ABSTRACT
This chapter considers perfectionism from an applied perspective. It draws on practical experiences and research to highlight how people have worked with perfectionistic athletes and some of the practical strategies people have found particularly useful. The chapter focuses on principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT is an evidence-based approach with established efficacy and effectiveness in a range of psychological disorders. People use this approach extensively in the work and have found it to be particularly useful when working with perfectionistic athletes. The main problem is that these athletes often have an irrational fear let go of their perfectionism they would become mediocre and viewed by others as lazy or not willing to push to their limits in order to succeed in elite sport. As such, perfectionism can be considered a transdiagnostic process. The chapter considers guideline a great aid in the own work and highly recommend the approach for sport psychologists who work with athletes various perfectionistic tendencies.
