Skills for Success: Mental Skills for Performance and Well-Being

Course Description

Have you ever had a presentation where you were under pressure and didn’t perform to your potential? This course will introduce core mental skills used by top performers, such as Olympians, that have been shown to help individuals improve their well-being and enhance their performance. Students will explore skills and concepts such as stress management, resilience, goal-setting, and visualization. The course will have both conceptual and practical components. Students will learn to apply these skills to everyday life as well as in performance-based contexts such as test-taking, public speaking, sport, and music performance. Rooted in the latest research from sport and performance psychology, this course will help students acquire the mental skills necessary to perform to their potential.
Please note : This mini-course will not take place on the main campus of the University of Ottawa, but at the Lees campus.

Biography

Naoko Sakata is a 4th-year doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa’s School of Rehabilitation Sciences under the supervision of Dr. Christine Guptill. She is a recipient of the Ontario Graduate Scholarship and a previous recipient of the Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master's Award. Her research focus is on performance anxiety and optimal performance in performing artists. Having completed both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in piano performance, Naoko has a depth of personal performance experience. She has also taught piano to students ranging from children to adults. Naoko’s aim is to help individuals improve their mental well-being while pursuing performance excellence.