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Laura Healy

(she/her)

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Associate Professor in Sport & Exercise Psychology, Nottingham Trent University

Dr. Laura Healy is an Associate Professor in Sport & Exercise Psychology and a member of the Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Group. Her research explores how to optimise motivation and goal pursuit in sport and physical activity for individuals and teams. This has included examining how the motivation underpinning goal striving can impact upon the self-regulation of goals and well-being.

Dr Healy also researches in mental health, both in relation to how sport and physical activity can promote mental health recovery, as well as aspects of elite athlete mental health. This research has been conducted in collaboration with community partners and individuals with lived experience of mental illness.

Recently, Dr Healy has researched in areas associated with elite performance environments, including the role of personality in elite coach-athlete relationships, resilience, psychological safety and fear of failure in a national sport governing body, and the experience of release from professional football academics.

Experience

  • 2024–present
    Associate professor, Nottingham Trent University
  • 2017–2024
    Senior lecturer, Nottingham Trent University
  • 2014–2017
    Lecturer, Newman University
  • 2010–2011
    Research associate, University of Birmingham
  • 2009–2010
    Research assistant, Bangor University

Education

  • 2015 
    University of Birmingham, PhD Sport Psychology
  • 2010 
    Bangor University, MSc Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology
  • 2008 
    Bangor University, BSc Sport Science

Publications

  • 2024
    “There’s only room for one of us in this relationship”: Examining the role of the dark triad in high-performance dyad., Personality and Individual Differences
  • 2024
    Goal-setting practices in sport psychology: An investigation of practitioner experiences. , Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
  • 2024
    Motivational Profiles and their relation to Wellbeing, Burnout, and Drop-out Intentions in University Football Players in the UK: A Mixed Methods Approach, Psychology of Sport & Exercise
  • 2024
    Determining factors of physical activity and sedentary behaviour in university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study, PLoS ONE
  • 2024
    Mental Health in Women’s Football: Utilising a mixed methods approach, International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology
  • 2024
    What Effect do Goal Setting Interventions have on Physical Activity and Psychological Outcomes in Insufficiently Active Adults? A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Journal of Physical Activity and Health
  • 2023
    The application of Goal Setting Theory to goal setting interventions in sport: A systematic review, International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology
  • 2023
    Embedding physical activity into community-based peer support groups for those severely affected by mental illness, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • 2022
    “From everything to nothing in a split second”: Elite youth players’ experiences of release from professional football academies. , Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
  • 2022
    Interpersonal perceptions of personality traits in elite coach-athlete relationships, Psychology of Sport & Exercise
  • 2021
    Nine Months into the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study Showing Mental Health and Movement Behaviours Are Impaired in UK Students, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
  • 2020
    Mental health and movement behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic in UK university students: Prospective cohort study, Mental Health and Physical Activity
  • 2020
    Goal motives and well-being in student athletes: A person-centered approach., Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology
  • 2019
    'Think football': exploring a football for mental health initiative delivered in the community through the lens of personal and social recovery. , Mental Health and Physical Activity
  • 2019
    An ethnographic study exploring football sessions for medium-secure mental health service-users: utilising the CHIME conceptual framework as an evaluative tool, Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health
  • 2016
    Goal motives and multiple-goal striving in sport and academia: a person-centered investigation of goal motives and inter-goal relations, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport
  • 2015
    Predicting subsequent task performance from goal motivation and goal failure, Frontiers in Psychology
  • 2014
    Goal striving and well-being in sport: the role of contextual and personal motivation, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology
  • 2014
    Self-regulatory responses to unattainable goals: the role of goal motives, Self and Identity
  • 2014
    When the going gets tough: the "why" of goal striving matters, Journal of Personality

Grants and Contracts

  • 2024
    The Mental Health And Well-Being Of Swimming Coaches In The United Kingdom.
    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding Source:
    British Swimming Coaches Association
  • 2024
    The mental health experiences of academy players facing deselection.
    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding Source:
    International Centre for Sport Studies - FIFA Research Scholarship
  • 2023
    Evaluating the effectiveness of the implementation of elite athlete mental health support services in the United Kingdom
    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding Source:
    IOC Olympic Studies Centre
  • 2021
    An evaluation of Rethink Mental Illness’ Physical Health Navigation Project
    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Rethink Mental Illness
  • 2021
    Understanding BUCS Football Athletes - Motivations and Profiles.
    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding Source:
    British University and College Sport
  • 2019
    Psychological safety, fear of failure and resilience in a national sport organisation
    Role:
    Co-Investigator
    Funding Source:
    The English FA
  • 2018
    Understanding the "I" and the "team": An examination of both individual and team goal motives in the pursuit of shared goals
    Role:
    Primary Investigator
    Funding Source:
    British Academy
  • 2018
    Impact of Embedding Physical Activity into Peer Support Groups
    Role:
    Primary Investigator
    Funding Source:
    Rethink Mental Illness

Professional Memberships

  • British Association of Sport & Exercise Scientists