Sports Psychiatry Research Articles

Editorial: Swiss Society for Sports Psychiatry and ­Psychotherapy SSSPP

The Swiss Society for Sports Psychiatry and Psychotherapy SSSPP was founded on the grounds of the Private Clinic Wyss in Muenchenbuchsee in the canton of Bern on March 29, 2019. Worldwide, it is the second sports psychiatry and psychotherapy society to be founded after the International Society of Sports Psychiatry ISSP and the first national institution of this sort. The SSSPP aims to implement methods of sports psychiatry and psychotherapy throughout the course of a lifetime within the Swiss population and in competitive sports. This is reflected in the two main task assignments of the SSSPP: mental health in competitive sports and physical activity in the prevention and therapy of mental health diseases.

SGSPP Curriculum Sportpsychiatrie und ­-psychotherapie: Stufe 1

The SSSPP established a three level curriculum for additional training in Sports Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Level 1 “Basic Healthcare In Sports Psychiatry And Psychotherapy” is imparted. The curriculum contains a theoretical part, practical experience and supervision within 80 hours of additional training, leading to a SSSP certificate. Basic knowledge in sports medicine, sports psy-chology, sports science and training theory as well as further topics of sports and exercise therapy with psychic illnesses, illnesses related to elite sports, sport as coping and additional topics such as law, ethics, abuse, and doping are contained. Study goals are defined. Psychiatrists and psychotherapists, sports physician and psychological psychotherapists could participate on level 1. An outlook on levels 2 and 3 is added.

Sports Psychiatry: Exercise and postpartum depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common psychiatric disorder in the peripartum period affecting approximately 8% of European women without prior psychiatric history [1] and even more with pre-existing depressive disorders. Up to 70% of new mothers develop mild depressive symptoms called “baby-blues” which include weepiness, sadness and mood lability. Those symptoms usually peak between 2 and 5 days post-delivery and abate spontaneously within days up to 2 weeks [2]. In contrast to “baby blues” postpartum depression can have a serious impact on functioning and even lead to suicidality rendering it highly important to detect the disorder as early as possible. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) [3] is widely used to screen for postpartum depression and should be applied to all new mothers who develop depressive symptoms such as loss of interest, hopelessness and depressive feelings. Several risk factors for postpartum depression have been identified: Prenatal depression poses the highest risk, followed by low self-esteem, childcare stress, prenatal anxiety, life stress and lack of social support [4]. Postpartum depression is a treatable condition, however, it has to be distinguished from bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, which require different treatment strategies [2].

SSSPP Position paper: Mental health in competitive sport

Mental disorders are common in competitive sports. They can influence performance, increase the risk of physical injuries and prolong rehabilitation. A specialized discipline for mental health has not (yet) been established. This position paper will emphasize the connection between the special requirements in competitive sports and the need of psychiatric specialization. Approaches for an improving psychiatric and psychotherapeutic care in competitive sports by establishing sports psychiatry and psychotherapy (incl. child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy) as a professional and specialized discipline for mental health are discussed: The qualification of specialists in sports psychiatry and psychotherapy; cooperation in regard to contents and practicality between sports physicians, psychiatrists and psychotherapists and other medical disciplines as well as psychological psychotherapists, sports psychologists, mental coaches and other professions; the inclusion of athletes and parents, other members of the personal psychosocial environment, counsellors as well as clubs and associations.

Sports Psychiatry. Women’s mental health in elite sports – we are missing the complexity

In competitive sports, mental health and well-being is of great significance [1]. This applies to the active phase, as well as the time after the career. Mental disorders are common in competitive sports [2]. Physical and psychological well-being and performance in sports relate to each other [2]: Emotional strains and illnesses in sport may have an influence on the performance, may increase the risk for injuries and may lengthen rehabilitation. Injuries have an influence on the performance, too, and are strains and risks for mental health. The requirements in elite sports call for a safe and sound judgement and handling with strains and risks for mental health, as well as in diagnosis and treatment on illness [1].

