Pretty Psyched

In this week’s episode, Dr. Phoebe is joined by her colleague Dr. Sofie Kent. Sofie is a licensed Sports Psychologist currently lecturing at Leeds Beckett University, practicing in professional sports organizations, and researching about the romantic partners of elite professional athletes. Sofie and Phoebe hope that you walk away from this episode with a better understanding of the key distinctions between sports psychology, counselling + clinical psychology, and player care at professional sport clubs. The two discuss the importance of sports teams catering deserved support to romantic partners of professional athletes, both for the aim of athletes performing to the best of their ability and in the best interest of the well-being of the second person in this two-person career.“Two on a tightrope: The stress experiences of the romantic partners of professional athletes”Kent et al., 2025

This week Dr. Phoebe talks through her published research- a review of the existing academic literature about the experiences of romantic partners of professional athletes across different countries and sporting affiliations. The hope is that partners may feel some comfort in the reflection of their experiences in this research, being acknowledged and heard by academics in research. Also for sport club staff, this paper justifies the need for support to be catered for partners of professional athletes and can potentially spark ideas for what that support could look like. The number of commonalities drawn in this review show that “WAGs” experiences are more similar than different, regardless of sport or home country. Professionals could look to other leagues and sports for resources in how to best support athletes’ families, seeing that the academic research in this area is so sparse. Some personal stories and examples are also told throughout. See the link below to read more:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16138171.2025.2475659#abstract

With the formal return of Pretty Psyched and the start of Season 2, Dr. Phoebe sits down to catch everyone up on the past year and update on what’s to come with the podcast. She speaks about her positive experience in the family lounge at TFC this season, as well as the challenges faced when her husband picked up an injury near the end of the season. Dr. Phoebe also explains the work she has been doing with both the Premier League and MLS, as well as where she hopes player care is moving toward in the near future. To round off the episode, she candidly talks about her struggles in the off-season as her husband is now a free agent.

Dr. Phoebe sits down with her friend, Bec Westwood. As funny as it can feel to sit down and do an interview with a best friend, the two cover numerous important topics within their chat. Bec details how she and her husband, Charlotte FC captain Ashley Westwood, first met and built their life together in the EFL’s league one. Life in football is a rollercoaster, and the pair quickly found themselves within the Premier League at Aston Villa and Burnley FC. Bec then leads a very important conversation about her journey with her health and recovery during COVID (please see relevant resources below). The Westwood family is now rooted in the club and culture in Charlotte. They both reminisce on their experiences moving internationally amidst their partners’ careers in elite football. Dr. Phoebe and Bec answer some of your questions, and Bec leaves us with some words of wisdom to other partners of professional footballers. Resources in the UK:https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/breast-cancer-in-women/symptoms-of-breast-cancer-in-women/https://www.nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/how-to-check-your-breasts-or-chest/Resources in the USA:https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/breast-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20352470https://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-resources/

Shannon Horlock (long-term partner of Nick Pope) and Danika Hutton (long-term partner of Charlie Taylor) join Dr. Phoebe in this week’s episode, and the final episode of Pretty Psyched’s first season. They speak about making friends in football, as the two became best friends during their time at Burnley Football Club. Even though both have moved from Burnley since, Shannon to Newcastle and Danika to Southampton, they discuss how they maintain their long-distance friendship. Both of the guests mention their struggles with a sense of identity while living amidst Premier League football, even though they both emphasize how important it is for them to be independent and grounded. They also note the pressures and struggles that come with negativity on social media- how footballers are supported to cope with these elements of the lifestyle within elite football, while their partners unfortunately are not. Lots of laughs, honesty, chitchat, and stories in this episode.

As per the request of Dr. Phoebe’s colleague’s mom, in this episode she discusses the first season of the “Welcome to Wrexham” docuseries on Disney+. In the nature of her own interests and research within the elite levels of professional English football, she ties in comparisons to her lived experiences and research outcomes. In the world of professional sports which mostly occurs behind tightly closed doors, it’s refreshing to see behind the scenes in some very honest portrayals of life amidst professional football in Wrexham (especially now that we know they’ve since secured back-to-back-to-back promotions).

Dr. Phoebe gets to catch up with her friend from “the Burnley days” today, Georgina Roberts. Georgina is an accomplished singer (Rendezvous At Two), a mom, wife to Welsh international player Connor Roberts, and mom of two. In today’s episode they catch up, reminisce, and dive deeper into certain topics like the stereotypes in football and mental health. Particularly toward the end of the episode, Georgina talks about her experience receiving an Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and what this has meant to her.

