Mental Health in Sport Podcast

Long Term Injuries: How to Confront Difficult Thoughts and Emotions

by
Keagen Hadley

Long Term Injuries: How to Confront Difficult Thoughts and Emotions

Keagan Hadley

Keagen Hadley is a doctor of occupational therapy specializing in using psychological treatments such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) with his patients. As a patient and therapist, he has a deep understanding of the interventions and knows how emotional stress can interfere with rehabilitation, daily activities, and overall quality of life.

As an athlete, he tore both ACLs playing college and semi-professional football. This experience made him acutely aware of the struggles associated psychologically post-ACL injury and how to overcome them with positive results.

He is passionate about mental health, sports, joint-centric training and rehabilitation, financial literacy, nutrition, and entrepreneurship.

Today’s podcast episode looks at long-term serious injuries, the psychological impact and helpful strategies to help you manage your mental health during the rehabilitation process and afterwards.  My guest, doctor of occupational therapy, Keagen Hadley has recently released a book called Torn: Overcoming the Psychological Challenges Post-ACL Injury which we go on to discuss too.  

Keagan shares his backstory, the motivation behind writing his book, his definition of mental toughness when faced with a long term serious injury, like an ACL.  We also chat about Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) as a potentially helpful solution and much more. 

Key Learning Points:

  • Keagan didn’t intend to write a book initially however he found it became a cathartic process helping him process his thoughts and emotions.
  • He personally had two long term ACL injuries which occurred whilst playing American Football, as well as experiencing battles with depression and anxiety.
  • Being part of the group was difficult for Keagan when he was injured.
  • His identity of who he was shifted hugely.
  • Mental toughness in this context is about learning to face and sit with difficult thoughts and emotions.
  • Seeking support and discussing your problems is important to process the emotions.
  • Acceptance Commitment Therapy helped Keagan greatly during the difficult times and is something he advocates in his work with athletes too.

Connect with Keagan Hadley

LinkedIn

Website 

BOOK: Torn Overcoming Psychological Challenges Post ACL 

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

To Listen to the Full Podcast Episodes

Ep011: Dave Algeo – Mental Toughness, Mental Health and High Performance

Ep018: Kieron Brady – From Professional Football to Alcoholism Consultant

Ep075: Grant Phyphers – How to Rebuild Your Identity

Ep113: Polly Brennan – The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness

Ep124: Richard Dorney MBE – Supporting People: What Can You Learn About Resilience From The Military

Other Useful Resources linked to Mental Health

Blog – Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Blog – 3 Tips to Deal with Bullying in Sport

Blog – How to Find Your Why 

Blog – Mental Health Guidance for Coaches When Supporting Athletes

THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY HUB

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David Charlton

Best Wishes 

David Charlton

Global Sports Psychologist located near Durham and willing to travel Internationally.  Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence.  With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly.  

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]

To Chat with David
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Mindfulness

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What Can You Learn About Resilience From The Military

by
Richard Dorney

Supporting People: What Can You Learn About Resilience From The Military

Richard Dorney

Richard Dorney served in the British Army as an infantry soldier and as an officer for almost 39 years. He served in Northern Ireland (6 tours) the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. He was responsible for establishing the British Army Trauma Risk Management programme which he rolled out across the Army. He was the Chief of Staff in the Army Recovery Capability, the organisation responsible for managing the recovery of wounded injured and sick personnel. 

Richard is a graduate of the UK Intermediate Command and Staff College. He is the Director of Strongmind Resiliency Training, a company that works to improve mental health support trauma management and resilience mainly in public sector organisations exposed to stress and trauma. Richard and his team worked to train and support UK healthcare professionals during the pandemic and many other first response organisations. He holds an MSc in War and Psychiatry from Kings College London, was made MBE in 2008 and was admitted to the Order of St John of Jerusalem. 

In today’s episode I speak to Richard Dorney MBE.  Richard served in the military for almost 39 years and has a wealth of experience in dealing with high stress situations.  He’s now the Director of Strongmind Resiliency Training, a company that works to improve mental health support, trauma management and resilience mainly in public sector organisations exposed to stress and trauma.  Richard goes on to share his background and lessons that he’s learned.  We discuss resilience development and leadership in the military, Trauma risk management (TRIM) in the military and in healthcare and corporate settings.  

