ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we present the case of “Andrew”, an elite male professional rugby union player in his early 20s, who suffered a series of severe knee injuries and experienced a number of negative psychological reactions, including heightened stress and anxiety, as a consequence. Humanistic counselling and REBT, specifically the ABCDE and “badness scale” techniques, were used to change Andrew’s beliefs regarding his injury, from his pre-intervention perceptions – that the injury he had was a catastrophe – to more rational beliefs, emphasizing that it might be bad but it was not “the end of the world”, post-intervention. The second part of the chapter reflects upon the use of REBT in supporting the recovery of injured athletes more generally and how the practitioners’ experience has influenced subsequent delivery of REBT techniques. Specific topics discussed in the chapter include: factors influencing psychological recovery from injury, the methods used in the REBT sessions, and the specific outcomes that resulted from the use of the intervention with Andrew. The practitioners’ reflections on the use of REBT techniques, such as the way they may be used as part of broader injury rehabilitation programs, are also discussed.
