Helen is part of a group supervisory team which includes Dr Jamie Barker (Loughborough University), Dr Matt Slater and Dr Joe Dixon (Staffordshire University).
Meet the group leaders
Dr Jamie Barker
Jamie is a Reader in Applied Sport and Performance Psychology at Loughborough University, a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council. Jamie has an international and world-leading research profile with research interests in stress, group dynamics, wellbeing, and mental health with over 70 articles in these areas. He has secured over £1.1 million in research funding to support projects from a variety of funders (including The UK Sports Institute, The Football Association, The England and Wales Cricket Board, the Armed Forces Covenant Trust, the Economic and Social
Research Council, Innovate UK, and the World Anti-Doping Agency). As an applied sport psychologist Jamie has over 25 years of experience working in business, professional sport, and the military. For example, he has consulted with Sony Europe, Sony Mobile, Lyreco, The Football Association (FA), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club (2007-2016), Great Britain Rowing, Watford Football Club, and the Royal Air Force (RAF). In 2016 Jamie worked as team sport psychologist at the Rio Paralympics for the GB 7 a-side football team. Presently, Jamie consults with The FA and Leicestershire County Cricket Club.
You can read more about Jamie here: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/schools/sport-exercise-health-sciences/people/jamie-barker/
Helen Davis
Helen is very much an applied sport psychologist who runs her own consultancy thinkbelieveperform. Ltd. Helen completed her Masters in Sport & Exercise Psychology and her British Psychological Society Stage 2 training in her early 40s. This life change resulted in her resigning from her 25-year career in primary education and setting up her own business to embark on a new career as a Sport Psychologist and running her own business. Helen has worked and travelled with teams and individuals at the highest level, yet is still passionate about working with people at any stage in their sporting lives.
Helen provided long-term psychology provision to the Cambridge University Women’s crews at the world-famous Oxford and Cambridge boat races for a number of years, been the lead sport psychologist for Swim England for pathway and elite athletes and was the lead sport psychologist to England Women’s Rugby Team, the Red Roses working through 2 Six Nations Tournaments, an Autumn International Series and a World Cup in New Zealand. She has also worked with individuals at the highest level, supporting professional athletes through the Toyko and Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games and is a regular at Grand Slam tennis tournaments worldwide.
You can read more about Helen and her work here: https://www.thinkbelieveperform.co.uk
Professor Matt Slater
Matt Slater is a Professor of Sport and Exercise Psychology and Deputy Director of the Centre for Applied Psychology and Performance at Staffordshire University. Matt is a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society and has 15 years applied experience working in professional sport, business, health, and the military. Matt is an expert on the psychology of leadership and team dynamics, and in applied performance psychology, publishing 50+ articles in these areas, 10+ book chapters, and a book – Togetherness: How to build a winning team. Matt has consulted with The Football Association, the England and Wales Cricket Board, Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Stoke City Football Club(across men’s and women’s teams), The Premier League, League Manager’s Association, Lyreco, at NEOMA Business School in Paris, and the Royal Air Force. Matt loves mentoring others and has been supervising PhD researchers and key role 3 on QSEP since 2016.
You can read more about Matt here: https://www.staffs.ac.uk/people/matthew-slater
Dr Joe Dixon
Joe is passionate about supporting individuals, teams and organisations in all areas of performance. With over 20 years working across sport, business and education he utilises a wide range of applied experience from different environments, disciplines and geographical locations to support his practice. My PhD research focused on stress and resilience in professional athletes and, he also draws on his Chartered status as a Coaching Psychologist to inform his coaching, mentoring and supervision work.
You can read more about Joe here: http://www.linkedin.com/in/josephgdixon
Or listen to him speaking here: https://thesportpsychshow.libsyn.com/111-dr-joe-dixon-the-psychology-of-soccer
Learn more about the group in our FAQ
What is the timeline for joining the group?
- Spring-Summer – potential candidates make enquiries and decisions about joining a BPS accredited training route
- If you decide you would like to join our group and you have had your conversation with Dr Jamie Barker, we ask that you confirm your place by the 2nd week of September
- Official start date is January 1
How often does the supervision group meet?
Our group meets 4 times a year, typically in January, February, June and October. These whole day meetings will be a mixture of online or face to face.
What do you do in group and 1-1 supervisory sessions?
We cover a wide range of topics in our meetings, examples include skills-based work, identity mapping, reflective practice, needs analysis, case formulation, ethical practice and philosophy.
In monthly 1-1 meetings there is opportunity to facilitate your development as a competent professional where our aims include providing guidance, feedback and mentorship tailored to your current stage of training and professional challenges.
What is the process?
- If you are interested and want to know more, express your interest through this website by clicking the button below
- You will then be contacted by Dr Jamie Barker or a member of the team and we will arrange a 30 minute chat with you to discuss supervision
- If you decide after your conversation with our team that you would like to join our group, we would like you to give us confirmation by the second week of September (for a January start).
- You will be sent a Supervision of Practice contract to sign and return. You will also need proof of a valid Disclosure and Barring Service Check (DBS) and Professional Indemnity insurance.
What are supervisory costs?
For the supervisee to receive 70 hours of supervision across the 2 years of Stage 2 the cost is £4500 per year (£9000 in total). Three payments of £1500 should be made, one at the beginning, one after 4 months and one at eight months of each year’s supervision.*Please note that if the candidate extends beyond a period of study for Stage 2 beyond 2 years then additional supervision fees will be payable.
What do our past and current candidates say about our Supervision group?
“I really like how independence is encouraged (whilst being fully supported) I have learned to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. You guys are there for anything I need but I also like being left to my own devices so to speak. I feel like there is a lot of belief / trust in what we as trainees are doing. The fact there are 4 supervisors means there’s different approaches / philosophies to explore and a range of experience which covers all bases”
“I am enjoying supervision greatly. The group seminar days are massively beneficial. I learn a lot from these and look forward to them.”
“It has provided us with group supervision to discuss and support from peers. It has allowed me to submit ethics for a research project and gain feedback on this. Some opportunities have arisen through the supervisors”
“I enjoy your vast experience of working in this field. It’s great to fall back on this.”
“The highlight for me is the supervision days. They provide a lot of food for thought and reassurance. I always leave feeling less imposter syndrome vibes and all my queries are always answered”
“Supervision has provided me of some examples working within performance environment. I have also gained work through my supervisors networking contacts. Jamie forwarding on a footballing client, Helen forwarding on work with Swim England and British Basketball - I have been very lucky with this.”
I am interested – what next?
Send an expression of interest message to us by clicking the button below. A member of our team will be in touch. In your expression of interest, please tell us a bit about yourself, what experiences you have had so far on your sport and exercise psychology journey and why you would like to join our group.