“Team Talk”: Handling the Mental and Physical Aspects of Injury

Session Description:

Injury is a relatively common aspect of sport participation, yet it is incredibly individualized in how it plays out in athletes. This session will address the topic of injury in sport and how the physical affects the mental and vice versa. The team behind the team will be discussed during this session as the importance of a multidimensional team will be illustrated. Aspects outside of the injury will also be discussed – for example, identity, affiliation, and broad existential questions often occur when someone is injured.

 

By the end of the presentation, attendees will be able to:

• Recognize how multiple members of the “team behind the team” contribute to an athlete’s mental and physical recovery from injury.
• Justify how to set up a team behind the team for athlete wellbeing (with respect to financial and staff limitations).
• Describe how the same injury can be experienced very differently from person to person.

 

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Christopher (Chris) Bader is the counseling and sport psychologist for the University of Colorado (CU) athletic department. In his role, he provides clinical and individual and team consultation to the student-athletes and coaches at CU. In addition, he works with incoming student-athletes in their adjustment to their new environment and in preparation for their matriculation through CU. He also serves on several department and university-wide committees; and he serves as the departmental resource for alcohol and other drug prevention, education, and treatment. Prior to coming to CU, he was the Assistant Director in the Psychological Resources for Student-Athletes office at the University of Oklahoma.  Bader is licensed as a psychologist (LP) in Colorado. He currently holds the title of Certified Mental Performance Consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (CMPC), and he is a member of the United States Olympic Committee Sport Psychology Registry.