Description:
Soccer, or football, attracts vast numbers of passionate fans from all over the world; yet clinical psychology is yet to study it in depth. In this book, David Burston a consultant football psychology and performance coach, uses a phenomenological research method inspired by Amedeo Giorgi to consider what we can learn from the spirit of the game, and how this can be used positively in the consulting room.
Review Quotes:
"David Burston's new book soars like one of those new sky-cams that reveals the soccer field (or football pitch) from several perspectives, alternately psychological, archetypal and phenomenological. What is revealed by these new angles is a composite picture of the archetypal roots of 'the beautiful game', which is an ancient love of the hunt, the transcendent dimension of play, and the desire to be part of something larger than yourself, the team as family. For those who fear they are indulging in a guilty pleasure when they play or watch soccer this is an important book. You needn't feel so guilty after all." - Phil Cousineau, author of The Olympic Odyssey: Rekindling the Fire of the Great Games, and Once and Future Myths: The Power of Ancient Stories in Modern Times