Jeff welcomes to the podcast clinical psychologist and certified mental performance consultant, James Doorley, PhD, CMPC.
Dr. Doorley explains that performance psychology can teach us a lot as surgeons. Through his collaborative work with Dr. Naples he has learned that the mental side of surgery is not emphasized as much as it could be in many surgical training programs. Many surgeons have a casual understanding of these mental aspects, but it’s not built into our training or emphasized during our careers.
Performance psychology is different from talking about feelings or emotions with a therapist; it’s akin to a quarterback working with a mindset coach to play their best under duress.
What steps does Jim suggest we take to implement performance psychology skills into our daily routines?
What steps does Jim suggest we take to implement performance psychology skills into our daily routines?
- Step 1 – Raise Awareness. Become aware of performance psychology and its benefits to the medical community. The best sports teams in the US are now employing performance psychologists to help elite athletes perform their best. Surgeons can and should be doing the same.
- Step 2 – Incorporate Performance Psychology. Use performance psychology skills like visualization, bolstered by decades of science, to support your best practice.
Most importantly, PRACTICE performance psychology to improve performance!
Guest: James Doorley, PhD, CMPC
Jim Doorley, Ph.D., CMPC is a licensed clinical psychologist and certified mental performance consultant through the Association of Applied Sport Psychology. He is a full-time psychological services provider in the Sports Medicine division of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, where he supports athletes’ mental health and performance across varied sports (primarily Winter Sport athletes based out of the Lake Placid Olympic & Paralympic Training Center). Dr. Doorley is also part of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Sport Psychology Program and consults with Northeastern University Athletics, where he works with athletes and coaches to enhance their mental performance and well-being. During his doctoral and post-doctoral training, Dr. Doorley provided clinical and performance psychology services to The Boston Ballet, the United States Naval Academy, George Mason University, the Inova Sports Medicine Concussion Program, and most recently, the New England Revolution (Major League Soccer).