Psychotherapy is the treatment of mental health symptoms and disorders throughtherapeutic interventions. Psychotherapy plays a vital role in the management of mentaldisorders in elite athletes. Mental health symptoms and disorders impact the lives andperformance of athletes. Combined with other forms of non-pharmacological treatments,psychotherapy proves to be effective when managing these disorders in athletes.Engaging in psychotherapies facilitates comprehensive treatment and motivates patientathletes to adhere to the medication recommendations. Psychotherapy ensures that the bestpractices are adopted to treat mental disorders. Three of the main forms of psychotherapiesoffered are:Individual psychotherapyCouple/family psychotherapyGroup psychotherapyIndividual psychotherapy focuses on treating mental health symptoms in specific studentathletes. Expert therapists interact with individual athletes and enable them to heal from mentalhealth issues. Supportive therapies enable athletes express their emotions and weaknesses, thusenabling the experts adopt techniques to overcome these mental conditions.Studies show that families and significant others have an impact on the mental health ofstudent athletes. Some athletes seek psychotherapy treatments because of families influence intheir lives. Family psychotherapy enables athletes overcome challenges and enhanceperformance. In addition, group psychotherapy promotes the mental health of athletes. Athletesare more responsive to health professional groups as they are based on the team-coach dynamic.RecreationalDifferent substances are used for recreation, self-treatment, and boosting performance.However, shifting from occasional to regular use may lead to hazardous and severe results. Inaddition, regular use of recreational or performance boosting substances contributes to misuseand use disorders. Common reasons for using recreational substances in student athletes include:SocializationSelf-treatmentStress and pain reliefIncrease alertnessEnhance energyExperimentationErgogenic substances are linked with enhanced performanceSubstance misuse entails of heavy, risky, and illicit use and is usually associated withregular use and problems. The prevalence of substance use disorders is minimum in sports.Athletes use substances at lower rates than the entire population, especially during competitionperiods. Studies suggest that severe substance disorders are low in active athletes and more inretired athletes.
Different substances have different effects on sport performance. While some athletesmay use alcohol before a game to reduce anxiety and build confidence, others report the use ofcannabis to reduce pain and manage concussions. However, there are vast negative effects withconsistence use of substances and hence the need to overcome these effects. Multiple antidopingorganization have been adopted to perform urine and blood tests on athletes. These organizations
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