Efficacy of Cognitive Behavior Therapy with Positive Imagination of Success During Hypnotism on Athletic Performance

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy accompanied by positive imagination of success during hypnosis on athletic performance. The research method was experimental with a pre-test, post-test, and control group. The sample consisted of two teams of 14-year-old players (n = 30) who were matched from age, educational status, absence of physical and mental disorder, as well as other criteria considered in this research. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups, experimental and control group. The pre-test was administered to both groups. The research instrument was Yeagly’s Football standardized test (YFT). The experimental group administered eight sessions of group cognitive-behavioral therapy with hypnotism and positive imagination, however, the control group did not receive any intervention. In addition, the experimental group, during the eight weeks of cognitive-behavioral group therapy, enjoyed three sessions of positive imagination during the hypnosis, whereas the control group did not receive any intervention. The data analysis results showed that the experimental group had a significant difference with the control group (P < 0.001). The performance of experimental group significantly increased in comparison with pre-test and control group. Cognitive-behavioral therapy accompanied by the positive imagination of success during hypnosis significantly increased the athletic performance in the experimental group in three items of shoot to the target, fixed pass, and moving pass. Therefore, to improve the performance of a soccer team, the use of cognitive behavioral techniques and hypnotism with positive imagination of success is recommended.