Teaching Success Story

Certified Mental Performance Consultants® (CMPCs) educate and instruct athletes and performers on the fundamentals of mental performance skills for performance enhancement. Examples of mental performance skills include self-awareness, productive thinking, self-belief, energy management, focus, leadership, and communication. In this success story, a CMPC teaches a law enforcement officer several key mental performance skills to better manage stress and his job performance.

A new police recruit, Eric, is completing simulation training to learn how to handle stress under high pressure situations. The simulation includes officers responding to a home where loud music is being played and suspicious banging noises have been heard by neighbors. During the simulation Eric repeatedly misses environmental cues that leads to the suspect ambushing Eric. Eric is asked to re-do the simulation until he gets it right. Eric is visibly nervous about re-doing the simulation.

1. Manage Stress and Physiological Arousal: The CMPC explains the concept of overbreathing and the benefits of using biofeedback techniques to help Eric manage arousal. The CMPC takes Eric through a “low and slow” breathing exercise by having Eric inhale on a count of 4 and exhale on a count of 6 to activate Eric’s parasympathetic nervous and reduce Eric’s heart rate.
2. Minimize Cognitive Load/Optimize Attentional Focus: The CMPC asks Eric what he is mentally processing during the simulation. The CMPC, along with the police trainer who is familiar with the scenario, works with Eric to help him focus only on the germane issues (e.g. is the perpetrator armed, are there potential victims in the house) and weed out any extraneous issues (e.g. loud music).
3. Build Self-Efficacy, Enhance Motivation, and Set Goals: During the debrief after the simulation, the CMPC walks Eric through recorded video of the simulation and has Eric note what went well during the simulation and what Eric would like to change in future performances. The CMPC helps Eric identify goals for future performance.
4. Develop a Support System: The CMPC encourages Eric to reach out to peer support team to help him transition into his new role. 

Outcome: Eric begins to feel more comfortable during training and learns he is better able to notice the salient details during simulations and in the field.