Mindfulness and Acceptance in Sport A Practical Guide to Performing and Thriving Under Pressure

1. Mindfulness and Acceptance Approaches in Elite Sport – Evolving Perspectives and Practice

Carsten Hvid Larsen, Daniel Birrer and Kristoffer Henriksen

2. Using the Sport Lifeline and Functional Analysis to Promote Behaviour Change in Athletes

Gustav Reinebo, Kristoffer Henriksen and Tobias Lundgren

3. Helping Athletes Clarify Their Values and Become Grounded in Their Sport Venture

Carsten Hvid Larsen, Gustaf Reinebo and Tobias Lundgren

4. Helping Athletes Be Present When Performing Under Pressure

Jakob Hansen and Peter Haberl

5. Helping Athletes Accept and Defuse: Thoughts and Emotions Are Not the Enemies

Daniel Birrer, Greg Diment and Olivier Schmid

6. Cold Feet, Crying Babies and Early Morning Training: Commitment in Action

Mark W. Aoyagi and Jessica D. Bartley

7. Losing Motivation, Career Termination, Reboot and an Olympic Medal: Working with a Swimmer in the Year Leading Up to the Olympics

Carsten Hvid Larsen and Kristoffer Henriksen

8. The Compassionate Coach: An Intervention for High-Performance Coaches

Nina Due Stagis, Sidsel Iversen and Emilia Backman

9. Keeping Your Eyes Closed and on the Ball: Mindfulness in Professional Sports in the United States

Mark W. Aoyagi and Jonathan Fader

10. Equanimity in the Heat of Competition: Mindfulness-Based Work with Athletes in High-Stakes Situations

Kristel Kiens and Snezana Stoljarova

11. Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement in Action: A Case Study with an Elite Football Academy

Amy L. Spencer, Keith A. Kaufman, Carol R. Glass and Timothy R. Pineau

12. Working with a Lost-Boy Footballer: Shame, Atonement and Acceptance in Neverland

Johan Ekengren

13. Mindfulness-Training in Professional Soccer

Anders Meland

14. Nature as a Source to Gain Perspective and Experience Awe

Anne Marte Pensgaard

15. Self-Compassion in Sport for Courage and Performance

Amy Baltzell, Philipp Röthlin and Göran Kenttä

16. When Disaster Hits: Helping the Injured Athlete to Accept and Refocus (2026 Revision)

John A. Baranoff and Renee N. Appaneal

17. East Meets West: Mindfulness Intervention in Hong Kong, China Elite Sport Setting

Hin Yue LI (Henry) and Ning SU

18. Taking Our Own Medicine: The Mindful Sport Psychology Practitioner in High Pressure Events

Kristoffer Henriksen, Carsten Hvid Larsen and Jakob Hansen

Biography

Carsten Hvid Larsen is an Associate Teaching Professor at the Department of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark and Head of Football Psychology at the Danish Football Association. Since 2013 he has worked as a sport psychology practitioner and supported athletes and coaches at European, World Championships and the Olympic Games with a focus on team development, performance enhancement and developing resilient athletes and coaches. Carsten has published several articles in the areas of applied sport psychology and talent development. He has contributed to the Routledge books: Mental Health in Elite Sport: Applied Perspectives from Across the Globe, Routledge Handbook of Talent Identification and Development in Sport and All You Need to Know About Talent Development in Sport. He has published several books in Danish for sport psychology practitioners, coaches and athletes. He is currently teaching master’s courses in sport psychology.

Kristoffer Henriksen is a Full Professor in the Department of Sport Science and Clinical Biomechanics at the University of Southern Denmark. His research looks at social relations and their influence on athlete development and performance, with an emphasis on successful sporting environments. As a sport psychology practitioner for several Danish national teams in Olympic sport, he has worked to develop high performance cultures in national teams and mentally strong athletes and coaches. He has supported athletes and teams during several World Championships and during the London, Rio, Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games. Kristoffer has published widely in the areas of talent development and applied sport psychology and co-authored several books, including All You Need to Know About Talent Development in Sport.