Year of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Degree Name

Counselor Education and Supervision

Department or School/College

Phyllis J. Washington College of Education

Committee Chair

Veronica I. Johnson

Commitee Members

Kirsten W. Murray, Sara Polanchek, Dan Salois, Charlie Palmer

Keywords

athletes, athletic trainers, communication competency, mind/body connection, stress & injury, trauma awareness

Abstract

There has long been a link between stress and injury in athletes. Even so, athletic injuries are often viewed as primarily performance issues which ignores potential underlying psychological contributors to the injury. Research has shown that while athletic trainers have some training in psychological competencies, they lack awareness of trauma and self-efficacy in engaging in difficult conversations with athletes. Review of the literature will address the gaps in athletic training, and the potential of athletic trainers in supporting physical and mental health outcomes in athletes (Cormier & Zizzi, 2015; Cutler & Dwyer, 2020). Addressing the whole person within a sample of Athletic Training Educational Program students (ATEPs) could reduce injury and improve performance. To consider holistic healing for athletic injury, it is important to incorporate considerations of childhood trauma on athletes’ current well-being. The current study explored the influence of a whole person athletic training workshop on ATEPs’ trauma awareness and communication competency using a mixed methods sequential explanatory design. The integrated results of this mixed methods research indicated a statistically significant increase between pre and posttest measures of ATEPs’ trauma awareness. There was no significant difference observed from pretest to posttest on measures of communication competency. Qualitative results assisted in further explaining how the workshop influenced the quantitative results and other factors that contributed to participants’ awareness of trauma and communication competency. Major themes emerged that will be discussed in further detail along with implications of the study, limitations, and directions for future research.

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