Glasgow Caledonian University is providing specialist psychological support to Commonwealth Games athletes through a new programme designed to improve mental wellbeing and performance.
The university’s Psychology for the Common(wealth) Good initiative is supporting teams from the Seychelles, British Virgin Islands, Samoa, Falkland Islands and Guernsey ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
The programme is led by GCU and supported by the Glasgow 2026 Campus to Commonwealth programme.
Postgraduate trainee sport and exercise psychologists are delivering personalised support to athletes and coaches from nations where access to specialist psychological services is limited.
Each team will receive at least 100 hours of tailored support, delivered online before the Games and in person at Glasgow Caledonian’s city campus during the competition.
The project is being delivered by 24 postgraduate trainees as part of their professional doctorate training, with support continuing for up to three months after the Games.
The trainees have already provided support to more than 25 athletes preparing for the event and will also offer a referral service for other teams during the Games through the Glasgow 2026 medical team and athlete app.
A welcome event for athletes and team officials was held at the university on Wednesday, July 22.
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will bring together 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories for the UK's largest sporting event of the year.
Competitors will compete across 10 sports and six Para sports at four venues across Scotland.
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Dr Bryan McCann, senior lecturer in psychology at GCU, said: "The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games offers a unique opportunity for our Trainee Sport & Exercise Psychologists to gain invaluable experience as part of a major global event.
"Working with the Glasgow 2026 team, the Psychology for the Common(wealth) Good project was developed to provide high-quality, hands-on experience for our students, but also to widen access to psychological support for Commonwealth Games teams who do not currently have access to psychological support.
"Our trainees have been providing high-quality psychological support to more than 25 athletes as they prepare for the Games, and we look forward to welcoming our partner teams to Glasgow.
"The feedback from the teams has been great."
Jim Marshall, physiotherapist for Team Guernsey, said: "This service fills the one big hole we’ve had in the past couple of Games I have been involved with.
"The psychological support allows the team to prepare holistically and get the best out of their performance."
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