Using the Tower of My Life method to adjust value orientations in athletes

Abstract

The article presents a figurative visual method for adjusting an individual’s value orientations, with a particular focus on its application in sports psychology when working with injured athletes. The primary objective of the study was to find a visual model of life that allows young athletes and their parents to quickly understand the variability of life choices, while receiving instant feedback from the system. This approach aims to enhance awareness and improve decision-making by considering various factors, values, and motivations. Through the psychologically remedial game, athletes are given the opportunity to find solutions to their current challenges, deepen their understanding of life values, and recognize their role in shaping future life goals. The method also helps foster motivation for rehabilitation and readaptation following injury, and provides a painless adjustment in cases where a return to a sports career is not possible for medical reasons. When working with parents of young athletes, the method demonstrates that parental attitudes — often shaped by their own sporting aspirations — can be maladaptive, potentially leading to a personal crisis for the child, increasing the risk of injury, and amplifying the trauma experienced by both the athlete and their parents in the event of an injury. The proposed method enables the psychologist to overcome mistrust and resistance in a subtle, game-based approach, accelerating psychological rehabilitation and empowering the athlete to regain control and responsibility for both their sporting and everyday life. The method was tested and demonstrated several advantages. They include its brevity (requiring only one, or in rare cases, two sessions lasting 70-90 minute), simplicity of instructions, effective visualization, and deep engagement with the athlete’s inner world, all achieved with minimal resistance.