Key Learning Points:

  • Resilience is not innate, it isn’t just something you have, you can develop it.
  • The mission comes first in the military.
  • There is a focus on the preservation of quality, power and capability. The military does very well in understanding it’s people and their capabilities.
  • Leadership in the military is very good, they invest a great deal of time and effort training leaders at every stage of their leadership development.
  • Peer support is a vital component when dealing with Trauma.
  • A strong mind is about mental resilience, robustness, thinking, attitude and behaviour. 
  • A fundamental key of a strong mind is self-awareness.
  • Psychologically informed, empathetic and compassionate leadership is vital when managing people.

Connect with Richard Dorney MBE

LinkedIn

Website 

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Other Useful Podcast Episodes

Ep065: Dr Amy Izycky – Encouraging Mentally Healthy Cultures in Sport

Ep066: Marilyn Okoro – Mental Health and Resilience: Lessons from an Olympic Medalist

Ep075: Grant Phyphers – How to Rebuild Your Identity

Ep113: Polly Brennan – The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness

Ep114: Tim Bradshaw – Because I Can – How To Get Out Of Your Own Way 

Other Useful Resources linked to Mental Health

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

Blog – 3 Tips to Deal with Bullying in Sport

Blog – How to Find Your Why 

Blog – Mental Health Guidance for Coaches When Supporting Athletes

THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY HUB

IF YOU ENJOYED TODAY'S SHOW PLEASE SHARE

SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE AUDIO PLATFORM

Apple Itunes Podcast

Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and we read every single one of them!

David Charlton

Best Wishes 

David Charlton

Global Sports Psychologist located near Durham and willing to travel Internationally.  Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence.  With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly.  

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]

To Chat with David
The-Mental-Edge-Sign-Up
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

Search Our Sports Psychology Website

Popular Categories

Communication Skills
Culture
Mental Health
Resilience

Join Our Online Community Now!

The Sports Psychology Hub

"The Mental Edge"

Are you an athlete, coach or parent that would like to learn how to create sustainable high performance? 

Receive my free fortnightly email, where I share proven Sports Psychology and High Performance tips and strategies. 

If you want some support and motivation straight to your inbox, then fill in your details below.





Learn how Sports Psychology Coaching can take Your Performances to the next level

What Is New? Developments in Mental Toughness Research and Practice

by
Doug Strycharczyk and Dr John Perry

What Is New? Developments in Mental Toughness Research and Practice

Doug Strycharczyk and Dr John Perry

Doug Strycharczyk is viewed as a rock star in the Mental Toughness world.  He has pioneered the application of the mental toughness to a wide variety of sectors.   He’s seen as one of the leading authorities worldwide on the application of the 4Cs Mental Toughness model, Doug works in the Occupational, Educational, Social Work, Sports and Health settings in more than 80 countries.  

He’s the CEO for AQR International and an experienced author who has contributed to a number of books that look at developing mental toughness and resilience with individuals and at an organisational level, with youngsters through to leaders. The development of psychometric tests are also a feature of Doug’s work.

Doug Strycharczyk Books: Developing Mental Toughness, Developing Employability and Enterprise, Developing Resilient Organisations, Developing Mental Toughness in Young People.

–––––

Dr John Perry is Head of Psychology at Mary Immaculate College in Ireland. For several years John has been a core member of the AQR International team which has continued the development of the mental toughness concept and has been central to the work carried out establishing the reliability of the concept. John has published many papers on Mental Toughness often in collaboration with Peter Clough and Kostas Papageorgiou.

John has also led the exploration of specific aspects of Mental Toughness and a variety of applications – including new insights into understanding stress management all of which have direct implication for practitioners.

Today marks a landmark in the Demystifying Mental Toughness Podcast where the show has been running for 2 years without missing a week.  As a result, 2 very special guests and pioneers in the field Doug Strycharczyk and Dr John Perry join me.  Together we discuss the third edition of their book alongside Professor Peter Clough, Developing Mental Toughness, we chat about new developments to the 4C’s Mental Toughness model.  Doug and John also share their thoughts on where research and practice is heading sharing insights into Mental Toughness and its relationships with innovation, trust and Mental Health.

