Psychological training online: a case of artistic gymnastics psychological block

Abstract

A psychological study conducted on an 11-year-old gymnast who has been suffering a mental block to execute a gymnastic element on the balance beam for two years. This study presents the peculiarity that the intervention was performed remotely. The psychological evaluation was carried out through: interviews, observation, recording and analysis of videos and self-records. After a functional analysis, a 2-dimensional intervention was proposed: 1) psychological training with the gymnast consisting of: a) the learning of the behavior-objective through successive approximations, b) the sequencing of the execution, c) the establishment of a pre-execution routine, and d) remote monitoring of some of the sessions; and 2) an indirect intervention with her coach by shaping the coach’s behavior to favor values relevant to the gymnast. The results indicate that the gymnast was able to eliminate the block and perform the target skill not only in training situations but also in competition; likewise, the coach’s behavioral changes consistent with her values were achieved. Therefore, with the present work, we can conclude that online psychological intervention is effective.