Mental Disorders and Sports from a Viewpoint of Sports Psychiatry

Mental Disorders and Sports from a Viewpoint of Sports Psychiatry

LGBTQI and sports – future implications for sports psychiatry

LGBTQI people and especially transgender, non-binary and intersex people have a longstanding history of discrimination when it comes to sports. While the media focuses on the discussion whether transgender, non binary, and intersex people should be allowed to compete in elite amateur and professional sports at all, the majority of transgender, non-binary and intersex athletes are facing obstacles in everyday sports beyond cis and dyadic peoples’ imagination.

Sports Psychiatry: The Mental Health Needs of the College Athlete

Although young adulthood is often characterized by social and intellectual development and multiple transitions, college-aged individuals are also routinely exposed to situations that place them at high risk of mental health disorders. For college student-athletes, the pressures of academics, paired with the demands of a college athletic program, certainly have the potential to increase the risk of psychiatric conditions. This article will assist the clinician in understanding the unique challenges faced by the college athlete, recognize the importance of screening college athletes for mental health concerns, and appreciate unique treatment considerations.

Sports psychiatry: mental health and mental disorders in athletes and exercise treatment of mental disorders.

Sports psychiatry has developed for the past 3 decades as an emerging field within psychiatry and sports medicine. An International society has been established in 1994 and also national interest groups were implemented, mostly within the national organizations for psychiatry, some also containing the topic of exercise treatment of mental disorders. Where are we now 30years later? We systematically but also selectively review the medical literature on exercise, sport, psychiatry, mental health and mental disorders and related topics. The number of publications in the field has increased exponentially. Most topics keep remaining on the agenda, e.g., head trauma and concussion, drug abuse and doping, performance enhancement, overtraining, ADHD or eating disorders. Supported by the growing literature, evidence-based recommendations have become available now in many clinical areas. A relatively new phenomenon is muscle dysmorphia, observed in weightlifters, bodybuilders but also in college students and gym users. Further, sports therapy of mental disorders has been studied by more and more high-quality randomized controlled clinical trials. Mostly as a complementary treatment, however, for some disorders already with a 1a evidence level, e.g., depression, dementia or MCI but also post-traumatic stress disorder. Being grown up and accepted nowadays, sports psychiatry still represents a fast-developing field. The reverse side of the coin, sport therapy of mental disorders has received a scientific basis now. Who else than sports psychiatry could advance sport therapy of mental disorders? We need this enthusiasm for sports and psychiatry for our patients with mental disorders and it is time now for a broadening of the scope. Optimized psychiatric prevention and treatment of athletes and ideal sport-related support for individuals with mental disorders should be our main purpose and goal.

Sports Psychiatry

Sports Psychiatry

Psychiatric medication preferences of sports psychiatrists

ABSTRACTObjectives: When prescribing psychiatric medications to athletes, it is important to consider issues that are especially important for this population, including side effects, safety concerns, and anti-doping policies. Only one report, from 2000, describes the prescribing preferences of psychiatrists who work with athletes. This manuscript aims to update the findings from that report, so as to help inform prescribing practices of primary care physicians, psychiatrists, and other clinicians who work with athletes.Methods: Physician members of the International Society for Sports Psychiatry (ISSP) were sent an email invitation in 2016 to complete an anonymous web-based survey on psychiatric medication prescribing preferences in working with athletes with a variety of mental health conditions.Results: Forty of 100 (40%) members of the ISSP who identified as physicians and who were emailed the survey ultimately completed it. Top choices of psychiatric medications for athletes across categories assessed included: bupropion for depression without anxiety and without bipolar spectrum disorder; escitalopram for generalized anxiety disorder; melatonin for insomnia; atomoxetine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; lamotrigine for bipolar spectrum disorders; and aripiprazole for psychotic disorders.Conclusion: Prescribers of psychiatric medications for athletes tended to favor medications that are relatively more energizing and less likely to cause sedation, weight gain, cardiac side effects, and tremor. Additionally, prescribing preferences for athletes diverged from many of the prescribing trends seen for patients within the general population, in keeping with the assumption that different factors are considered when prescribing for athletes versus for the general population.

