What is mental toughness?
Mental toughness is the unshakeable self-belief an individual holds in that they are able to achieve their goals regardless of barriers they face, as well as their ability to maintain emotional and cognitive control regardless of the situational pressure, either positive or negative.
Some people are more genetically predisposed to mental toughness, however it has also been shown that mental toughness can be developed over time with psychological skills training.
How to use this site:
Why mental toughness in rehab?
Based on “The Integrated Model of Response to Sport Injury” (Weis-Bjornstal et al, 1997), the three responses to sport injury are cognitive appraisal (based on situational and personal factors), behavioral response, and emotional response. These are related to mental toughness because each aspect relates to the individual factors of the Integrated Model. So rather than use different psychological skills, we use mental toughness and the broad ideas within it.
Developing mental toughness during rehab is also beneficial because mental toughness development requires a critical incident, which for many athletes could be an injury. Being able to positively move forward from the injury can increase mental toughness, as well as it provides the athlete time away from sport to reconsider goals, priorities, and values regarding the sport.
The goal of this site is to provide rehabilitation professionals with resources to help improve patients mental toughness so they can return to play better than before. Using the 4C Model of Mental Toughness, the rehab professional should recognize what area an individual is deficient and consider the four factors listed. The next section outlines what each factor means, and guides to the page for each factor, providing information and resources in the form of handouts and worksheets. Each factor can also be accessed from the top navigation bar.
The handouts on worksheets and handouts can be used at the time and discretion of the rehabilitation professional. The handouts would be more beneficial to send as a reminder for the client, or for more education on specific skills for the practitioner. Worksheets can build on these handouts and be done to help increase awareness and application. Worksheets could be done in conjunction with rehab visits, or to be done in the personal time of the client.
4C Model of Mental Toughness
While there are many models of mental toughness, we will use the 4C Model (Clough, Earle, & Sewell, 2002) to breakdown the four components that can be improved to increase an individual’s mental toughness.
Confidence
Confidence is a learned skill that can be improved all the time. In rehab confidence can manifest itself in willingness to return to sport, in particular movements, and in the body part which is receiving treatment. In this section we will address all of these areas.
Challenge
Rehabilitation itself can be a major challenge for people. However, some people appraise challenges as threats, which provides a negative cognitive appraisal. Returning to sport can also provide an opportunity for either a positive (challenge) or negative (threat) cognitive appraisal, so this section will provide resources to encourage a positive appraisal when returning to sport.
Control
Control means both emotional and physical control, By being able to maintain control in athletes returning to sport, they can reduce potential anxieties, both cognitive and somatic, and remain present in their sport.
Commitment
”a person can achieve their goals regardless of barriers or obstacles”
By encouraging and developing commitment throughout rehab, an athlete will be able to maintain that same commitment they had before their goals.
The Integrated Model of Response to Sport Injury
Developed by Wiese-Bjornstal (1997), this model is useful in the rehabilitation setting by describing three responses and appraisals to injury, and thus how those responses can impact rehabilitation. This model is being used in this space to direct how and why interventions can be used to impact negative responses or appraisals. By using the matching hypothesis, when using interventions, they should match the response of the athlete.
If you have an understanding of what response an individual is modeling, here is a general idea of where to look on the site:
Cognitive Appraisals: Challenge
Behavioral Response: Commitment, Control
Emotional Response: Confidence
