Integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Psychological Skills Training (PST): a case study

Area of Science:

• Sport Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Performance anxiety is a common issue for young athletes.
• Existing literature lacks guidance on integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with Psychological Skills Training (PST).

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline sport psychology service delivery for a competitive figure skater experiencing performance anxiety.
• To demonstrate the integration of ACT core processes with PST techniques.

Main Methods:

• A case study approach was used with an 11-year-old competitive figure skater.
• Intervention integrated ACT (defusion, values, committed action, present moment) with PST (goal setting, imagery, performance profiling, self-talk).

Main Results:

• The integrated ACT and PST intervention aimed to reduce performance anxiety.
• Client and practitioner reflections were used to evaluate service delivery.

Conclusions:

• Integrating ACT and PST can be a viable approach for managing performance anxiety in young athletes.
• Demonstrating the alignment between ACT and PST is important for practitioners.