This webinar is a two-part series. Both sessions will begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 12:00 p.m. on the following dates: January 24 and 31, 2025. 

Attendance of both sessions is expected in order to receive CE Credits.  Attendees will only register once and the webinar link will be emailed out to all registrants on the day of the webinar. Content from each webinar will build on each other. Enrollment can only occur before the beginning of the series. 

Abstract

Personality. How often have you heard someone say: “It’s just the way I am/She/He is/They are.”? What do you find first comes to mind for you? A word used but often misunderstood and even misapplied at times. A model for the New Big Five is used to zoom in on personality, and four of the five major sections are unpacked. This two-session composition is designed to unpack, educate, reorganize, and vitalize the perception of how to work with your clients. Now, add pressure. What does that phrase mean? Does an identified performance circumstance have more to do with the ego associated with it? Could this “pressure” be felt more by a higher sense of agreeableness? Or perhaps this person “feels” more of this pressure from the sporting culture within, the narrative they’ve told themselves, or a rich experience for a “lifetime” spent curating a sense of agency that it is difficult to imagine another way a situation may play out? Each or all of these scenarios could play out in live time, so where do you start? The nuances of each of these layers revive the detailed skills associated with being a psychologist in the performance realm. Learn to use the subtleties for each layer to your advantage.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will acquire an understanding of the “New Big Five” model of personality, the stages of the model, and the relative importance of each.
2. Participants will be able to define pressure in the context of the model and apply this definition to help govern and guide mental skill acquisition.
3. Participants will interact with the content meaningfully using vignettes and examples from anonymous client case studies.
4. Participants will be provided opportunities to bring case-specific content examples for possible adaptation and feedback.
5. Participants will become informed of skills and questions targeting nuances between characteristic adaptations, integrative life narratives, and culture [meaning systems and practices] in the context of sport.
6. Participants will be better able to discern pressures identified by clients and use more informed language to appreciate client needs effectively.

Intended Audience

This two-part series is intended for psychology professionals who currently work with clients from an athletic community, whose clients present a complex network of challenges, and whose clients acknowledge an understanding of pressure related to their goals and the outcomes achieved. This content is not unique to sport performance only. While the target population are those working with sport and performance individuals, academic achievements are comparable. The key descriptor is that this is a sport psychology perspective. At the same time, we are all achievement driven.

Format and Schedule

Both sessions will begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 12:00 p.m. on January 24 and 31, 2025. 

Presenter

Matthew McKenzie Bain

I have been on a Ph.D. journey for a few years, specializing in clinical and research psychology with Walden University, before taking my ideas and interests to the University of Queensland. I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in sport psychology in the human movement and nutrition sciences department. I have proudly been a mental performance consultant, privately practicing in Alberta since 2012. Private practice has allowed me to work with diverse individual populations (elite and developing athletes, executives, coaches, and teams). Career diversity has allowed me to teach at the post-secondary level, be a member of Canada Games integrated support teams in 2013 and 2017, and design and deliver psychological services and professional development in many subject areas. I am also a Chartered Professional Coach with the Coaches of Canada. Through my swim coaching swimming, I became intensely aware and interested in the nuances of motivation. These opportunities heightened my awareness of the demands of many professions, people, and processes involved in staying healthy and performing well.

Education has been a priority in my life. I have prioritized a versatile journey over the years, including an undergraduate degree and two graduate degrees, and I am currently completing my Ph.D. Through education and experience, the result is both valuable in career exploration and the development of an eclectic therapeutic style. My style is informed using backgrounds such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (and various adaptations, i.e., mindfulness-based CBT), dialectal behaviour therapy, and solution-focused brief therapy. My doctoral work has included exploring and developing ideas looking at attachment and high-performance coaching, efficacy in coaching emerging high-performance athletes, and currently, personality and motivation in high-performance and elite athletes.

In addition to my professional and educational ambitions, I am a father to two busy and joyful young boys, a proud husband, and a committed community advocate. I also dabble in my past sports, having been a triathlete and swimmer in years gone by and a former University football player. I enjoy learning about how today’s athletes learn and hone their crafts to the highest desired level and remain committed and lifelong participants in the world of sport.

Cancellation and Refunds

Cancellation and refunds may be applied for by email or phone call to the PAA Continuing Professional Development Officer. Cancellations received fourteen (14) days prior to the Continuing Professional Development activity will receive a full refund of the registration fee, less a $35.00 + GST processing fee. PAA reserves the right to cancel any activity, in which case a full refund of the registration fee will be provided. PAA will not issue refunds for unattended sessions of the series. 

Continuing Education Credits

The Psychologists’ Association of Alberta (PAA) is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) to offer Continuing Education (CE) for psychologists. This workshop is offered for  Six (6.0) hours of CE Credit. Full attendance at the workshop is required to receive Continuing Education Credits. Partial credit will not be awarded, and late arrivals or early departures will preclude awarding of Continuing Education Credits. PAA maintains responsibility for the program. Partial CE credits may be considered for extraordinary events.