We are delighted to offer Scottish Sport & Exercise Psychology Network members with the opportunity to attend a 1-day introductory online webinar course for the application of Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy in Sport contexts, delivered by Dr Jamie Barker (from Loughborough University) and Dr Andrew Wood (from Manchester Metropolitan University).

What is REBT?

High-level sport can be a results-driven and ego-oriented climate for athletes, which can increase the prevalence of many dysfunctional and distorted beliefs, cognitions, emotions, and behaviours, that often require psychological intervention. One prominent approach to psychological counselling is Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), which asserts that irrational beliefs lead to unhealthy emotions and maladaptive behaviours in the face of adversity (such as pressure, failure, and ill treatment). REBT (Ellis, 1957) is a valid therapeutic approach to consultancy, offering a pragmatic and structured method of helping athletes overcome unhelpful emotional and behavioural reactions to pressure and adversity.

Aims of the course*: This entry-level workshop is aimed at trainee and qualified sport and exercise psychologists with no/superficial understanding of REBT. The workshop will be valuable to those undergoing training, postgraduate students, and qualified sport and exercise psychologists who are not trained in REBT. Previous knowledge of REBT is not needed for this workshop as we will introduce the theory at a beginner’s level.

*This course will take place on a virtual online platform such as Zoom or Microsoft Teams - joining details will be released via email nearer the event date.

Structure of the course - the day long course is structured into 4 areas: First, we will provide an overview and contextual underpinning for using REBT in sport along with the salient points from the REBT therapeutic framework. Second, delegates will be introduced to a range of experiential tasks and role play activities to practice their initial understanding of the REBT framework and associated aspects. Third, delegates will be introduced to a range of tools and resources available to support consultancy using the REBT approach. Finally, the presenters will share their experiences and reflections on case studies where they have used REBT with individual athletes, teams, and organisations.

About the course trainers:

Dr Jamie Barker: Jamie is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University, a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council, and an REBT practitioner.

Jamie has an international research profile with research interests centred on applied (sport and performance) psychology. Consequently, he has authored over 75 scholarly publications and five books including The Psychology of Cricket, Tipping the Balance and the Psychology of Soccer.

As a sport and exercise psychologist Jamie has over 20 years of experience working in business, professional sport, and the military. For example, he has consulted with Sony Europe, Sony Mobile, the Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, Great Britain Rowing, and Watford FC. In 2016 Jamie worked as the sport psychologist to the Great Britain 7-a-side football team at the Rio Paralympics. Presently, Jamie consults in disability football with the England Senior Cerebral Palsy Football Team and the Royal Air Force.

For more information on our work check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8TBavtJu0o&t=3s

Dr Andrew Wood: Andrew is a sport psychologist whose main expertise is within the scientific understanding of stress and emotion, and the application of psychotherapies in high performance settings to develop psychological wellbeing. His work centres on the use of using cognitive-behavioural therapies (rational emotive behavioural therapy; acceptance commitment therapy) and motivational interviewing, and how these approaches can be applied in the real world. He is a practitioner in REBT, as well a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered and Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered Practitioner Psychologist. Andrew currently works with the England B1 (Blind) Football Team as a Practitioner Psychologist.

1-day introductory course to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy for Sport