This week's episode is the second in Dr. Phoebe's mindfulness series. Here she gives a brief explanation on what mindfulness is in the context of psychology and therapy, includes a guided “progressive muscle relaxation” (PMR) practice that you can refer back to whenever you're wanting to practice yourself, and notes the difference between practicing mindfulness exercises versus being mindful in daily life. The “progressive muscle relaxation” exercise can be found at 6:33.

This week Dr. Phoebe catches up with Lukas Jutkiewicz. With 350+ appearances and 65+ goals for Birmingham City Football Club, he is known and loved by their supporters. Often times in professional sports, people don’t get to know the person behind the player. In today’s episode Phoebe and Lukas talk through his impressive career while reflecting on themes of comparison and struggle, while noting the important role that his wife and children play in supporting his success on and off of the football pitch. Coming to the end of his ninth season with BCFC, Lukas talks about his hopes for the future too. This episode has something for everyone- aspiring athletes, current players, partners supporting their loved ones, fans of football, and general sporting spectators will all find a little bit of themselves in this chat.

This week's episode marks the first in Dr. Phoebe's mindfulness series. Here she explains what mindfulness is in the context of psychology and therapy, includes guided practices that you can refer back to whenever you're wanting to practice yourself, and tips for how to incorporate mindfulness into daily life without it feeling like a chore. The "mindful breathing" exercise can be found at 5:38, and the "clouds in the sky" exercise can be found at 13:00.

Dr. Phoebe is joined by her colleague, Dr. Ella White, in this week’s episode. Dr. Ella White is a licensed Counselling Psychologist currently practicing in England. Through both of their personal and professional experiences with grief and loss, the two discuss psychological theories that have helped their clients as well as how they have coped in the midst of their own personal losses. This episode has something for everyone- especially people interested in therapy, those experiencing grief or loss, and aspiring or qualified psychotherapists.

As a sort of “Part 2” in Dr. Phoebe’s discussion of the research literature about the partners of elite professional footballers in England, this week she explains the two-person career. This concept was first discussed in sociology in the 70s as it pertained to demanding industries like academia, medicine, and military. More recent research has linked this relational model to the lifestyle of elite sports, and Dr. Phoebe furthers the modernization of this conversation in her explanation of the concept and the integration of her personal experiences.

This week Dr. Phoebe sits down with Elinor Fay Sheehan and gets to know her experience within the professional footballing lifestyle. Elinor is a successful influencer, with 10s of thousands of followers accumulated on Instagram and TikTok. The two talk about how Elinor got her start in social media, what her life has been like being married to a footballer, and where she would like her business and brand (Koa Klub) to go in the future. Even though this is the first time the two have met, lots of stories are shared between the two.

In an introductory guide to therapy, Dr. Phoebe talks about what she believes therapy to be. She also answers some questions from you via her Instagram account, and discusses her own experiences as both a therapist and a client in the therapy room. Because she believes knowledge is power when finding your own therapist, Phoebe also explains some of the most popular types of therapy so that you can go into your own search for a therapist well-informed.

Emma Wood joins Dr. Phoebe in this week’s episode. The two talk about Emma’s career as a solicitor, and how she’s maintained this part of her identity amidst the chaos of club transfers within Premier League football. Emma talks about her very relatable experience of wondering whether she would fit into a new group of girls in the player’s lounge at Burnley, tying in her old ways of thinking about WAGs and football informed by stereotypes and media. Emma and Phoebe are then joined by a special guest, talking about the two-person career of elite professional football.

This week Dr. Phoebe gives her tips for moving countries, cities, and even moving within the same city. You don't have to be within elite sports to take some learning away from this episode, but she also discusses her experiences with quick transfer window moves and building a sense of community within the family lounges at football (soccer) clubs as well as outside of them.

It’s only right that the first guest of Pretty Psyched Season 1 is one of Dr. Phoebe’s best friends, Samantha Tarkowski. After meeting in the family lounge at Burnley, the two have kept a close friendship since Samantha’s husband’s move to Everton and Phoebe’s relocation to Canada. The two talk about Samantha’s experience on Season 1 of the Amazon Prime docuseries “Married to the Game”, and some important topics that she discusses publicly on the series. Samantha includes reflections on her experience of motherhood, life in football, and much more. Very authentic to their friendship, this episode is full of laughs, chatter, and honest conversations.

Dr. Phoebe uses research and personal anecdotes to describe the history of the WAG stereotype and how it functions today. Being at the intersection of academia and the elite footballing lifestyle, she shares her expertise in the research and theories around this topic as well as the ways in which is has impacted her lived experiences.

This week Dr. Phoebe introduces herself and the Pretty Psyched podcast. She talks about her path toward becoming a counselling psychologist, life within elite English football, her research, and what she hopes to accomplish in this podcast. Come back to this introductory guide if you want to know how we got here, what we'll be talking about on the podcast, and what is to come this season.