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Although anger is a primary emotion and holds clear functional necessities, the presence of anger and its behavioral manifestations of aggression/violence can have serious emotional, health, and social consequences. Despite such consequences, the construct of clinical anger has to date suffered from few theoretical and treatment advancements and has received insufficient research attention. Thus, the purpose of this article is to introduce the Anger Avoidance Model, which is a new conceptualization of clinical anger and its behavioral manifestations. The Anger Avoidance Model suggests that among anger patients, a chronic early aversive history leads to information processing biases and emotion regulation deficits, which in turn result in intense efforts to avoid the experience of anger. This avoidance takes the form of hostile rumination (cognitive avoidance) and aggressive and violent behavior (behavioral avoidance). This model holds clear implications for research and treatment of this challenging clinical phenomenon. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

While traditional cognitive-behavioral skills-training-based approaches to athletic performance enhancement posit that negative thoughts and emotions must be controlled, eliminated, or replaced for athlete-clients to perform optimally, recent evidence suggests that efforts to control, eliminate, or suppress these internal states may actually have the opposite effect. Interventions based on mindfulness and acceptance suggest that internal cognitive and emotional states need not be eliminated, changed, or controlled in order to facilitate positive behavioral outcomes. Rather, it is suggested that an alternative or supplemental approach to the enhancement of athletic performance may be achieved through strategies and techniques that target the development of mindful (nonjudgmental) present-moment acceptance of internal experiences such as thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations, along with a clarification of valued goals and enhanced attention to external cues, responses, and contingencies that are required for optimal athletic performance.

Consistent with the Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology's mission, the current special issue on psychophysiology and neuroscience in sport has brought together a variety of timely papers exploring the relationship between physiological processes and both sport performance and personal well-being. These final thoughts observe patterns noted among the papers in this issue, highlight future research directions, and most importantly, clarify where this emerging technology and its associated procedures currently stand in the evidence-based practice of clinical sport psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seventeen (17) members of three NCAA Division I men's basketball teams completed measures of mindfulness and sport-related anxiety to examine the relationship between mindfulness, preshot routine, trait arousal, and basketball free throw shooting percentage. It was hypothesized that (a) mindfulness scores would predict game free throw shooting percentage, (b) practice free throw percentage (indicative of basic skill) would predict game free throw percentage, and (c) consistency in the length of prefree throw routine would predict game free throw percentage. Results indicate that levels of mindfulness significantly predict game free throw percentage and that practice free throw percentage also predicts game free throw percentage. Length and/or consistency of preshot routine were not predictive. Although not proposed as a hypothesis, a statistically significant relationship was also found between an athlete's year in school (which reflects competitive basketball experience) and game free throw percentage. Together, these results clearly suggest that the combination of mindfulness, skill (practice free throw percentage), and competitive experience (year in school) all contribute to the prediction of competitive free throw percentage and that these variables are more central to successful free throw percentage at this level of competition than length/consistency of one's preshot routine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development and acceptance of any scientific discipline requires an ever-expanding and maturing empirical base. Yet despite vast scientific progress in allied domains of professional psychology, the field of sport psychology has remained fairly stagnant in its research progress and has overlooked major advances that could aid in the advancement of the discipline. This article discusses important issues related to the lack of efficacy of the traditional and long assumed "gold-standard" interventions for the enhancement of athletic performance, and compares the field's empirical base to sister disciplines in psychology. Further, the lack of empirical studies examining rate of change, moderators of change, and mediators (mechanisms) of change is discussed, and suggestions are provided for a new research agenda in span psychology that could expand its professional credibility and enhance its overall scientific development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing effective sport psychology services requires practitioners to conceptualize the unique issues and concerns of each individual athlete. However, collecting information on the athlete, understanding the athlete's issues and needs, and determining how to best assist the athlete can be a complex process. Thus, this article outlines a case formulation approach to help the sport psychology consultant assess the athlete, organize and conceptualize assessment data, classify the athlete's issues, and choose interventions that directly target those factors that are impeding the athlete's progress in athletics or other life domains. Two case examples are provided to illustrate the case formulation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the absence of a taxononomical system for the structured assessment, conceptualization, and intervention of athlete-clients, the MCS-SP is a model for the comprehensive evaluation of athlete-clients' needs, strategies for in-depth case conceptualization, and systematic formulation of the most appropriate type and level of professional service required. This classification system is based on the primary issues, needs, and life circumstances of the athlete-client and the suggested assessment and intervention foci combine the environmental, interpersonal, intrapersonal, behavioral, and performance history/demands that impact athletic clientele. Categories within the taxonomy include Performance Development, Performance Dysfunction, Performance Impairment, and Performance Termination, each of which include two subtypes that further guide the appropriate, ethical, and effective provision of services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In his recent article, Silva discussed the development of applied sport psychology as a profession (Silva, 1989). He termed this process "professionalization" and elaborated on issues that were identified as critical for continued growth of the field. The present paper is a response to several issues raised by Silva. Specifically, in an effort to make a case advocating the need for further professionalization of sport psychology, Silva focused much of his criticism on practitioners trained in clinical psychology as often inappropriately (and unethically) engaging in the practice of sport psychology. In so doing, the interdisciplinary base of sport psychology and the pressing need for mutual respect, understanding, and true collaboration among practitioners of different educational backgrounds were not given adequate attention. The present paper suggests that the literature place greater attention on the issue of who is qualified to provide what service if practitioners of sport psychology are to truly enhance their own professionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on his experience as the founding editor-in-chief of the "Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology."

The present study was a randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of the Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) approach compared to traditional Psychological Skills Training (PST) for the mental health and sport performance of female collegiate athletes. Two hypotheses were proposed: (a) participants in the MAC group would demonstrate reduced behavioural issues, emotional distress, and psychological symptoms, and increased athletic performance when compared to those in the PST group; (b) MAC participants would exhibit reduced emotion dysregulation and increased psychological flexibility and dispositional mindfulness, compared to PST participants. Participants included 18 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III female student athletes who were randomly assigned into either the MAC or PST group based upon pre-intervention levels of distress; and were assessed pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 1-month follow-up. A mixed-model ANOVA analysis revealed that the MAC effectively reduced Substance Use, Hostility, and Emotion Dysregulation over time when compared to the PST group. Several within-group differences also emerged, as MAC participants demonstrated reduced Generalised Anxiety, Eating Concerns, and Psychological Distress, as well as increased psychological flexibility from post-intervention to one-month follow-up. As per coach ratings, MAC participants also evidenced improved sport performance from pre-intervention to post-intervention. Results suggest that the MAC is an effective intervention for the mental health and sport performance needs of female collegiate athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "A Scientific Revolution in Sport Psychology: Challenges and Opportunities in the Assimilation and Deliveryof Acceptance-based Behavioral Interventions," by Frank Gardner and Zella Moore is presented.