Community Service: The Adlerian Approach to Sport Psychology
“Coach Tyler, why do you offer discounts for people who do community service but not other discounts?”
Surprisingly, this has been brought up more than once, so I thought it would be a great topic to discuss today. Here, at Peregrine Rising Mental Performance, we offer discounts to individuals and teams who are involved in community service within their local community. Whether it is raking neighbor’s yards or volunteering at a soup kitchen, the point is that they are freely giving their time as an investment in their local community.
This is an Adlerian approach to community investment based on the famous psychotherapist Dr. Alfred Adler (1870-1937). While I was in my doctoral program I was taking a course on psychotherapies which covered the main different approaches to psychotherapy. One therapy caught my attention more than others because it highlighted an important need therapy patients to be involved in their local communities, because of the outcome it produced. This core concept was called “social interest” or “Gemeinschaftsgefühl” (try to say that 10 times fast).
Dr. Adler noticed that psychological health involved a genuine concern for the welfare of others due to an internal drive to contribute to the common good of their local community. This influenced how they perceived success, changing from an isolated achievment perspective to seeing their success as being interconnected with others. It changed how they viewed each action and Dr. Adler noticed a healthy changes in the mindsets of his patients.
If you have worked with Coach Tyler in the past, you know that his framework for approaching sport psychology is Self-Determination Theory which was created by Dr. Ryan and Dr. Deci. One of their three basic psychological needs, that needs to be fulfilled to create psychological well-being, is "relatedness,” the connection with others and being part of a larger tribe. Dr. Adler also saw a need for relatedness but viewed investment in the community as more than a civic duty, it was a fundamental need for their own mental well-being.
Dr. Adler had four key principles which guarded his approach that Dr. Tyler tries to bring into his coaching:
Holistic Contribution - Personal growth is viewed as being inseparable from social contribution. Individual superiority and development should only be considered healthy within the benefit of overall humanity. What does this look like in sport? As athletes develop in skill, they invest in others on their team or in their community. As they give back to the other players, the skills become more ingrained in themselves through teaching, but they also make their entire team better. In turn, their actions in investing in others creates ownership in their team resulting in greater buy-in and effort.
Life Tasks - This focuses on finding success in three fundamental tasks (Work, Social Interation, and relationship), all of which are important because they depend on meaninful engagement with others. There is a dependence on cooperation, communication, and empathy. All of these tasks are important skills within sports, especially when it comes to competitive team sports.
Preventative Action - Investing in your community is seen as a preventative measure against psychological issues by fostering environments where belonging is prioritized. Having athletes who are team players, inclusive, and caring about their teammates builds a strong team environement. Athletes who get the mail or return the trash can of an elderly neighbor are the same athletes who give a voice to the nervous new kid or includes the new kid in town who feels as though they have no friends yet. Learning to invest in their community teaches athletes how to invest in their teams and in doing so it prevents negative psychological issues which in turn creates… you guessed it, better performance.
Therapeutic Reorientation - This theoretical approach encourages athletes to shift from a self-centered focus and purpose to a socially meaningful action based approach. Dr. Adler encouraged volunteering and community service to rebuild (or develop) a sense of belonging and purpose. Coach Tyler believes that the same approach can be used to develop a community focused outlook that transfers over to sports, friendships, family, and life.
Dr. Adler didn’t see investing in the local community as a civic duty, it was a fundamental human need that resulted in mental well-being. Actions within one’s community creates a reciprocal cycle where individuals self-perception and reinforcement of social health reinforce eachother. Here, at Peregrine Rising Mental Performance, we build better people by investing in and building better communities.
To help encourage these actions I offer discounts up to 10% on different packages. My purpose as a mental performance coach isn’t to get rich, it is to leave the world better by investing in the next generation of athletes and leaders. It is about passing on the principles that change the world through giving the skills, knowledge, and training to athletes who are forward leaning and who truly want to be more than just good athletes, they want to be better people and better leaders.
If you are interested in seeing how Coach Tyler’s Adlerian and Self-Determination Theory approach to mental performance coaching can help you, or your athlete, to succeed at the highest level, sign up for a free 30-minute consultation.
~ Coach Tyler
References
Cedeno, R. & Torrico, T.J. (2024). Adlerian Therapy, StatPearls,https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK599518/