Mindfulness and Acceptance in Sport

This new edition of Mindfulness and Acceptance in Sport provides sport psychology practitioners, coaches and students with practical guidance for implementing mindfulness and acceptance approaches in their work with athletes. In this fully revised edition, highly experienced practitioners share their working methods, exercises and cases to inspire the sport psychology profession. This second edition of Mindfulness and Acceptance in Sport presents a collection of applied perspectives, methods and techniques that allows students, researchers, practitioners and coaches of sport psychology to be inspired, to adopt the methods into their own practice, and to adapt methods and techniques to the specific culture of their country and of the sport they work in. The book has a very clear, applied "how-to" focus. Rather than simply describing mindfulness and acceptance methods, Mindfulness and Acceptance in Sport specifies how to use these methods and the keys to making them work and the potential pitfalls. Mindfulness and Acceptance in Sport is key reading for applied sport psychology practitioners, sport psychology students, as well as coaches and managers working in elite sport and talent development.

Carsten Hvid Larsen is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Department of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark and Head of Football Psychology at the Danish Football Association. Since 2013 he has worked as a sport psychology practitioner and supported athletes and coaches at European, World Championships and the Olympic Games with a focus on team development, performance enhancement and developing resilient athletes and coaches. Carsten has published several articles in the areas of applied sport psychology and talent development. He has contributed to the Routledge books: Mental Health in Elite Sport: Applied Perspectives from Across the Globe, Routledge Handbook of Talent Identification and Development in Sport and All You Need to Know About Talent Development in Sport. He has published several books in Danish for sport psychology practitioners, coaches and athletes. He is currently teaching master's courses in sport psychology. Kristoffer Henriksen is a Full Professor in the Department of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark. His research looks at social relations and their influence on athlete development and performance, with an emphasis on successful sporting environments. As a sport psychology practitioner for several Danish national teams in Olympic sport, he has worked to develop high performance cultures in national teams and mentally strong athletes and coaches. He has supported athletes and teams during several World Championships and during the London, Rio, Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games. Kristoffer has published widely in the areas of talent development and applied sport psychology and co-authored several books, including All You Need to Know About Talent Development in Sport.

1. Mindfulness and Acceptance Approaches in Elite Sport - Evolving Perspectives and Practice. 2. Using the Sport Lifeline and Functional Analysis to Promote Behaviour Change in Athletes. 3. Helping Athletes Clarify Their Values and Become Grounded in Their Sport Venture. 4. Helping Athletes Be Present When Performing Under Pressure. 5. Helping Athletes Accept and Defuse: Thoughts and Emotions Are Not the Enemies. 6. Cold Feet, Crying Babies and Early Morning Training: Commitment in Action. 7. Losing Motivation, Career Termination, Reboot and an Olympic Medal: Working with a Swimmer in the Year Leading Up to the Olympics. 8. The Compassionate Coach: An Intervention for High-Performance Coaches. 9. Keeping Your Eyes Closed and on the Ball: Mindfulness in Professional Sports in the United States. 10. Equanimity in the Heat of Competition: Mindfulness-Based Work with Athletes in High-Stakes Situations. 11. Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement in Action: A Case Study with an Elite Football Academy. 12. Working with a Lost-Boy Footballer: Shame, Atonement and Acceptance in Neverland. 13. Mindfulness-Training in Professional Soccer. 14. Nature as a Source to Gain Perspective and Experience Awe. 15. Self-Compassion in Sport for Courage and Performance. 16. When Disaster Hits: Helping the Injured Athlete to Accept and Refocus (2026 Revision). 17. East Meets West: Mindfulness Intervention in Hong Kong, China Elite Sport Setting. 18. Taking Our Own Medicine: The Mindful Sport Psychology Practitioner in High Pressure Events.