Strategies for Being Mindful: Workbook for Practitioners, Students, and Athletes, First Edition

Written exclusively as a companion set for graduate and undergraduate students, Strategies for Being Mindful workbook, together with Being Mindful in Sport and Exercise Psychology (2017) presents and analyzes foundational mindfulness skills in real case studies and provides hands-on exercises that put these mindfulness concepts and techniques into practice.  

The text teaches readers to view experiences objectively, and allow for the development of an open, nonjudging, and curious attitude, which has been shown to improve performance in sport and in daily life. Ultimately, strategies in this companion set aim to help the reader cultivate a more compassionate outlook, reduce anxiety, and increase tolerance for and acceptance of emotions, and beliefs that may hamper performance in sport and in life.

The companion workbook provides specific and effective techniques to help students better understand and accept uncomfortable emotions and beliefs, and to handle a range of issues athletes may experience in their careers. Students can work at their own pace to identify the values that align with their personal lives and goals to develop routines that can lead to lasting results for themselves, and―ultimately as practitioners―for their athletes, team, and clients.

Dr. Douglas Barba is a sport psychologist and associate professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Letters and Sciences at National University. He holds a doctoral degree in sport and exercise psychology from the University of Florida and a master’s degree from the School of Human Behavior at United States International University. Previously, Dr. Barba served 12 years as an adjunct faculty member at San Diego State University, lecturing in the School of Exercise & Nutritional Sciences as well as serving as a sport psychologist for a number of the university’s intercollegiate athletic teams. Dr. Barba has consulted with a wide range of athletes from both the amateur and professional ranks. Prior to his collegiate academic career he played professional baseball. He has coached at several levels of competition, including college baseball and golf. While at the University of Florida, Dr. Barba served as a sport psychology consultant for the Gators’ athletic department. Dr. Barba’s academic interests include motivation, mediating factors affecting performance, and youth sport participation and health.

Dr. Sarah Castillo, a Certified Mental Performance Consultant (CMPC) through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), is the Program Director for the Sport and Performance Psychology Programs at University of Western States. Dr. Castillo’s passion is working with individuals and teams in their search for peak performance in any area of life. Prior to her tenure at National, she spent 9 years as a performance enhancement instructor at the United States Military Academy, West Point, working extensively with over 15 intercollegiate, intramural, and club athletic teams. She currently works with various collegiate teams and individual athletes in the San Diego area. Of particular interest to Dr. Castillo is the implementation of interventions designed to allow performers to reach their potential through the application of mental skills and mindfulness training. Her goal is to collaborate with performers to help them become fully engaged in competition despite adverse thoughts, emotions, and playing conditions.

Samuel J. Zizzi, EdD, CC-AASP, is the Dr. Pat Fehl endowed professor of sport and exercise psychology in the College of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences (CPASS) at West Virginia University (WVU). He is a certified consultant through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), was recognized as a research fellow by AASP in 2012, and was on the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry. He was twice named the WVU CPASS outstanding teacher of the year (2002, 2014).

Since 2008, Zizzi has served as the principal investigator on a contract with West Virginia’s largest public insurance agency to coordinate the state’s largest weight loss program. In addition to publishing more than 60 journal articles and book chapters, Zizzi serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology and regularly serves as a manuscript or abstract reviewer for AASP and several journals.

Zizzi’s research interests span both sport and exercise psychology. On the sport psychology side, he pursues applied projects related to professional issues (certification, ethics), the psychology of injury, and attitudes towards sport psychology. On the exercise psychology side, his work focuses on health behavior change, primarily related to physical activity promotion and obesity prevention.