NEW #BFLEARNINGWEEK 2025 EVENT: PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Dr Jonathan Katz joins #BFLearningWeek 2025 with ‘Psychological considerations of entry into and progression within disability sport: from participation to performance’, taking place on Thursday 21st August at 10am-11am.
Date: Thursday 21st August at 10am-11am
Guest Speaker: Dr Jonathan Katz
Host: Chris Turner (BF Coaching & Workforce Development Manager)
About the session
This seminar is relevant for assisting coaches, non-disabled athletes/fencers and other support folks, as well as athletes with a disability in appreciating some challenges athletes with a disability may typically experience when engaged with sport. The seminar proposes to consider specific challenges athletes with disability may experience within participation and performance settings, in comparison with their non-disabled peers. Thus the conversation will explore disability specific factors, sporting environmental factors, and how the two interact.
Learning Objectives:
- To appreciate that the term non-disabled refers to a range of abilities/disabilities rather than ‘a uniform group’.
- To consider focusing attention onto the activity, sport or performance in preference to ‘the disability’.
- To recognise that environmental, social, physical, technical, tactical, etc. factors are faced by all athletes where attention to the ‘person-environment fit’ is navigated.
About the guest speaker
Dr Jonathan Katz:
Dr Jonathan Katz is a consultant psychologist whose experience includes holding a wide variety of senior advisory and coaching positions in high performance sport and business environments:
- National lead for psychology with the British Paralympic Association.
- National Governing Body squad and lead psychologist across Olympic, Paralympic and Professional settings supporting all levels across high performance sport.
- Psychology support and coaching at four Paralympic Games; World, European, Commonwealth Championships; and World Cup tournaments since 1995.
- Coaching and psychology support to Olympians and Paralympians since the Sydney 2000 Games.
- Business coach and trainer from clinicians, project managers to senior managers, executives and directors in corporate and NHS settings.
- The Development and delivery of psychological wellbeing support programmes within corporate environments, performance and professional sport settings.
- Mentoring and supporting coach mental health, wellbeing and self-care strategies.
Jonathan brings considerable knowledge and understanding of organisational, individual and group responses to pressure and stress in high performance sport, clinical and corporate environments.
Jonathan has been involved in fencing since the late 1970’s as a fencer, coach, coach developer and sport psychologist to a range of individual athletes and squads to youth, senior and veteran fencers. His contribution has included support to regional, national and international fencing in both training and competition settings and supporting British Fencing through the GBR Pathway (formerly Athlete Development Pathway) and in Coach Development. Jonathan has been Team England head coach at the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 Fencing Commonwealth Championships.
Jonathan worked for 20 years as a member of a clinical psychology department where he delivered individual and group-based therapeutic interventions to a range of client groups; training sessions and workshops in counselling skills, mentoring and supervision. He has extensive experience in providing professional training and supervision and has a proven track record in supporting young professionals develop their knowledge, skills and confidence.
Jonathan is a visiting lecturer on a range of post-graduate degree courses in counselling psychology, sport and exercise psychology and sport and exercise medicine, along with presenting at a range of workshops and conferences. He contributes to supporting and promoting applied psychology in journal articles and professional books.
SIGN UP HEREAbout BF Learning Week
BF Learning Week is an annual opportunity for our members and wider community to join online developmental and informative sessions in subjects from coaching to community development. Due to the work being made in the para and seated fencing spaces, such as the SwordSeat™, the aim for 2025 is to focus on accessibility and disability inclusion.
The week will take place between the 18th and 22nd August 2025.
A full timetable, updated regularly, can be found here: BF Learning Week 2025