For decades, PST has been the bread and butter of applied sport psychology—teaching athletes concrete techniques like goal setting, imagery, self-talk, relaxation, and focus strategies.

Meanwhile, ACT has emerged as a powerful approach for helping athletes build psychological flexibility: staying present, managing difficult emotions, and taking value-driven action even under pressure.

Traditionally, these two approaches could have been seen as distinct—PST for performance, ACT for well-being. But when we step back and look at the bigger picture, the two ultimate goals of our work are clear: Enhancing performance and promoting well-being.

And integrating ACT with PST gives us a powerful, practical way to serve both.

Wood and Turner (2025) outline in their recent article how PST and ACT naturally complement each other. They show that skills like goal setting, self-talk, imagery, relaxation, and concentration can all be connected to core ACT processes like values, committed action, defusion, mindfulness, acceptance, and self-as-context.

PST Skill –> Related ACT Process Goal Setting –> Values, Committed Action Self-Talk –> Defusion, Acceptance Imagery –> Defusion, Committed Action Relaxation –> Mindfulness, Self-as-Context Concentration –> Mindfulness, Values

This integration isn’t just theoretical. It’s deeply practical—and it speaks directly to the two ultimate goals we all share in our work.

When we combine ACT with PST, we help athletes develop a different attitude toward the things that happen in their lives and careers.

Instead of seeing challenges as threats, they begin to see them as experiences—experiences that can be navigated without being overwhelmed.

This is the heart of psychological flexibility:

• Staying open to discomfort without getting stuck.
• Seeing difficult thoughts and feelings without letting them control behavior.
• Staying connected to what truly matters, even under pressure.

And here’s the powerful ripple effect:

When athletes build this flexibility, they experience less stress in response to setbacks, pressure, and uncertainty.

When stress is lower, it becomes easier for them to apply psychological skills like goal setting, imagery, and concentration effectively.

The mind becomes clearer. The body becomes more responsive. The strategies we teach—relaxation, focus, reframing—become more natural to access when it matters most.

In other words:

Flexibility reduces stress → Less stress improves skill application → Better skill application enhances performance and supports well-being.

It’s a positive cycle.

It’s not about choosing performance or mental health.

It’s about recognizing that they fuel each other—and by integrating ACT with PST, we can support athletes in achieving both.

How does this look in practice?

When we integrate ACT with PST, familiar skills like goal setting, self-talk, and imagery don’t disappear—they simply deepen.

We move from focusing only on performance outcomes to also supporting how athletes relate to their experiences.

Here are a few examples of how this integration can unfold in everyday applied work:

Goal Setting → Values and Committed Action Rather than focusing only on outcome goals (“win the tournament”), we can guide athletes to connect goals to their deeper values (“play with courage and creativity”). For example, instead of setting “score 20 points” as the only goal, we might ask:

“What qualities do you want to embody in your performance, no matter what happens?”

When athletes link goals to values—like perseverance, courage, or teamwork—they become more resilient when outcomes don’t go as planned.

Winning is great—but living by values becomes the real success.

Even on tough days, they can feel proud of how they showed up.

Self-Talk → Defusion and Acceptance Instead of simply replacing negative thoughts (“I’m terrible”) with positive ones (“I’m great”), we help athletes change their relationship with thoughts.

Imagine an athlete thinking, “I’m not good enough for this level.” Instead of debating it, we might teach them to say: “Ah, there’s my ‘I’m not good enough’ story again. Thanks, brain.”

This small shift creates freedom.

Thoughts can come and go without hijacking performance. Athletes learn that they can act on their values, even when difficult thoughts show up.

Imagery → Defusion and Committed Action Imagery isn’t just about picturing perfect outcomes—it can be about preparing for setbacks with flexibility.

For example, we might guide an athlete to visualize making a mistake early in competition, feeling the frustration rise—and then choosing to re-focus on their committed action: playing with resilience, supporting teammates, sticking to the plan.

This kind of imagery builds emotional agility: athletes rehearse not just skills, but also values-based recovery from adversity.

Relaxation → Mindfulness and Self-as-Context Breathing exercises and mindfulness aren’t just about “calming down” before competition. They teach athletes to observe their internal world—thoughts racing, stomach fluttering—without getting swept away.

One simple exercise: during pre-competition breathing, invite athletes to notice the classic five things they can see, hear, and feel in the moment.

This anchors them to the present.

Even when chaos is swirling, they can find a still point of awareness—watching experiences pass by without being consumed by them.

Concentration → Mindfulness and Values Concentration isn’t just tuning out distractions—it’s tuning in to what matters most right now.

Imagine an athlete noticing their mind drifting to the scoreboard or worrying about what people will think.

Rather than fighting the distraction, we can guide them to gently bring attention back to the next actionable step: the breath, the grip on the racket, the next move.

“What’s the most important thing I can do in this moment to honor my values?”

Through mindfulness, athletes learn that concentration is an act of returning, again and again, to what matters.

By blending PST with ACT, we create a path where performance and well-being are not competing priorities—they are two strands of the same rope. We help athletes perform at their best, while becoming stronger, more self-aware, and more resilient in the process.

It’s not about abandoning what’s worked. It’s about seeing it all in a new light—and realizing that sometimes things are, truly, better together.

Have you already started combining Psychological Skills Training with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy—or integrating other concepts that are usually taught separately?

How do you blend different models, frameworks, or techniques in your own practice to support athletes’ performance and well-being?

What creative integrations have you found particularly helpful?