Role
Dr Samuel Giles is a Lecturer in Sport and Performance Psychology and a British Psychological Society (BPS) Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol). He teaches and supervises across the undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes and is Module Leader for Foundations of Sport and Exercise Psychology. His research interests include well-being and mental health in elite performers, duty of care in high performance environments, and the psychology of performance excellence.
Career overview
Samuel joined the School of Science and Technology in October 2022. He graduated with a B.Sc. Honours degree in Psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2011. He continued his studies at Brunel, University of West London, graduating with Distinction from the M.Sc. Sport and Exercise Psychology programme in 2013. In 2015, he started his Ph.D. at Loughborough University in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences working in collaboration with the English Institute of Sport. His research investigated the construct of subjective well-being in elite sport performers, in particular, understanding its conceptualisation and measurement.
Before arriving at Nottingham Trent University, Samuel served a post-doctoral role as a primary investigator in the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences at Loughborough University funded by a United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Post-Doctoral Fellowship Grant. During this role, his research focused on the enhancement of well-being in elite sport performers and duty of care in high performance environments. In this position he worked with colleagues internally and externally at leading university institutions, external sport organizations (e.g., English Institute of Sport, World Players Association, Safe Sport International [SSI], Fédération Internationale de Football Association [FIFA]), and international working groups (e.g., International Safeguards Working Group [ISWG]); to consolidate research and develop the school’s research profile.
Research areas
Samuel is a member of the Sport, Health, and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre.
His research focuses on the psychology of sporting excellence and its application in elite sport. His work is primarily concerned with understanding and enhancing well-being and mental health in elite sport performers, and is linked to the following themes:
- Conceptualisation and measurement of well-being in sport
- Optimization of psychosocial functioning and well-being outcomes
- Mental health
- Duty of care in high performance domains (e.g., sport, business)
If you’re interested in pursuing opportunities to carry out postgraduate research towards an M.Phil. / Ph.D. in the areas identified above please get in contact. Further information may be obtained on the NTU Research Degrees website: https://www.ntu.ac.uk/research/research-degrees-at-ntu.
External activity
Consultancy and Enterprise
Dr Giles is a chartered psychologist registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) in the United Kingdom with expertise in supporting human performance and well-being in elite performers. He is passionate about helping people to thrive in their performance domain and known for his research and applied consultancy in British sport working alongside athletes, coaches, practitioners, and organizations (e.g., National Governing Bodies in Sport and athlete associations). Through his research and applied consultancy, Samuel has experience in working with athletes and teams across various Olympic and Paralympic sports (e.g., British Cycling, British Archery), and organizations including the English Institute of Sport (EIS), English Football Association (FA), Sport England, Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), World Players Association (WPA), Safe Sport International [SSI], Fédération Internationale de Football Association [FIFA], and Accenture.
Membership of Professional Bodies
- Member of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS), Leicester, United Kingdom (09/15 – Present)
- Chartered member of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS), Leicester, United Kingdom (06/22 – Present)
- Member of the British Psychological Society’s (BPS) Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology (DSEP), Leicester, United Kingdom (09/15 – Present)
- Member of the European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC), Koeln, Germany (04/22 – Present)
- Member of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA), Apple Valley, United States of America (04/19 – 04/21)
- Member of the 3rd annual Safe Sport International (SSI) Global Conference 2021-22 Organising Committee, Safe Sport International (01/22 – Present)
Funding
Over the past eight years, Dr Giles has secured over £200,000 in external research funding and grants, including:
- Giles, S. (Principal Investigator), Sarkar, M., Healy, L., McLoughlin, E., Johnston, J., & Cumming, S. (2023). Evaluating the effectiveness of the implementation of elite athlete mental health support services in the United Kingdom (Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme Grant). International Olympic Committee (IOC) - $38,500
- Giles, S. (Principal Investigator)., Rhind, D., & Fletcher, D. (2020-21). Enhancing the well-being of elite sport performers operating in high performance environments (Project Ref. ES/W006421/1) [Grant]. United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Post-Doctoral Fellowship Grant - £142,082
- Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (2015-2020). Well-Being in elite sport performers: Its conceptualisation and measurement [Doctoral Research Studentship]. Loughborough University and English Institute of Sport - £42,869
- Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (2015-2020). Well-Being in elite sport performers: Its conceptualisation and measurement [Doctoral Research Budget]. Loughborough University and English Institute of Sport - £4,000
- Giles, S., & Fletcher, D. (2019). Well-Being in elite sport performers: Its conceptualisation and measurement [International Conference Fund]. School of Sport, Exercise, and Health Sciences, Loughborough University - £1,000
Awards and Prizes
- BPS Division of Sport and Exercise Psychology PhD Award (November 2021)
- Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences, Brunel, University of West London Outstanding Academic Achievement Award (December, 2013)
Sponsors and collaborators
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Papers
Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (2020). Measuring well-being in sport performers: Where are we now and how do we progress?. Sports Medicine, 50, 1255-1270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-020-01274-z
Peer-Reviewed Invited Book Chapters
Ashfield, A., Harrison, J., & Giles, S. (2017). Performance Lifestyle in Olympic and Paralympic sport: Where positive psychology informs practice. In A. Brady, & B. Grenville Cleave (Eds.), Positive psychology in sport and physical activity: An introduction (pp. 204- 219). UK: Routledge.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Conference Communications Proceedings, Symposia, and Significant Presentations
Giles, S., & Rhind, D. (April, 2022). “Winning, and Winning Well” in Elite Sport: Looking to the Future of Duty of Care. Invited symposium at the 3rd annual Safe Sport International Global Conference 2022 “Safeguarding: Knowledge to Practice”, virtual conference.
Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (November, 2021). Measuring well-being in sport performers: Where are we now and how do we progress? Oral presentation at the annual meeting for the Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology (DSEP), Liverpool, UK.
Giles, S., Ashfield, A., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., & Harrison, J. (December, 2020). Talented athletes’ well-being: Translating research to practice. Invited oral presentation at the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) Research Forum 2020: Athlete Transitions and Well-being, virtual conference.
Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (2019-20). Well-being in elite sport performers: Its conceptualisation and measurement [Summary of Research Findings and Impact]. Oral presentations at regional national performance centre meetings at the English Institute of Sport: Loughborough University, Manchester High Performance Institute, Bisham Abbey National Performance Centre, UK.
Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (June, 2019). Defining Elite Athlete Well-Being & Understanding the Implications for Practice. Presentation for the English Institute of Sport: Loughborough University, UK.
Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (December, 2019). Psychosocial functioning and well-being in elite athletes: A grounded theory. Presentation at the annual meeting for the English Institute of Sport (EIS), East Midlands, UK.
Herbert, N., Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (December, 2018). Elite athlete well-being: Insight from performance lifestyle and document analysis. Presentation at the annual meeting for the English Institute of Sport (EIS), East Midlands, UK.
Giles, S., Fletcher, D., Arnold, R., Ashfield, A., & Harrison, J. (June, 2017). Understanding well-being and it’s measurement in sport. Presentation at the annual meeting for the English Institute of Sport (EIS), Hinckley, UK.
Giles, S. (February, 2017). Exploring well-being in world class sport. Invited oral presentation at the annual meeting for Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS), Birmingham, UK.