Key Learning Points:

  • The development of the eight factors in the four Cs Mental Toughness model include the introduction of goal orientation, achievement orientation, risk orientation and learning orientation.
  • The eight factor framework for mental toughness has brought a new lens to understanding how other people behave.  We’ve been looking at things like trust, innovation, curiosity and more recently vulnerability.
  • Goal orientation is the extent to which you are likely to be motivated by targets.
  • Achievement orientation is the extent to which you make sure that you stick in to meet that target or goal.
  • Learning orientation links to the question – do you keep making the same mistakes?
  • In sport a lot of people struggle with reflection and repeating mistakes.  Age may have something to do with this.
  • There is potential for developing some really interesting solutions for lots of people through the Mental Toughness lens moving forwards.
  • The 4C’s model is sufficiently complex, in that it represents people and the future is very exciting where we have many options to continue on the great work already done.

Connect with Dr John Perry:

Twitter: @johnperry81

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Doug Strycharczyk:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougstrycharczyk/

Email: [email protected]

https://aqrinternational.co.uk/

Connect with David Charlton

Download THE FOCUSED ATHLETE CHECKLIST

Join David @ The Sports Psychology Hub

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

To Listen to the Full Podcast Episodes

Ep001: Doug Strycharczyk – The Importance of Mental Toughness

Ep028: Peter Clough MBE – Why is Mental Toughness Important?

Ep035: Dr John Perry – Thrive, Don’t Just Survive 2021

Ep050: Doug Strycharczyk, Peter Clough MBE & Dr John Perry – Mental Strength Does Not Guarantee Success 

Ep109: Maria Jeffers – How to master the mental side of horse riding

Other Useful Resources

5 Reasons team captains should work with a Sports Psychologist

Blog – Mental-Toughness is a Hugely Valuable Trait

Blog – Make Better Decisions to Help Your Sport Performance

Blog – 5 Ways to Create a Psychological Safe Sporting Environment

THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY HUB

IF YOU ENJOYED TODAY'S SHOW PLEASE SHARE

SUBSCRIBE AND LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE AUDIO PLATFORM

Apple Itunes Podcast

Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and we read every single one of them!

David Charlton

Best Wishes 

David Charlton

Global Sports Psychologist located near Durham and willing to travel Internationally.  Managing Director – Inspiring Sporting Excellence.  With over 10 years experience supporting athletes, coaches, parents and teams to achieve their goals, quickly.  

T: +44 7734 697769

E: [email protected]

To Chat with David
The-Mental-Edge-Sign-Up
Facebook Twitter Linkedin Instagram

Search Our Sports Psychology Website

Popular Categories

Culture
Mental Health in Sports
Mental Toughness in Sports

Join Our Online Community Now!

The Sports Psychology Hub

"The Mental Edge"

Are you an athlete, coach or parent that would like to learn how to create sustainable high performance? 

Receive my free fortnightly email, where I share proven Sports Psychology and High Performance tips and strategies. 

If you want some support and motivation straight to your inbox, then fill in your details below.





Learn how Sports Psychology Coaching can take Your Performances to the next level

How to Help Footballers Who Have Been Released – Part Two

by
David Charlton

How to Help Footballers Who Have Been Released – Part Two By working with David Charlton, you and your organisation will be better equipped to rise to modern day challenges and better informed to thrive on and off the pitch, course or court.  Where he inspires individuals and teams to: Cope with pressure and challenges more

How to Help Footballers Who Have Been Released – Part One

by
David Charlton

How to Help Footballers Who Have Been Released – Part One By working with David Charlton, you and your organisation will be better equipped to rise to modern day challenges and better informed to thrive on and off the pitch, course or court.  Where he inspires individuals and teams to: Cope with pressure and challenges more

The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness

by
Polly Brennan

The Relationship Between Mental Fitness, Mental Health and Mental Toughness Polly Brennan is founder of Adventurous Coaching and creator of The Mental Fitness Kitbag™ Model. Polly teaches strategies in 9 disciplines which strengthen mental wealth. Drawing on years of expertise working in the NHS mental health sector, Polly is also a Professional Certified Coach and an Occupational

David on Being Tough Vs Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin Part 4

by

David on Being Tough Vs Being Comfortable in Your Own Skin – Part 4 By working with David Charlton, you and your organisation will be better equipped to rise to modern day challenges and better informed to thrive on and off the pitch, course or court.  Where he inspires individuals and teams to: Cope with pressure

Mental Toughness Compilation 006

by
Demystifying Mental Toughness

Sports Psychology Tips: Mental Toughness Compilation 006 Today’s Mental Toughness compilation episode includes short snippets of advice from our most recent 9 episodes.  By tuning in you will learn more about the significance of Mental Toughness and the complexity of the trait across a range of domains. Key Learning Points: James Lau tells you about