13 - 17 July 2026, Timisoara - Romania

Site maintenance in progress ...

Dear Visitor, Please note that due to year-end site maintenance, certain features, such as membership renewal and new membership registration, are temporarily unavailable. Thank you for your understanding.

Pre-Congress

Pre-Congress Workshop 1

Applying a new framework using Brainspotting and EMDR to address epigenetic, developmental, and recent trauma in performance enhancement

This interactive workshop will explore a trauma-informed approach to performance, including:
• Brainspotting vs. EMDR in applied practice
• Case discussions and experiential learning
• Practical techniques for performance enhancement

A valuable opportunity for practitioners, researchers, and students interested in advancing their work in performance psychology.

Facilitator: Dr. Alessia Bruno (Clinical & Sport Psychologist, SASP-FEPSAC; EMDR Europe Consultant; Brainspotting Consultant & Trainer).

Pre-Congress Workshop 2

From Consensus to Practice: Implementing IOC Mental Health Frameworks and Tools

How do we translate IOC mental health consensus into real action in high-performance sport? This workshop focuses on practical implementation strategies, case examples, and adaptable tools to support early identification, risk management, and integrated care pathways for athletes.

Facilitator: Margo Mountjoy, MD, PhD — Clinical Professor (McMaster University, Canada) and member of the IOC Medical Commission’s Mental Health Working Group.

Pre-Congress Workshop 3

From Athlete Voice to System Change: Engineering Better Sport Through Advisory Leadership

How can athlete input move from symbolic consultation to real systems-level influence? This interactive workshop explores athlete advisory leadership through systems thinking, governance, power dynamics, and psychological safety, plus practical frameworks for embedding athlete-centredness into policy and everyday sport practice. Expect case discussions, small-group exercises, and applied mapping tools.

Facilitator: Dr. Sasha Gollish: professional engineer, PhD in civil engineering and applies systems thinking to sport performance, governance, and athlete well-being, coach, and retiring Canadian middle-/long-distance runner (Pan Am Games bronze medalist), focused on athlete voice, equity, youth sport reform, and system change.

Pre-Congress Workshop 4

Using heart rate variability in sport & exercise psychology
Practical insights for recovery, stress regulation & performance
Want to move beyond “HRV as a number” and actually use it in applied work?
This workshop explores practical ways sport & exercise psychologists can integrate HRV to support:
✔️ recovery
✔️ stress regulation
✔️ cognitive & performance readiness
with clear takeaways for both research and practice.
 
Facilitator: Sylvain Laborde (German Sport University Cologne)
Associate Professor, founder of HRV LABorde – Performance Psychophysiology
Author of 150+ peer-reviewed papers & 4 books
Keynote speaker in 5 languages
Developer of the Vagal Tank Theory
His work connects HRV, breathing techniques, emotional intelligence & performance.

Pre-Congress Workshop 5

Beyond Performance: Psychological First Aid, Safeguarding and Athlete Welfare in High-Performance Sport – Practical Tools for Sport Psychologists Working with Elite Athletes and Sport Organizations
This workshop offers practical, system-aware tools for sport psychologists working in elite settings, focusing on:
✅ early identification of distress and environmental risk factors
✅ psychological first aid (PFA) and safeguarding in practice
✅ supporting athletes ethically within complex high-performance systems
 
Facilitator: Alina Gherghișan – sport psychologist, Welfare & Safeguarding expert and European project manager at the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, with 18+ years in high-performance sport and extensive experience in European safeguarding and wellbeing initiatives.