in rehabilitation psychology consulting as is in sport performance psychology consulting. Mental skills aim to help the athlete cope with the emotional and physical aspects of the injury. In addition to using mental skills to help the body heal, mental skills can also be used during injury rehabilitation to help the athlete stay in tune with the physical part of performance even though the athlete may not be physically participating in sport.
Please contact us to find out more about injury rehabilitation psychology.
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Alex Cestnik
"Following a serious injury and multiple surgeries, Natascha worked closely with me to develop a personal and comprehensive mental imagery program to deal with the setback I was facing. Natascha’s help significantly contributed to my rehabilitation progress by converting mental strength into physical strength. She supported and empowered me by providing me with the imagery tools I needed. The mental exercises not only allowed me to effectively control my pain, but I am also confident that they shortened my recovery time. Without her support, I would not have been able to return to the field and confidently play the way I have: at the peak of my performance and mentally stronger than ever."
~ Alex Cestink, provincial and university athlete