Sport psychologists are increasingly confronted with performance problems in sport where athletes suddenly lose the ability to execute automatic movements (Rotheram, Maynard, Thomas, Bawden, & Francis, 2012). Described as performance blocks (Bennett, Hays, Lindsay, Olusoga, & Maynard, 2015), these problems manifest as locked, stuck, and frozen movements and are underpinned by an aggressive anxiety component. This research used both qualitative and quantitative methods in a single case study design to investigate the effectiveness of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy with graded exposure as a treatment method. The participant was a 58-year-old professional male golfer who had been suffering a performance block for 11 years. Specifically, the participant was experiencing involuntary spasms, shaking, muscle tension, and jerking in the lower left forearm while executing a putting stroke. Physical symptoms were coupled with extreme anxiety, panic, and frustration. The study tested the hypothesis that reprocessing related significant life events and attending to dysfunctional emotional symptoms would eliminate the performance block and related symptoms and that the individual would regain his ability to execute the affected skill. Pre-, mid-, and postintervention performance success, using the Impact of Event scale, subjective units of distress (SUD; Wolpe, 1973), and kinematic testing revealed improvements in all associated symptoms in training and competition. These findings suggest that previous life experiences might be associated with the onset of performance blocks and that EMDR with graded exposure might offer an effective treatment method.
Date
June 1, 2017
Creator(s)
Jenn Bennett, James Bickley, Tim Vernon, Peter Olusoga, Ian Maynard
Topics
Performance Enhancement
Extent
15 pages
Publisher
Springer Publishing Company
Rights
Copyright © 2017 EMDR International Association
APA Citation
Bennett, J., Bickley, J., Vernon, T., Olusoga, P., & Maynard, I. (2017). Preliminary Evidence for the Treatment of Performance Blocks in Sport: The Efficacy of EMDR With Graded Exposure. Journal of EMDR Practice and Research, 11(2), 96–110. https://doi.org/10.1891/1933-3196.11.2.96
Series
11
Installment
2
Audience
EMDR Therapists
Language
English
Content Type
Peer-Reviewed
Original Source
Journal of EMDR Practice and Research
Access Type
Open Access