A psychiatrist is a medical doctor who has completed additional clinical training, such as a residency, and is board certified in psychiatry by examination. A sports psychiatrist focuses on the treatment of amateur and professional athletes, as well as the situations that arise during their careers. While psychologists and psychiatrists have always treated individual athletes on an as-needed basis, sports psychiatry has only recently been recognized as a separate specialty of psychiatry. A sports psychiatrist could help with issues like coping with failure or success, self-discipline efforts, unrealistic expectations, and interpersonal relationships. Relationships with one’s family, teammates, coach, agent, and fans are among those that may require attention.
Many successful professional athletes have achieved dominance in their sports by exercising extreme self-control. Under certain circumstances, such as failure to achieve goals or continually resetting an acceptable performance at a higher and higher level, this personality and behavior trait can morph into a dysfunctional form of perfectionism. If these mental disorders are present, a sports psychiatrist is familiar with these processes and can diagnose an underlying depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder. A sports psychiatrist can prescribe psychiatric medications as needed because he or she is a medical doctor. If perfectionism is the result of a personality disorder, a sports psychiatrist may begin psychotherapy with the athlete or refer him to a sports psychologist for talk therapy.
Many professional athletes’ fans’ adoration can have a negative impact on their personal relationships with friends, family, and significant others if they begin to believe that all of their relationships should follow the athlete-fan model. A sports psychiatrist can spot marital issues, serial relationships, or constant family disruptions as possible indicators of the athlete’s misunderstanding. If an athlete is willing to examine or change his self-image, cognitive therapy from a sports psychiatrist or psychologist may help him recognize the distortion. Based on the recognition and treatment of this syndrome, sports psychiatry can help an athlete’s relationships with friends and family to be more stable. Such consistency can be a huge benefit to an athlete who works in a constantly changing environment.
Substance abuse, eating disorders, recovery from physical injury, and issues surrounding aging and money are some of the other areas of focus for a sports psychiatrist. Any athlete’s career will inevitably include aging and recovery from physical injuries. A healthy self-esteem and stable relationships are essential for him to deal constructively with these issues. In the absence of such support, a person may resort to substance abuse or other forms of addiction. A sports psychiatrist has been trained to recognize unhealthy coping mechanisms and to intervene successfully.