Week 6- Debrief and final meeting

This was the final meeting that I will have with my client, the meeting lasted for 1 hour (time allowed if needed to over run session) I met the client with their coach and parents at a meeting room at the golf club. This meant that the surroundings and attendees were the same at the first, original meeting to help the client stay at ease and relax. 

The aims of this session were to review my clients program and thoughts linked to this program. In order to see how my client felt and wether their had been any improvements linked to using the techniques I asked my client and her coach a few questions linked to the past 6 weeks.  

(Questions to my client)

• Do you feel that these techniques have helped lower your anxiety prior to a game?

“Yes, I feel very confident now going into the competition season as I know that I can effectively lower my arousal now using these techniques. By lowering my arousal prior to the match I feel so much more confident and ready to compete.”

• Which was your favourite technique?

“Listening to music was my favourite technique I think because I felt that doing this allowed me to forget about the pressure as I was linked with the song. Especially the lyrics as they were all positive and upbeat allowing me to stay confident’

• Which technique (not necessarily your favourite) did you think had the greatest effect on lowering your anxiety? 

“  Even though listening to music was my favourite, I do feel that the controlled breathing helped my anxiety levels the most as prior to this program before a game my breathing would be short and choppy when my anxiety levels were high causing my shot be to jerky and lower in power. However by using the controlled breathing I felt that I could return my breathing back to the normal level allowing my shots to be more smooth, steady and powerful making my game better” 

• What would you change? and why?

“ If I were to change anything about this program I would just want a larger selection of songs to choose from at the different intervals as currently I would be listening to the same songs in the same order every time I play and I think this could get to repetitive and boring over time”

(Questions to the coach) 

• Have you seen any improvements in the athlete during the program?

“Yes, I have seen improvements in many areas during this program. I feel that my these techniques lowing there anxiety their swing and shots have become more effective and useful during the game allowing them to move up the ranking. I can also see that they are overall more confident going around the course now and take more risks and generally put themselves out these which, in the future, will be a major advantage of these techniques on the athlete.” 

Strengths and weaknesses 

The strengths and weaknesses of the program have been that it had a great effect on lowering my clients arousal as from the responses from the coach and client showed that her game has been improving and they feel more confident during the game which is having a positive effect on the movements and decisions that they make around the golf course. Furthermore the client actually likes the techniques that I prescribed and they feel like the work. This is a huge benefit that my client likes the techniques and feel that they work as this will ensure that they continue using them in the future as they can see that they have been helping with their performance. 

Another strength of the program was that I educated the client prior to them practising the technique as this allowed them to fully understand the technique and get the most out of the technique by using it correctly. Similar to this we slowly progressed from the client practising the technique on their own to practising the technique in a mock game situation with other golfers. I feel that this was a huge positive of my program as it allowed the athlete to get to grips with the techniques without the pressure of the other competitors and competition atmosphere, so they could really see the effects of the techniques when they compared their play to other competitors.

The weaknesses of my program were that within the 6 week program I didn't have the time to use biofeedback during two different competitions. This biofeedback would have allowed me to see the difference that using these techniques created. As one competition (without using the techniques) would hopefully have seen a higher HR,BR and a weaker decision skills. Then the other competition (with using the techniques) we would hope to see a lower HR, more controlled breathing rate and more informed decision making. I feel that if I had time for this it would have show my athlete using data how effective the technique is on there anxiety and bodily functions. 

Secondly if I had a longer period with my client I would have created a larger song selection that they could have used during the routine, as currently I only gave the athlete 1 song per section. I feel that over time I would create a larger playlist that can be used to reduce the possible boredom and repetition of the current playlist. 

Future prescriptions  

For the future I would recommend to my client that they continued using these techniques as I felt that they had a positive effect on my client and it was helping their performance. Linked to this I would recommend that my clients looks into creating a larger playlist as they mentioned that they could get bored. This will give them variety and reduce the repetition. 

Another method that I would recommend would be biofeedback to see the effects that the techniques have overtime and my client will be able to see that by looking through the data and analyse where there are still areas to improve. 

Finally I would just recommend that my client uses these techniques at the next major competition they have (where their anxiety would be higher than normal) and analyse how the techniques made them feel. 

Debrief 

In the debrief with my client I highlighted the following;

• The success of the program 
• Their effort they played into using the techniques
• The future recommendations 
• What I felt went well and what I would change
• How I feel that it helped 

By discussing this with my client I feel that it would help cement the success of the program into my clients mind so that they continue to use this in the future, as the will know that I think it will have a huge effect on their performance and they will want to succeed in the future and they will know that this will help. 

Test of Performance Strategies 

This is the questionnaire I asked my client to fill out before and after the six week program. I have placed both together for the ease of comparison. The Blue is before and the pink is after. From looking at these questionnaires you can see that my client has made high improvements in many areas either staying at the sam level or improving by 1/2 the will have a positive effect on their performance over the future. 

