Psychological Support for Athletes

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Principal Psychologist Zahra has a longstanding personal background in sport.

She began boxing at age 15 and competed in amateur boxing from ages 16 to 23, completing 10 amateur bouts. Before boxing, Zahra trained and competed in tennis and swimming from approximately ages 5 to 13.

Her sporting background provides personal insight into the demands of training and competition, including managing nerves, setbacks, performance pressure, injuries and balancing sport with life outside of training.

Support is tailored to the individual and may focus on sport-related challenges, broader mental health concerns, or both.

Azura Psychology offers psychological support to recreational, amateur and competitive athletes experiencing:

• Competition nerves and performance anxiety
• Confidence and self-doubt
• Injuries and time away from training
• Fear of reinjury or returning to competition
• Setbacks, losses and disappointing performances
• Training demands, motivation and burnout
• Perfectionism and self-criticism
• Balancing sport with work, study, relationships and everyday life
• Changes in identity when unable to train or compete
• General mental health concerns, including anxiety, depression, trauma and other difficulties that may have existed before entering competitive sport or developed alongside it

Azura Psychology also offers psychological wellbeing workshops for gyms, coaches and sporting communities.

Workshop topics can include:

• Managing competition nerves and pressure
• Mental preparation for competition
• Coping psychologically with injuries and setbacks
• Confidence and self-talk
• Managing losses and difficult performances
• Burnout and the mental demands of training
• Athlete mental health and recognising when additional support may be needed

Workshops can be tailored to the needs of individual gyms, teams and sporting organisations.