Counselling Psychologist Dr Denise Bouah has released a new book for children who want to learn more about the mental side of sports performance.
Sport Psychology aims to prepare primary school children for the emotional challenges they will face during their sporting career. “It addresses our emotions, thoughts and behaviour, focusing mostly on mental aspects and how best to utilize them in performance,” said Dr Bouah.
The book is also a useful guide for parents, teachers and coaches who, at times, must-play sport psychologist. The lessons learnt are not restricted to sport; they can also be used in other areas of a child’s life. It also addresses the 10 main mental sport concepts.
“Children will learn what sport psychology is and what is meant by mental toughness and mental skills. They will also explore the concepts of mindfulness; anxiety (especially pre-game anxiety); being disciplined; values in sport; habits and how they work; leadership; goal setting; and how to deal with a loss or mistake,” added Dr Bouah.
The book is written in English and makes hard mental concepts easy to understand. Readers will journey with Jad, Xena, Chika and other characters, through their sports adventures and experiences, as they come to learn that there is more to sports performance than just the physical component.
Dr Bouah also coaches chess to primary school children once a week, teaching them by telling stories.“The final push to write my book came as I needed to find a way to offer sport psychology to children. My goal is to make sport psychology accessible to as many children as possible,” she concluded.