Sports Psychiatry—Strategies for Life Balance and Peak Performance

Sports Psychiatry—Strategies for Life Balance and Peak Performance

Sports Psychiatry: Strategies for Life Balance and Peak Performanceby McDuff David R. , M.D. Washington, DC , American Psychiatric Publishing , 2012 , 288 pp., $59.00 (paper).

Sports Psychiatry: Strategies for Life Balance and Peak Performanceby McDuff David R. , M.D. Washington, DC , American Psychiatric Publishing , 2012 , 288 pp., $59.00 (paper).

Sports Psychiatry

Article AbstractBecause this piece does not have an abstract, we have provided for your benefit the first 3 sentences of the full text.It seems not unreasonable to assume that many psychiatrists are participant in the American obsession with sports at all levels, especially professional and collegiate. Increasingly frequent psychological ramifications make the topic all the more tantalizing, eg, dramatic confessions of lying about use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs, tragic connections between repetitive head trauma (concussion) and subsequent depression and suicide, domestic abuse, problems associated with retirement. But most clinicians have actually treated only a few athletes as individuals, and very few indeed have been formally affiliated with teams.

This Issue: Sports Psychiatry

This Issue: Sports Psychiatry

Sport psychiatry and psychotherapy. Mental strains and disorders in professional sports. Challenge and answer to societal changes

Professional athletes are subject to massive somatic, social, and mental stress. Despite great public interest for athletic achievements, the emotional strains thereof are very poorly investigated and discussed. The main reason for this is the widespread assumption that only emotionally very strong athletes are able to compete at the highly professional level and therefore mental disorders do not exist in professional sports. But available research data about the prevalence of mental disorders in this area suggest that this hypothesis must be revised. With respect to depression and the overtraining syndrome, attempts have been made to demonstrate the difficulties with etiology, diagnostics, and treatment for sports psychiatry and psychotherapy. Scientifically, sport psychiatry and psychotherapy can be defined as a discipline, whose focus is the investigation, treatment, and prevention of the extreme and sports-specific emotional strains and disorders. In addition to sport psychology, which focuses mainly on performance enhancement, mental stress, and disorders can hereby be recognized, disorders be treated and the athletic performance sustained. With the foundation of the Task Force for Sports Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the German Association for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, scientific research, further education, prevention, and treatment for mental disorders in professional sports will be improved.

The psychological factors affecting athletic performance

The physical and mental health complex is claimed as achievement of the XXI. century, whereby also among the sportsmen and sportswomen, beside the somatic medicine, growing attention is devoted to the psyche as well. The sports psychiatry was dragged in and put into service to enhance performance after all biological weapons run out of ammunition, and the long-awaited results still failed to come about. Moreover, despite the energy increasingly invested it was going from bad to worse. Among athletes many psychiatric disorders call attention, either by the high prevalence or by the development of a specific syndrome. Symptoms of depression (depression after the competition, depression following the failure at the competition), chronic stress, anxiety, fatigue syndrome of overtraining, enervation, sleep disturbances, eating problems, burnout, eating disorders (anorexia athletics, athlete triad), personality factors and the chemical addiction are all extremely important. The present study is the first to summarize the most crucial psychiatric disorders that may have great significance in the athlete population, in varying degrees according to the individual sports.

Aspects psychopathologiques de l’exercice physique intensif chez l’enfant et l’adolescent : mise au point à partir d’une situation clinique

Physical activity is related to beneficial effects mental health in children and adolescents. However, intensive training may be associated with both physical and psychological negative aspects. This article provides a clinical report and a review of psychopathological symptoms in young elite athletes. A particular focus is laid on eating disorders, risk-taking behaviors like substance abuse and/or doping, as well as on emotional disturbances and overtraining syndrome. Familial and social pressures may be inappropriate, causing physical or psychological distress. The implications of the reviewed data are discussed in terms of prevention and future challenges for research in sports psychiatry.