PETALING JAYA: Psychological support is not merely an option, it should be a requirement.
And more so in the case of footballer Faisal Halim who is recovering from a harrowing acid attack.
Sports psychology consultant Philip Lew Chun Fong said optimising mental wellness should be applied in every phase of the Selangor winger’s injury rehabilitation process.
On Sunday, the local football fraternity was stunned when Faisal Halim suffered fourth degree burns after being splashed with acid at a shopping mall in Petaling Jaya.
The player, who clinched the 2023 Asian Cup Goal of the Tournament award in Qatar in January, is expected to be out for five to six months and will miss out on the two remaining matches against Kyrgyzstan and Taiwan in next month’s second round of the 2026 World Cup-2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers.
Philip said there will be a range of psychosocial challenges that an injured person experiences throughout the recovery process.
He said there would be a psychological reaction from Faisal, such as an emotional reaction – “I am sad that people want to hurt me”, and a cognitive remark – “I keep worrying about my condition and the safety of my family”.
“There might also be frustration, doubts, and potentially depressive symptoms in the early stages due to the required time to make sense of the situation,” he said.
“The person may also experience negative valance reactions, such as anger, fear, and decreased self-esteem in respective phases of the rehabilitation.
“Each athlete may have his individualised phenomenological view of the experience, yet the Five Stages Model of Grief by Kubler-Ross, which are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance, would be appropriate to be prepared for the athletes’ psychological status.”
Philip went on to say that the possibility of achieving a productive outcome will be enhanced with the proactive integration and cooperation from all multidisciplinary professionals in supporting the injured athlete.
The psychological support should also cover the people surrounding the injured athletes, as the impact and trauma of the incident may negatively affect them too.
“Having a strong and trusted rehabilitation support system that is athlete-centred with common goals and expectations that integrate all the required resources and support, which enables everyone working together towards providing optimal support will be integral.
“Although there are lot of negativity surrounding this issue and the experiences of the athlete, however with quality support and a systematic rehabilitation process, the athlete may recover from the injury and show the resilience to come back stronger physically, mentally and spiritually.
“Athletes are fighters and they will keep defying the odds to inspire everyone to be courageous and believe in themselves.”
