FEPSAC Newsletter: Psychology of Sport and Exercise
Vana Hutter
General member, Managing Council FEPSAC, VU University Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Welcome to my first issue of the Newsletter of the Fédération
Européenne de Psychologie des Sports et des Activités Corporelles
(FEPSAC; European Federation of Sport Psychology). Many thanks
to Xavier Sanchez for taking care of the newsletter over the past
years, I hope I can keep up his good work. In this issue of the
newsletter you’ll find an update on the Erasmus Mundus Pro-
gramme in Sport and Exercise Psychology and news on an inter-
national PhD course held in Copenhagen. Next, we announce
a masterclass in applied sport psychology to be held in the UK,
which FEPSAC member have been pleased to attend on previous
occasions. In closing we learn that ENYSSP has had a successful
workshop in Jyvåskylå, the seventh in the existence of the network.
EMSEP welcomed the second cohort of students
By Anna Maria Strengel (Academic planner of EMSEP)
The European Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology
(EMSEP), an Erasmus Mundus programme funded by the European
Commission, welcomed new students to the programme in
September 2011. Similarly to the previous intake, the new student
group is again very international as 22 students representing 18
different nationalities were selected to the programme. On its
second application round the total amount of received applications
were 86 from all over the world.
The EMSEP students are divided between three home univer-
sities (Jyväskylä, Lund or Thessaly). The students will meet each
other in spring 2012, when they all will study at the University of
Leipzig in Germany for one semester and benefit from teaching
provided by renowned experts coming from universities outside
Europe.
The European Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology
(EMSEP) is offered as a joint programme by four European
universities: the University of Jyväskylä (Finland) as coordinator,
Lund University (Sweden), University of Leipzig (Germany) and
University of Thessaly (Greece). Further information: www.jyu.fi/
sport/emsep.
PhD course, research in applied sport psychology
From the 8th of November till the 11th PhD students, doing
research in applied sport psychology, gather in Copenhagen. Anne-
Marie Elbe (University of Copenhagen) and Mette Krogh Chris-
tensen (University of Southern Denmark) organised a PhD course,
especially directed at research in applied sport psychology. The
course takes place under the auspices of the Research Education
Program in Sport Sciences (a partnership between four Danish
universities; http://www.sdu.dk/Om_SDU/Institutter_centre/Iob_
Idraet_og_biomekanik/Forskning/Forskeruddannelsesprogrammer/
REPS).
The aim of the course is to give participants more in depth
knowledge on selected research topics in applied sport psychology.
To achieve this aim, expert researchers from all over Europe, lecture
on their respective expertise area.
The list of topics covered by the experts is broad, ranging from
team preparation in soccer (Chris Harwood, Loughboro University),
mental toughness (Greg Diment, University of Copenhagen),
ecological interventions in sport psychology (Kristoffer Henriksen,
University of Southern Denmark) and self-talk (Antonis Hatzi-
georgiadis, University of Thessaly), to career transitions (Dorothee
Alfermann, University of Leipzig), narrative inquiry (Reinhard
Stelter, University of Copenhagen) and getting published (Xavier
Sanchez, University of Groningen).
In addition to the specialities of the experts, the participants
bring their own expertise and research to the table. Participants are
PhD students from Finland, Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Denmark
and the United Kingdom. They share the fact that their research is
directed at applied sport psychology.
The course offers PhD students a unique opportunity to combine
learning from experts, learning from peers with presenting their
work. Last but not least, individual supervision of the visiting
experts is offered.
The “Elvis” approach; a masterclass in applied sport psychology
By Brian Hemmings.
On march 7th the “Elvis” approach; Brian Hemmings presents
a masterclass in applied sport psychology in Rugby/Northampton.
For many years sport psychology literature has been focused on
the development of techniques for practitioners to use with
athletes to develop a range of mental skills, and yet acknowl-
edgement of relationship building with athletes has been largely
overlooked despite its critical nature in intervention success
(Hemmings & Holder, 2009).
The one-day masterclass aims to provide sport psychology
practitioners (neophyte and experienced) with a range of innova-
tive methods to enhance individual and group relationships. The
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Psychology of Sport and Exercise
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychsport
1469-0292/$ e see front matter
doi:10.1016/S1469-0292(11)00184-1
Psychology of Sport and Exercise 13 (2012) IeII