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Psychology of Injury

Presented by Stephen Graef

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As a physical therapist or physical medicine provider, helping individuals overcome the psychological implications of injury should be a top priority in your practice. Because of the intimate relationship between physical and mental health, the psychology of injury may be one of the more important topics covered in your curriculum and one of the most applicable in your clinical work. This course will guide you through various aspects of the psychology of injury by presenting case-based lectures, question and answer sessions, and learning assessments that illustrate both the theoretical groundings of injury response and recovery and how you, the clinician, can work through these concerns to support the optimal mental health of your injured athletes.

Meet your instructor

Stephen Graef

Steve Graef, PhD is a licensed counseling psychologist in Ohio specializing in sport and performance, as well as common psychological illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and adjustment. He received his Bachelors in Psychology at The Ohio State University and completed both his masters and doctoral degrees in Counseling…

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Chapters & learning objectives

Pre-Injury

1. Pre-Injury

Join Dr. Stephen Graef as he identifies the essential psychological precursors and predictors of injury in your athletes. Dr. Graef first introduces this course, then provides a comprehensive lecture and question and answer segments to prepare you to address potential psychological predictors of injury.

Injury and Injury Response

2. Injury and Injury Response

How do athletes respond to injury psychologically? What can the sports therapist do to support and intervene in abnormal injury response? Dr. Graef discusses the normal and clinical responses to injury in this chapter, setting the stage for important rehabilitation and recovery steps that are needed to properly support your athletes.

Rehabilitation and Recovery

3. Rehabilitation and Recovery

After building a solid understanding of normal and abnormal responses to injury, Dr. Graef describes support strategies and interventions for the sports clinician to assist their athletes in successfully recovering physically and psychologically from injury. Leave this chapter easily identifying factors affecting the athlete’s approach to rehabilitation and knowing how to manage those factors for your athletes.

Return to Sport

4. Return to Sport

In this final chapter, Dr. Graef provides the knowledge critical to returning your athletes to sport. Learn how to identify signs that your athlete is not ready to return to sport and understand when to refer your athlete to a psychologist. Conclude this chapter prepared to support your athlete through the psychological impacts of injury and return to sport.