Week 5 (Practice)

This session I met my client at the golf club again. I asked them to bring along a ipod with my playlist downloaded and three golfing friends to help with the session. The session lasted for 2 hours and the aim of the session was to allow the client to practice the ‘listening to music’ technique and look into how it made the athlete feel. In the session I set up a ‘mock competition’ and asked my client to listen to the songs in the order that I provided.

Travelling to the comp= Fast Car-Jonas Blue (114BPM) 

Warm up= Pack Up-Eliza Doolittle (135BPM)

Just before T off=Remember the name-Fort Minor (85BPM)  

During Comp= X Gon' Give it to ya-DMX (101BPM) 

I created a mock competition using the other three golfers, my hopes of this session would be that by the client using the music it would keep them calm before the first tee off, this would help reduce their overall anxiety during the mock competition. To assess how the technique was working on my client I asked several questions during the session that helped me get a good idea on how the client was feeling. 

• How did you feel after using the technique?

“Much better than I normally do. I forgot about the pressure I usually place on myself, even during training. This allowed me to make better shot decisions and think about the game in a better light” 

• How did the songs make you feel?

“The songs made me feel more motivated and confidence about my golfing skills and game plan. Therefore this lowered my anxiety, which I feel had a huge benefit on my performance”

• What stood out for you the most in the music?

“I think it was the lyrics that stood out for me and gave me the most benefit. All the lyrics were positive and upbeat. They stuck in my mind during the game and I linked them to my own performance and lifestyle”

I feel that this session was a huge success as from the client answers I can see that this technique helped with them with how they feel prior to the competition. In the future I feel that this technique will help my clients anxiety to decrease in competition situations, the overall hope being that this decreased anxiety will be able to help the client have a clear game plan as they will have their 100% focus on the shots themselves. The lowered anxiety will also link to a reduced HR this reduction in their HR could also allow the shot to be more smooth flowing shot as they will be in a more relaxed and controlled state. Therefore I feel that this is one of the best techniques for my client to use as it links with their personality and will hopefully improve their anxiety levels which will link to an increase in their game play. 

Week 4 (Practice)

This session I met with my client for 2 hours at the golf course, I also asked my client to bring along 3 fellow golfers that would help take part in the session. The aim of this session was to put the controlled breathing/centring method into practice, to do this effectively I will stage a competition between my client and the three visitors. This will allow my client to practice the new technique in a stage competition environment so their anxiety levels will be high and we will be able to analyse how the controlled breathing effected this. 

In the first round of the game I helped and guided my client through the technique to ensure that they were doing it correctly and had got the correct idea. In the rest of the match I left my client to practice the technique alone. After the session I asked my client a few questions that allowed me to get a good idea on what they felt towards this technique and if it was working. 

• How did you feel after using the technique?

“ I felt much more relaxed and steady after using this technique, my heart rate decreased and I looked at the game with a much more open mindset”

• Did you feel more relaxed than normal?

“Yes, I felt like I had removed the stress that I usually place on myself and just stayed relaxed and thought about the opportunities. By focusing on my centre it removed all the negative thoughts that usually cause me to over think” 

• Did this help with your game plan? Will you be using the technique in real competitions in the future?

“Yes, this technique allowed me to stay open minded during the game allowing my decisions to be more informed allowing me to play better. Therefore I will use it in the future as I feel that it will dramatically improve my anxiety levels during the game” 

These answers give me great confidence of the success that this technique could help my client achieve. By the technique helping them reduce their anxiety it has been shown that in this practice that it is allowing my client to look at the game in a more open mindset, this open mindset could have good benefits during the game as it could allow them to make more risks that could lead to higher reward. During the session I also observed my client when they used the technique and compared it to when she didn’t, by doing this I identified that their swing was more powerful and with less judders therefore it will be more beneficial for their game in the future. 

Week 3 (Education+Acquisition)

The session was 2 hours long, I met the client at their local golf club where they usually train. I ensured that my client brought along their Ipod/phone, containing the songs that they normally listen to in the gym, travelling to the comp, warm up and just before the competition and see if they are listening to the correct types of music. I chose listening to music as the second method that was aimed to help my client as, in the primary consultation they identified that they already use imagery and self talk, however these didn't seem to be having a high enough effect on my client. Therefore I believe that using music will help them control their anxiety levels easier as the BPM and lyrics of the music will contribute highly. Listening to music is also an assessable and reproducible method of helping with arousal, therefore once the athlete has learnt the method they will be able to reproduce it easily at every competition. 

The main sections I will be focusing on I’ll be the warm up, just before T-off an during competition as these will be the times that the music can tap into the anxiety levels of the athlete. When I asked my client for the reasoning behind these choices they mentioned that “I just like these songs, they make me feel happy”. Even though this is a good reason to listen to songs in general these wont help with their performance dramatically. For example using ‘Work-Rihanna’ as their song just before T off could just add to the negative effects of their high anxiety as the high BPM of 184 will cause their HR to increase, this high heart rate during golf would be un beneficial as it will cause the movements to be more difficult and less accurate because steadying the body at this higher HR would be difficult. 

