Before we jump into your roles, please tell us a little about yourself.  

CA: I am a former Olympian (2004) in Taekwondo, which provides me with personal experience with performing under pressure at the Games. I assisted the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) to develop and deliver the ‘Games Ready Program’ and at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) with diving and cycling as well as individual athlete scholarship holders. I also provide individual care to elite athletes through the AIS Mental Health Referrals Network. In addition to sports, I have worked with children, adolescents, and adults presenting with a wide range of complex mental health difficulties at a leading hospital, as well as in the UK, specializing in mental health early intervention. 

LA:  I have worked across different settings such as community mental health, drug and alcohol recovery, in-patient treatment, and at the Australian Institute of Sport. I have been working with elite athletes since 2007. In 2012, I travelled to London with the Australian Olympic Team for the 2012 Olympics and provided Psychology services at the Australian Recovery Centre. I was the Lead Psychologist for the Australian Olympic Team at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and I am currently the Lead Psychologist for the Australian Paralympic Team (Tokyo 2021, Paris 2024). I also consult with professional sporting organizations and run a private practice.  

Tell us about your role and a few of the tasks you’re currently undertaking to prepare. 

CA: My role for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is to support about 480 athletes and 500 staff. We expect the staff to utilize our services, given they are often focused on the athletes. Currently, my colleague Elise Bateman and I are liaising with key stakeholders to identify what is already in place for athletes across psychology and well-being and what they anticipate their athletes’ needs will be on the ground in Paris. We want to be supporting of what’s being done, and refer back to primary or existing support providers. Depending on the urgency of the situation, we are there to provide support where they may not have it and / or can’t access due to time zone differences. 

LA: My role in the lead-up to and during the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will look similar to Carolyn’s. We both have similar service delivery models in that we will support the great work that national sport organizations and federal and state/territory sport institutes have been doing to prepare our athletes and staff to perform in Paris and transition into whatever beyond Paris may look like. I’m fortunate enough to have the resources available to administer a mental health screen to all longlist team members prior to Paris, which gives me valuable insight into the overall and individual mental health needs at the Games. Although it’s a labor-intensive task, I think it allows my colleague, Kate Wensley, and myself to proactively build relationships and discuss plans with those who indicate they may need our support in Paris. 

What are some of the challenges you anticipate having; and, how are you preparing yourselves to perform in the role? 

CA: Elise and I expect to have long days and hours across the three weeks in Paris, which everybody on the team there will have to manage. It’s great there are two of us so we can support each other. One of us will be in the village at all times, and we will take turns based on demands and requirements at the time. It will be important to take time for ourselves, so we will schedule “reset days.” In my current work, I have set clear boundaries and organized my own schedule to have capacity and space before I leave. It will be the longest I’ve been away from my kids and vice versa, so we have talked about this and have planned a family holiday together afterward, as a reward. 

LA: Experience tells us that we are unlikely to have our calendars stacked with formal appointments throughout the Games. The role looks vastly different from that of a private practice or even a single-sport tournament. Instead, the role is what you make it. Checking in with staff and athletes and building relationships are the two main components of the role (on top of crisis management as needed). So, just as it’s important to check in with the staff and athletes about their mental state and energy levels throughout the games, so too it is important for us to check in with ourselves and each other and manage our calendars and days accordingly. Like Carolyn and Elise, that might mean Kate and I swap who is staying out or remaining in the village for a few nights or scheduling some time off in the calendar. I have also started building relationships with my counterparts in other NPCs (National Paralympic Committees), and I am looking forward to meeting with them face-to-face (and in the same time zone!) I think my biggest challenge upon returning will be coming back to a job that I have taken leave from for almost four weeks, in my case, private practice, and having to hit the ground running. I have arranged to have a family holiday a few weeks after returning so that I can touch base with my private clients and then switch off for a couple of weeks, disconnect from work, reconnect with my young family… and celebrate my daughter’s 11th birthday, which I will have missed.  

While your roles as Lead Psychologists are to support the athletes and staff in Paris, you have both put into place strategies to support yourself and each other, which reinforces the importance of our own self-care and support networks. Thank you both for your time, and best of luck in your preparation (and recovery) from the Paris Games! 

Dr. Renee Appaneal, Sport & Exercise Psychologist (RA)

Carolyn Anderson, Psychologist (CA)

Dr. Lyndel Abbott, Clinical Psychologist (LA)