Why psychological safety matters for athletes
Athletes often have all their physical needs met. They have training hours, coaches, medical teams, performance analysts and perhaps even a sport psychologist to work on the mental side. These are all essential to high-performance, but an element which is just as important, is psychological safety, and this is often the missing ingredient. Unless athletes feel safe enough to communicate with their coaches, raise concerns when things feel off or be honest about how they feel, they cannot perform to the best of their ability. This is not always as a result of harmful behaviour but due to a lack of space created for athlete voice.
The cost is rarely visible at first. It shows up in athletes who train on injury because they feel they cannot say anything. In athletes who feel that something is wrong but do not have the language or education to recognise abnormal coaching behaviour. Or in athletes who quietly disengage long before anyone notices they are struggling.
The absence of psychological safety is not always obvious. It does not always require psychological harm to be present for it to be relevant. Often, it is about the absence of an action (like someone checking in with you often), rather than the presence of a harmful one. What makes psychological safety particularly important for athletes is the fact that they can feel unsafe despite the presence of safeguarding measures and policies. Athletes may lack the awareness, might be too young or may lack the confidence to speak up on their own, so understanding what psychological safety is and how to experience it, is essential for their autonomy and ownership over their education.
What the research tells us
A lack of psychological safety in sport contributes to increased anxiety, depression and dropout rates. It is also linked to lower self-esteem, motivation and enjoyment.
In elite sport culture where pain and fear are normalised as being 'part of sport', psychological safety for athletes is reduced.
The presence of psychological safety significantly contributes to sustained performance and wellbeing, and better team functioning.
Athletes training and competing in cultures where they are encouraged to speak up and make mistakes have reported better wellbeing and sustained sport enjoyment.
How Creating Space can help
Creating Space works with athletes to build a shared understanding of what psychological safety is, what it looks and feels like in practice, and how to recognise its presence or absence in their own environment. Sessions are designed to be honest, grounded, and practically useful.
We do not offer a quick fix. We offer a framework. Athletes leave with a clearer sense of what they are entitled to expect from their environment, what they can do to contribute to one that works for everyone, and how to communicate more effectively when things are not right.
Sessions are available as standalone introductory workshops or as part of a longer programme, and can be delivered to individual groups, mixed groups, or as part of a wider organisational approach.
Outcomes
- A clear understanding of what psychological safety means and why it matters for their performance and wellbeing
- Language to articulate how their environment is affecting them, with coaches, parents, or support staff
- Greater confidence in recognising when something is not right, and a sense of permission to say so
- Practical tools for contributing to a safer environment within their team or group
- A stronger connection between their internal experience and their ability to perform at their best