My client also mentioned that they enjoyed the lyrics within songs and this is why they had been chosen. Therefore because of this fact when I was looking into my music choices I had a conscious effort to think about the lyrics that were within the songs and what they meant to my athlete. 

Within my music choices I took into account the lyrics, I tried to ensure that all the lyrics were motivating and off a positive background, I hoped that this would help my client keep in a more positive,lower anxiety mindset as these lyrics will be playing in their head during the comp and they will be able to remember the lyrics and what they actually mean to them. 

"This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill

Fifteen percent concentrated power of will

 Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain 

And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!” (Remember the nam-Fort Minor) 

This is some of the lyrics with in the ‘Remember the name’ song, I hope by playing this song prior to training it will reduce there nerves as it is a highly motivational song with positive lyrics, my aim is that this will help take the athletes mind off there nerves and feel that they can perform in the competition. Furthermore as the BPM of the song is 85BPM this is at resting rate, therefore this is keeping the individual HR at a low rate and not allowing it to escalate to high as this could add to the effects of the anxiety. This higher HR can also cause the golfing movements such as the drive to be effected in a negative way as they will rush the movements as their increase HR will cause their adrenaline to rise. 

Week 2 (Education+Acquisition)

I met with the client this week for an hour and a half. The aim of the session was to educate them on the use of controlled breathing and begin to help them use it in training, allowing them to get used to the technique and how it works. I chose centring as it has been proven that the uses of centring are to “control stress and muscle tension, block out negative or distracting thoughts, and re-focus attention on task-relevant cues” (G,Miller 2012) This makes it fit my client perfectly as they need to reduce their stress and block out the negative self talks that they sometimes end up doing during a competition. Therefore I feel that this will be the best technique for my client as it allows them to irradiate the feelings that cause them to have a higher anxiety level prior to their competitions.

In order to help my client get the idea and concept of centring I met them at the driving range, as this would be a familiar surrounding for my client to begin using the new technique. I guided my client by telling/showing them the 6 steps that are associated with this controlled breathing.

1) Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, arms hanging loosely by your side

2) Close your eyes and breath evenly - try to keep the tension in the upper body to a minimum as you breath

3) Inhale deeply from your abdomen (your stomach will extend) and be aware of the tension in your face, neck, shoulders and chest. As you exhale let the tension fall away and focus on the feeling of heaviness in your stomach

4) Continue to breath evenly and deeply and focus your attention on the centre of your body, the area just behind your naval button

5) Maintain your attention on that spot and continue to breath evenly and deeply, feeling controlled, heavy and calm

6) As you breath out think of a word that encapsulates the physical feeling and mental focus you want e.g. "relax", "calm" 

After a few practices of using thus controlled breathing technique my client really began to feel the effects on their performance “I feel like this technique really help keeps my nerves down as when I was concentrating on my ‘centre’ I began to forget about the pressure that was being placed on me, I feel that this could be a really helpful technique to help me reduce my anxiety” 

After this session I asked my client to practice this controlled breathing once between now and the 

next time we meet and keep a note on how it made them feel and if they think it was helping. 

SWOT Analysis

Week 1 (Education)

Week 1-

This week I met with the client for the first time, also present in the meeting was my clients coach so that I kept them involved with the decisions and progress being made and my clients parents since they are under the age of 18 years. I met the client at their local golf club in a booked out reception room that allow the meeting to be private and in a quiet, familiar environment to help keep my client in a relaxed state. During this meeting we discussed their sports, their level and how many times a week they trained. Also I got my client to complete a consultation (voice recording attached), this consolation allowed me to create a detailed picture of my client and their sporting background. Finally my client completed the ‘Test of performance strategies (TOPS)’ (Thomas et al,1999) this gave me an insight into the areas that are included and how they already used different strategies in their current competitions are training. The questionnaire looks into activation, automaticity, emotional control, goal-setting, imagery, negative thinking, relaxation and self-talk so this allowed me to excess a large amount of data and see how the client scores currently. When the 6 week program has been completed I will get my client to re take the questionnaire to see what the effects have been. 

By completing this consultation phase I have identified that my client has high anxiety during competition periods. As shown below, these answers to the questions identify to me that they suffer from high anxiety, this could have negative effects on their performance as it could cause them to make mistakes of they don't believe in themselves and have higher anxiety they are less likely to take risks during their competition.

For my athlete and to helps with their high anxiety levels I have prescribed controlled breathing and listening to music. To begin the education of the athlete, after they left the session I emailed them some youtube linked which will help explain the techniques and how they will be used. Furthermore I asked the client to think about the types of music they like and what they feel helps their confidence and motivation currently. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtyExtEBF-k , 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofbnpVbtqTc) 

Linked to this I also sent a link to a BPM database of music so that my client could start looking into the different music that they currently listen to. 

Test of performance strategies questionnaire 

This is the link to listen to the consultation phase with my client.

https://www.dropbox.com/home?preview=Annabel+(psychology-consultation)+(1).m4a