9 Mental Health Books & Resources a Sport Psychologist Recommends

Sport Psychology

Sport Psychology and mental health are topics that are often misunderstood and overlooked. However, it is important to address your mental game and your mental health so that you can maximize your abilities, and your life.

If you are looking for books, apps, or resources related to sport psychology and/or mental health, then look no further!

In this blog post, we will discuss the top books, apps, and resources that we recommend as you pursue excellence in your sport and in life. We hope that this information will help you on your journey toward your goals and ambitions!

3 Mental Health Books a Sport Psychologist Recommends

Book cover of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., featuring endorsements, a gold circle noting 1 million copies in print, and keywords: parenting, business, school, relationships.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
by Carol S. Dweck A lot people are falling into the trap of believing that they are “meant to be this,” or “born to do that”. This approach artificially limits our abilities and Carol Dweck’s Mindset helps the reader learn how to expand their perspective, persevere in the face of adversity, and try things they would normally avoid. If you are looking for books, apps, or resources related to sport psychology and/or mental health, then look no further! In this blog post, we will discuss the top books, apps, and resources that we recommend as you pursue excellence in your sport and in life. We hope that this information will help you on your journey toward your goals and ambitions!
Book cover of Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The cover is blue and yellow, with the subtitle: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness..
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness
by Jon Kabat-Zinn We often hear phrases like, “live in the moment” and “be more mindful” but most of us don’t really know what mindfulness is, let alone how to live mindfully. Full Catastrophe Living offers a comprehensive explanation of mindfulness and includes numerous examples of how to live mindfully, as well as the benefits of doing so.
Book cover featuring a close-up photo of John Wooden, with the title Wooden on Leadership and author names John Wooden and Steve Jamison. A yellow circle notes rare excerpts from Woodens private notebooks.
Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization
by John Wooden Leadership is critical to individual and group success. Coach Wooden and his teams achieved incredible amounts of success and his intentional approach to leadership was certainly a key component of that success. This book shares his leadership principles and offers a great example for any leader to follow.

4 Mental Health Apps a Sport Psychologist Recommends

Illustration of hands holding a smartphone displaying a meditation app, with an orange Basics course screen and a menu with Home, Library, and Profile. Background features abstract hills, flowers, and a bird.
Two smartphones displaying the Calm app, one showing meditation programs and the other a serene mountain lake scene with a meditation reminder, on a blue gradient background with the Calm logo.
Headspace & Calm App
These are two of the most commonly downloaded and used apps for people looking for help with relaxation and stress. Both apps have numerous categories full of recordings you can use to help you with a variety of needs.
Two smartphones display a sleep tracking app. The left shows a wake-up alarm screen, and the right shows sleep statistics including a graph, percentages, and hours slept.
Sleep Cycle App
Cool app with several features like statistics (e.g., the amount of time you were in deep “REM” sleep), a sleep quality score, and an alarm that gradually wakes you up instead of using a blaring noise to jolt you from your sleep.
Two smartwatches and two smartphones display fitness tracking stats, including heart rate, distance, and maps, with various app interfaces visible on the screens.
Strava App
Physical activity is an important part of mental health. Strava helps you find and track different running, biking, and hiking trails and routes in your community. NOTE: Like any app of this kind, too much of a “good” thing can be “bad”. Use apps like Strava in a healthy and responsible manner. If you are unsure if you are using these apps in a healthy way, please contact us for a free consultation.

2 Emergency Mental Health Resources a Sport Psychologist Recommends

A navy blue sign with white text that reads: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline..
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Dial 988 for assistance during a mental health emergency or crisis. Dial 988 is similar to 911 but specific to mental health emergencies and crises. Previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Dial 988 offers free resource for individuals thinking about suicide or experiencing other forms of mental health crisis.
Illustration of five people using laptops and phones beneath speech bubbles, with a red box in the center displaying the words CRISIS TEXT LINE in white.
741-741 Crisis Text Line
The 741-741 Crisis Text Line is similar to 988, but uses text messages instead of voice call. Text “HOME” to start a text conversation when experiencing a mental health crisis or emergency. Suport is available 24/7.

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