A highly experienced sports psychologist, Amanda Pitkethly’s relationship with sport didn’t start too well. As a child, she was the smallest in the class and was never one of the first to be picked for sports. As a result, Amanda wasn’t particularly confident and competent at team sports which led to her feeling excluded. Instead, Amanda embraced the arts, with singing being her forte. Yet there was just one thing stopping Amanda from becoming a superstar: debilitating stage fright.
“My experience with nerves really affected me. My singing was great in practice sessions but would very obviously shake during live performances. I couldn’t seem to get past this, and it contributed to my feelings of self-consciousness.
“This brought me to where I am today. I’m a sport and exercise psychologist and I’m committed to helping people really thrive in a pressurised environment. I help performers and professionals develop the skills they need to perform more consistently under pressure and enjoy doing so.”
Amanda grew up in South Africa. As a teenager in the 1980s, Amanda witnessed aerobics-mania taking over the country. Mass exercise classes were held on the beach, with participants even going as far as wearing leg warmers in the sunshine! Amanda loved these sessions and she finally found her calling. She may not have found her sport, but she loved exercise!
In her late teens, Amanda relocated to Scotland as her Scottish parents wanted to return home. At 18-years-old she headed to university like many of her peers, however, having recently moved to a new country, Amanda struggled and dropped out.
The next few years were busy for Amanda. She took on a role working as a researcher at a radio station and had a baby, ultimately raising her daughter as a single parent. Throughout this time Amanda’s love for exercise grew stronger and she took up Thai Boxing when her daughter was 9 months old. Welcoming this new outlet, Amanda became a qualified Thai Boxing instructor and personal trainer. She held this role for more than 15 years and in addition to leading classes, she also hosted self-defence workshops for women and volunteered for youth projects.
“When I first started going to Thai Boxing it had a huge impact on my confidence and my motivation to strive for something better for me and my daughter. I saw the same reaction in my clients. Obviously, they wanted to strengthen their body, but they were also there to strengthen their mind. I coached a lady who was quite meek and mild at the start, but when she landed her first proper punch, when she finally hit the pad in the correct spot in the correct way, it was a huge psychological moment.”
When her daughter turned 11, Amanda took stock of her life and decided that she wanted to begin a new journey. This prompted Amanda to study BSc Sport & Exercise Science (Psychology) at Edinburgh Napier University. Thriving in the academic environment, after third year Amanda left to undertake a Masters in performance psychology at another university.
After finishing her Masters Amanda wasn’t sure what to do next. During this time her daughter moved temporarily to Australia with her father. When an opportunity came up to complete a PhD at Edinburgh Napier’s TNE partner, Hong Kong Baptist University, she jumped at the chance to be nearer her daughter and continue her research into sport and exercise psychology.
“During my Masters I had investigated elite and developing racing drivers to understand how they regulated their behaviour and performance. If they made a mistake, they would learn from that and improve. I used this premise as the basis for my PhD but connected it to health and physical activity. The research showed self-regulated learning is trainable. If it’s trainable then I must be able to teach other people these skills to improve their activity and health.”
Amanda had remained in contact with the lecturers at Edinburgh Napier throughout this time. After Amanda finished her PhD in 2015, they let her know about a vacancy for a lecturer job at the University. Amanda returned to the UK and eventually became a full-time Lecturer in the School of Applied Sciences.
“I’ve developed teaching into the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes which focuses on behaviour change and motivational interviewing. When our students graduate and get clients or patients, they need to use the right words and have the right conversations so that their clients can properly explore their own reasons for making changes which will in turn build confidence and improve results. I’m passionate about getting people to have better conversations around behavioural change.”
Alongside her teaching responsibilities, Amanda is also involved in numerous research projects at Edinburgh Napier. Expanding ENU's partnership with Street Soccer, Amanda is part of a team working with the organisation on a project to develop a platform to allow similar organisations across the world to access Street Soccer’s resources.
Amanda also works with CanRehab – a charity set up by Edinburgh Napier Professor Anna Campbell to help people diagnosed with cancer stay active. They are working on a study which aims to provide official guidance for health professionals about the safe levels of exercise patients can undertake whilst wearing a central line.
Away from Edinburgh Napier, Amanda is a BASES accredited HCPC Sport & Exercise Psychologist & Motivational Interviewing Trainer. She is also a member of the UK Deaf Sport performance advisory group. Her clients include athletes and coaches from rugby, touch rugby, W Series motor racing, boxing, triathlon, field hockey, football, swimming, golf and dressage. Amanda also provides coaching to business leaders and their teams who wish to develop their ability to work under pressure.
“It’s not just athletes. For example, I’ve worked with pilots and dancers - people that are required to perform perfectly under extreme pressure. I’ve also worked with orchestra pit musicians who are under immense scrutiny and cannot play a wrong note at a live performance.”
“On the other end of the spectrum, I also work with people with clinical health issues, such as obesity or type 2 diabetes. They need to be more active for the health benefits but are struggling to find the motivation. I work with them to explore and develop a more enjoyable relationship with physical activity which then has a knock-on effect on their quality of life and their health.”