Flow Expert & Experienced Psychologist
I am an experienced psychologist who enjoys working with individuals and groups to help them tap into their potential to find flow in their performance, be that in sport, at work, or with life as it is happening in each present moment. I have a passion for flow, which has been a large part of my life since I embarked on postgraduate studies of this amazing psychological concept in the 1980s.
Having always loved to work at a practical level – making a positive difference in people’s lives – I moved from an academic-focused career into full-time consulting in 2008. Since this time, I have worked as a practitioner in the field of psychology. I am a practising psychologist, with a specialisation in sport and exercise psychology. I have also trained as a yoga and meditation teacher.
Psychological and meditative approaches that inform my practice include ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy), iRest Yoga Nidra, and Mind with Heart mindfulness training in education.
I bring both an in-depth understanding of the science behind flow states and a practical tool-kit of psychological strategies and skills to my consulting work. I enjoy working with individuals and groups across domains of performance and in daily life, helping success become a standard measured by full involvement in the task at hand.
Academic Bakground
After learning there was a field of study called sport psychology in the mid 80s, I left my native Australia to embark on postgraduate studies at leading North American programs, first at the University of Illinois (MSc) and then the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (PhD). I was fortunate during these training years in North America to be mentored by leading sport psychologists including Professors Dan Gould, Glyn Roberts, Diane Gill, and Tara Scanlan. As well, I met the founder of flow, Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and having found out about this state called flow in Csiksentmihalyi’s writings, I had my course set for my doctoral thesis focus.
The title of my thesis was “Elite Athletes in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Sport Experience”, and in its year of completion, 1993, was awarded Dissertation of the Year by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and the Sport Psychology Academy of NASPE. I returned to Australia in 1993, to begin an academic career in Australian universities. I have published extensively on flow in both academic journal articles and in applied publications. With my flow mentor, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, I co-authored Flow in Sports: The Keys to Optimal Experiences and Performances. You can buy a copy of Flow in here: Flow in Sports. In my researching flow, I developed self-report instruments that assess this optimal psychological state. You can find information on how to obtain these instruments, the Flow Scales, here.
Focus on Performance
Having always loved to work at a practical level – making a positive difference in people’s lives – I moved from an academic-focused career into full-time consulting in 2008. Since this time, I have worked as a practitioner in the field of psychology. I am a practising psychologist, with a specialisation in sport and exercise psychology. I have also trained as a yoga and meditation teacher.
Psychological and meditative approaches that inform my practice include ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy), iRest Yoga Nidra, and Mind with Heart mindfulness training in education.
I bring both an in-depth understanding of the science behind flow states and a practical tool-kit of psychological strategies and skills to my consulting work. I enjoy working with individuals and groups across domains of performance and in daily life, helping success become a standard measured by full involvement in the task at hand.
Sue’s Collaborations & Professionals Affiliations
Opening minds & changing hearts
Flow in Sports
Sport offers plentiful opportunities to experience flow. Yet, the flow experience eludes most athletes and seems mysterious and unachievable to many coaches. Indeed, many athletes experience flow by chance. And little wonder, because the conditions most conducive to experiencing flow and its components have generally not been adequately explained to athletes and coaches. Their options were to wait for flow or try to force it to occur, but this rarely leads to the desired outcome.
We have written Flow in Sports to increase the understanding and incidence of the flow experience in sport. This is not a “12-steps-to-flow” book. Flow would be a simpler but shallower phenomenon if access to it were so easy.
Academic and Professional Credentials
Sue has completed degrees in Education (1st Class Honours, University of Sydney), followed by graduate degrees in Sport & Exercise Psychology: a Masters of Science (University of Illinois), and Doctor of Philosophy (University of North Carolina-Greensboro).
In addition, Sue has a Graduate Certificate in Writing, Editing, & Publishing (University of Queensland), a Diploma in Yoga Teaching (IYTA), and practitioner training courses in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), iRest™ Yoga Nidra and Mind with Heart mindfulness training.
Sue is a registered psychologist and member of the College of Sport and Exercise Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society. With this strong and diverse background of training, and a real interest in making a positive difference to real-world challenges, Sue can provide skills and strategies to help you navigate toward what is important in your life.
