Sport Psychology Tactics - How Expansion Brainspotting Can Create Mental Flow States For Athletes
About the Author
Ben Foodman is a licensed psychotherapist & performance specialist. He owns his private practice located in Charlotte North Carolina where he specializes in working with athletes to help them overcome mental blocks (the yips), PTSD, ADD / ADHD and achieve flow states through the techniques of Brainspotting & Neurofeedback. If you are interested in services, use the link here! Enjoy the article below!
Introduction: Expansion, Brainspotting & Athlete Flow States
Usually when athletes go to work with sport psychologists, it is because they are dealing with some type of mental block (AKA the Yips) or mental health concern that is affecting their psychological performance. However, once athletes have moved on from the negative side-effects of mental blocks, they can then develop methods that enhance their mental game. One such area that athletes have begun to develop significant interest in is creating what is known as a flow state.
For this issue of the Training Report, I want to discuss a new, cutting-edge psychotherapy technique that athletes can use to achieve flow states. We will first start off by defining what a flow state is. Then we will review the psychotherapy technique that athletes can use to create flow states. Finally, we will review quick strategies that athletes can use from this method to create flow states on their own. With that being said, let’s define what flow states are in order to better understand them!
Part I. Defining Flow States For Athletes
There are many different interpretations of what a flow state is, which makes it difficult trying to understand this psychological phenomena. However, my favorite definition and explanation of what a flow state is comes from the article Go With The Flow: A Neuroscientific Review On Being Fully Engaged by Linden & Bakker (2020). In the article the authors define a flow state in the following way ‘a state of full task absorption, accompanied with a strong drive and low levels of self-referential thinking’.
When we think about this definition of a flow state, what does that mean in terms of what is happening in our brain? Authors from the article propose that dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems mediate the intrinsic motivation and activate mood states that are typical for flow. More specifically, the interaction between three large-scale attentional networks called the Default Mode Network, Central Executive Network and the Salience Network are proposed to play a role in this experience. So the obvious question is how can potentially we tap into these networks?
Part II. Brainspotting, Expansion & Flow States
Brainspotting is a brain-based psychotherapy that has gained massive popularity within the psychotherapy and sports-performance space. I have written extensively about Brainspotting in previous issues of the Training Report, but essentially Brainspotting is typically used to help clients process trauma and mental blocks. The reason this approach is so effective is because this technique allows clients to directly access the areas of the brain directly involved with the creation of mental blocks while bypassing the areas of the brain that are not directly involved.
While Brainspotting can be effective at helping athletes clear mental blocks and psychological symptoms of trauma, we are starting to recognize that Brainspotting can potentially be highly effective at creating flow states as well. Part of the reason for this is because we believe that the techniques in Brainspotting such as Expansion, access many of the same large scale neural networks that Linden & Bakker (2020) cited in the previously mentioned article. So if we were to try and create pre-performance routines rooted in this theory, what would this look like for athletes during training and competition?
Part III. Tips For Creating Flow States Before Performances For Athletes
When athletes are trying to create flow states using Expansion Brainspotting, there are several considerations that need to be factored into this process. First, athletes need to understand that flow states are created through pre-performance routines. This means that athletes are not creating the flow state during performances, but rather setting the stage for a flow state to potentially occur. Finally, even if athletes are not using the specific methods of Expansion Brainspotting, so long as they are using foundational principles of somatic-based psychotherapy, they will give themselves the best chance to achieve a flow state. If you are interested in learning more about Expansion Brainspotting, use the contact form in the footer to find out more about services!
Note To Reader:
If you are an athlete reading this segment of the TRAINING REPORT, hopefully this content was helpful! I put the Training Report together because I felt like many of the discussions on issues such as the Yips/mental blocks, strength training & other subject matter on athlete performance concepts were really missing the mark on these ideas (e.g. how trauma is the direct cause of the Yips). If you are interested in learning more, make sure to subscribe below for when I put out new content on issues related to sport psychology & athlete performance! Also, if you are looking to work with a mental performance specialist, you are in the right place! USE THIS LINK to reach out to me to see if my services are the right fit for your goals!
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