Sports Psychology Degree Programs

Laura El-Mir has a BA in Clinical Psychology and an MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology. She is a practicing sports psychologist who helps athletes achieve their full mental and physical potentials.

In her practice she supports her clients by helping them overcome performance anxiety, managing and returning from injury, preparing for competition, managing emotions, team cohesion, coach-athlete relationships, and more.

You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.

Psychology was a taboo subject in my country, Lebanon, when I was younger. It still is. Individuals who even talk about it would be considered crazy or possessed. Growing up, teens were taught that successful people become lawyers, doctors, and engineers. So I enrolled in law school, started working in a law firm, and was later diagnosed with major depressive disorder. During this time, I learned about the human brain. I realized that mental disorders can affect our daily functioning just as any physical illness. I became fascinated by this discovery, so after recovering from depression, I decided to study psychology to gain more knowledge about the human brain and to help others as much as I can.

I have been an amateur athlete since the age of three. I enjoyed playing all types of sports and only thought of it as a hobby. There weren’t enough opportunities for athletes in my country to become professional athletes and that’s why I only practiced skiing, swimming, gymnastics, and so many other types for the fun of it. I used to panic before a competition, the thought of performing in front of a crowd scared me. I was also scared of getting injured so I did not have the courage to take risks like other gymnasts. This initiated a constant comparison to others. And if I did not get along with one of my teammates, I would leave the club and search for a new one. I went through so many challenges that stopped me from becoming a professional athlete. I discovered that so many factors could affect my relationship with sports: my parents, my coach, my teammates, self-esteem, pain tolerance, stress and anxiety…

So my mental disorder and my relationship with sport were kind of associated. My therapist suggested that I gradually go back to sporting activities and I started engaging in physical activity such as weightlifting, hiking, riding a bicycle… and it did indeed affect my recovery. I felt good and relaxed when I exercised. It gave me motivation to wake up every day and be excited to do something. This leads us to my college years studying psychology where I came across the psychology of sport and exercise one day and decided that that’s the path I want to take because of my past experiences with sports. Unfortunately, this major was not available in my country so I had to study abroad. I knew how much psychology can influence our performance so I wanted to use this to help other athletes thrive, enhance their performance, and improve their overall well-being.

Sports psychology is not the same as personal training. It is not the same as clinical psychology. Sports psychology is the study of how psychology can be used to improve athletic performance and how physical activity can be used to improve mental health. It is not a type of therapy, however it does involve mental skills training based on evidence-based techniques that can enhance performance and improve athletes’ overall well-being. An athlete doesn’t need to have a mental disorder such as depression or OCD to see a sports psychologist. Just as they work on improving their physical skills, athletes should also work on enhancing their mental skills. The mental game is the key element that differentiates a champion player from a non-champion.

Mental skills training helps athletes become resilient and mentally tough in order to adhere to all situations they might find themselves in. Performing at top level requires a tough mental state to cope with all the pressures and anxieties that come with training and competing. But it’s also important to remember that athletes are not superheroes and they might suffer from a mental disorder just as any other person. Whether it’s OCD or depression, athletes can use the help of a clinical sports psychologist and therapy to overcome the issue.

Working with athletes is different from working with other clients because sports psychologists have to assess and observe athletes, coaches, trainers, support staff, even the entire organization. A typical workday would consist of one-on-one sessions in my clinic. The sessions would consist of performance profiling, needs analysis, thoughts and feelings alteration, and mental techniques training. Each session would differ according to the client’s needs. I would schedule some time to observe athletes’ interactions and responses during training. Some sessions would require parents’ or coaches’ involvement. Workshops and group therapy are also essential for the entire team.

At first, everything was confusing and I did not know how to approach this problem. So I decided to stay in touch with the athletes using all social platforms. But then, talking to athletes on the phone, I noticed that they were going through their worst phase of their lives because they had to end all physical activities that was what had kept them excited and motivated. They needed emotional support to help them cope with this transition. And the only thing I was able to do was provide online sessions to discuss other coping strategies and provide stress relief sessions. And meanwhile, I contacted several athletes suffering from the pressures of quarantine and the disappointment of not training to conduct an interview. I asked questions about the physical and emotional impact of quarantine and covid-19. I also asked general questions about the stigma surrounding athletes’ mental health and the availability of psychological support. The purpose of these interviews was to shed light on the importance of providing psychological support to athletes, since they were also suffering during these tough times. I wanted other athletes to listen to the interviews and know that they are not alone and they can speak up if they are feeling overwhelmed.

As I previously mentioned, talking about mental health or psychology used to be a taboo. It still is, but people are raising awareness regarding this issue. In Middle Eastern countries, we see this stigma way too much. “People who are mentally ill are possessed.” If a middle aged working man or woman decides to go to therapy, he or she would be negatively judged and labelled as unstable and crazy. So how are people going to react when they know that an athlete, who is supposed to be “successful, rich, happy and strong” is seeking psychological help? So athletes seeking therapy or mental skills training would be judged by others as weak or vulnerable. And I guess that’s what intimidates most athletes from seeing a sports psychologist.

I truly believe that this is unfair and I wanted to do something to raise awareness. Athletes can be capable of so much more if they work on their mental state. Why is it okay to ask for medical help when we get injured, but not okay to ask for psychological help when feeling anxious? I wanted to create a platform to show athletes that psychology is not scary and is not a sign of weakness. It’s a smart and courageous step to be able to say that I fell down and I want someone to help me get up. I want them to know that mental health matters, we cannot reach our goals and perform to our full potential if we cannot feel comfortable with our own minds.

Mental health stigmas exist because we were taught ever since we were kids that individuals who do not feel well are different from everyone else. People who were mentally unstable were considered demonic or spiritually possessed. So year after year, societies stereotyped mental illnesses as dangerous. Social media used to portray mentally ill people as serial killers, criminals, disabled, and evil, especially in movies and hence, that’s what led to the mental health stigma. But I honestly believe that therapists and sports psychologists are doing their best to end this stigma.

If you have a passion for sports and psychology, combining them together would help you on a personal level reach a state of mental toughness, which will in turn allow you to help athletes reach this state as well. Understanding the mechanisms behind sports psychology and applying them can benefit athletes achieve their personal and performance goals. And watching them thrive is in itself satisfactory and thrilling.