Product reviews for Winning the Mind Game

In my observation, many of the popular books on hypnosis lean more toward teaching guided imagery con-cepts, relaxation and stress manage-ment, or positive affirmation techniques than on teaching the retrieval of resources via hypnosis. I am happy to report that Winning the Mind Game is not one of them; it is an excellent discussion of the use of Ericksonian approaches to change when working with athletes.

The authors displayed a broad familiarity with at least three special-ty areas-the world of sports, a knowledge base in clinical psycholo-gy, and training in Erickson's therapy and hypnosis. Edgette and Rowan's book is full of suggestions on how to manage problems specific to working with athletes. The reader acquires a tremendous appreciation for how much further sports psychology can go than merely coaching a player to correctly visualize and “stay loose,” which is common in the field. Paradoxically, getting relaxed is the last thing that many athletes want. In response, the authors illustrate how “alert trance” can direct and refine a person's attention and performance without loss of drive or performance edge.

The authors reportedly work with people of any level of ability, based on their observation that anyone's sports performance can be enhanced with the techniques they present. There is often an overlap of the ath-letes' personal issues with their sports performance issues, and a sports psy-chologist is commonly called upon to address both. Therefore, many of the approaches presented are applicable in areas beyond sports performance.

I liked this book for its pragmatic style that explained, step-by-step, how to implement their approaches. This book was not merely a theoreti-cal piece that promised to teach but never got around to ir, it delivered Just what it said it would. I like that in a book. As I read the book, I actually practiced some of the techniques as I went along. The authors suggest that readers not rely solely on their book for a comprehensive understanding of the field, but suggest that the serious student of sports psychology read other books to amplify their under-standing. The authors are not trying to be all things to all therapists.

The authors include an in-depth description of how to conduct an assessment of psychological needs for athlete clients, working with both individuals and teams. One section debunks myths about the field, and even includes tips for marketing a clinical sports psychology practice.

The chapters offer a nice balance between specific techniques and case examples, and broad guidelines for how to incorporate the ideas with diverse client presentations. It was not formulaic and stilted, but embraced the Ericksonian philosophy that each client's idiosyncrasies can be utilized and woven into the solu-tion in a co-creative manner.

The book is written in a user-friendly, gender-neutral, and entertaining voice, and I enjoyed every aspect of reading it. Readers will be left with a strong respect for the authors' breadth of knowledge in the field, their level of creativity in applying Ericksonian techniques with this population, and their own level of excellent clinical skills.

What will not be gleaned from this book is a lot of hypnosis scripts. Rather, it is a tutorial on how to create appropriate hypnotic interventions that utilize and recognize the unique circumstances and resources of each client-Erickson would be proud.