About

I joined Sheffield Hallam University in December 2022 after completing my BSc in Psychology at Newcastle University (2013), my MSc in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University (2014) and spending five years working full-time as a sport and exercise psychologist in a football (soccer) academy. In this role, I supported staff, the players, and their parents, from under-9s to under-21s. During this time, I worked with a number of players who went on to train with and play for the first team. It was a valuable, challenging, and rewarding experience to see these players grow and develop, and to contribute a small part to their journey. Alongside this work, I completed my professional practice training with the BPS, so I am now a HCPC registered sport and exercise psychologist.

At the football club I also collected data for my PhD, which allowed me to explore the applicability of the Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) to youth sports performers (aged 8 to 19 years). Specifically, I tracked academy players’ stress appraisals and mental health over the course of three seasons and will be publishing the results of my research in the coming years.

Prior to working at the football club, I provided sport psychology support to individual athletes across a variety of sports and delivered season-long programmes of support to young players in two talented disability football teams at the Birmingham Country FA. My wealth of applied experience and current involvement with the FA mean I am well placed to advise, inspire, and support students who are interested in applied sport and exercise psychology, and who are contemplating embarking upon such a career in the future.

Teaching

School of Sport and Physical Activity

College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences

Courses taught:

 - MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology
 - BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science

 

 

Modules taught:

- Developing Professional Practice in Sport and Exercise Psychology (MSc)
- Sport Psychology: Theory to Practice (MSc)
- Psychology of Sport and Exercise (BSc)

 

 

Research

- Stress, mental health and performance in sport
- Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes
- Leadership in sport

Journal Articles
Devey, A., Turner, M.J., Artiran, M.K., & Hobson, J.A. (2022). Adolescent soccer athletes’ irrational beliefs about basic psychological needs are related to their emotional intelligence and mental health. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10942-022-00464-0
Arnold, R., Fletcher, D., & Hobson, J.A. (2018). Performance leadership and
management in elite sport: a black and white issue or different shades of grey? Journal of Sport Management, 32(5), 452-463. https://journals.humankinetics.com/view/journals/jsm/32/5/article-p452.xml

Book Chapters
Hobson, J.A., Turner, M.J., & Jones, M.V. (in press). Using the TCTSA-R to explain mental health and wellbeing in athletes. In I. Nixdorf, R. Nixdorf, J. Beckmann, S. Martin, & T. Macintyre (Eds.), Routledge handbook of mental health in elite sport. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Routledge-Handbook-of-Mental-Health-in-Elite-Sport/Nixdorf-Nixdorf-Beckmann-Martin-Macintyre/p/book/9780367567866

Hobson, J.A., & Dixon, J.G. (in press). Dynamic cognitive-behavioural sport psychology: taking a multi-modal approach. In M. Turner, M. Jones, & A. Wood (Eds.), Applying cognitive behavioural therapeutic approaches in sport. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Applying-Cognitive-Behavioural-Therapeutic-Approaches-in-Sport/Turner-Jones-Wood/p/book/9780367754327

Dixon, J.G., & Hobson, J.A. (in press). The things your training didn't teach you; Challenging conversations and speaking to power. In E. Prior, & T. Holder (Eds.), Navigating applied sport psychology: Reflections and insights from emerging practitioners. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Navigating-Applied-Sport-and-Exercise-Psychology-Reflections-and-Insights/Prior-Holder/p/book/9781032205014

 

Publications