Previously rare among high school athletes
Ten years ago, mainly professional or college athletes sought these services. Then, if a typical teenager said he or she was seeing a sports psychologist, "people would have thought he was crazy," said Timothy Flannery of the National High School Federation, who works with coaches. "Now, people don't bat an eyelash at it."
Some teenagers still feel they could be judged as flawed if they see a psychologist, so they tell almost nobody."I haven't told anyone except my family. Even if it's a sports psychologist, it's still a psychologist," said one 17-year-old female swimmer from suburban Boston.
Still others keep the appointments a secret, not out of a fear of being exposed, but to reduce the likelihood that other athletes will seek therapy, thus diluting the competitive edge they believe they're acquiring.
A standard teaching method, some psychologists say, is to use visualization techniques, where athletes mentally rehearse competitive situations. Others help the athlete develop "relaxation tapes" with familiar music or sayings to play during the down time between races or while on the bus.
When they compete, they use positive "self-talk," saying things like "Nothing is going stop me."
If athletes complain about lack of concentration, they are given exercises such as staring at a finger for 10 minutes with the TV blaring in the background.
Sports psychology: license and doctorate required
Sports psychologists come from varied backgrounds, and veterans in the field warn about charlatans. So far, the field offers the public little guidance about how to sort out all the professional labels - including psychologists, therapists, and consultants - associated with this field.
Only two things are clear. In order to practice in Massachusetts, psychologists are required to have state licenses that minimally require a doctorate in psychology.
And one of the profession's main groups, the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology, has a list of standards - including a doctorate in some psychology or physical education area as well as sports psychology coursework - that confers the title of "certified consultant" in the field.
Insurance coverage for sports psychology falls into a gray area. While most clients pay out-of-pocket, some can get insurers to pay if the psychologist is able to document a mental ailment covered by the insurer. Some practitioners say there can be an abuse of the term "anxiety disorder" to cover sessions devoted to improving racing times, but there are also legitimate treatments of a range of psychological ailments.
The parents of Nick Paicos, 15, were concerned with how intensely their son got into basketball two years ago, doing running drills and shooting baskets for hours and hours. At first, they thought he was compensating for starting the sport relatively late, and standing a comparatively diminutive 5 feet 8 inches tall. But his obsession got more intense.
"We were worried," said his father, Kevin Paicos. "Where does compulsion end and dedication begin?"
The parents called Harvey Dulberg, who runs The Competitive Edge in Brookline. Dulberg diagnosed their son with obsessive-compulsive disorder. While working on that, Dulberg also talks to the teenager about mental toughness skills to give him a psychological edge on the court.
"Most of my life I've never been great at anything," said the high school sophomore. "I've been average. I just want to be a great basketball player."
Attaining some form of greatness is also a goal for Maggie Wilkens, 14, a skater from Rutland who hopes to compete nationally someday. She said she tends to choke in competition and works on this with her sports psychologist. She even distributes a brochure asking for donations to cover her skating costs, including sports psychology bills.
"I just want to land my double-axel jump," she said. "I can land them in practice, but not in competition. Not yet."
