Despina Kouali

Dr. Despina Kouali is a Special Teaching Staff member in Sport Psychology at the University of Central Lancashire Cyprus (UCLan Cyprus), affiliated with the School of Sciences and Department of Sport and Exercise Psychology. She holds a PhD in Psychological Basis of Kinesiology from Western University, Canada (2018), an MSc in Psychology of Exercise from the University of Thessaly (2013), and a BSc in Psychology from Panteion University (2008). Her research focuses on psychological well-being in sport, motivation theory applications, mental imagery interventions, and mindfulness effects on performance and well-being. She has collaborated with institutions like European University Cyprus and Frederick University Cyprus as a scientific collaborator.

Dr. Kouali teaches modules such as Sport and Exercise Psychology and Introduction to Psychology in Sport & Exercise. Her work spans validating well-being scales in sport contexts, exploring motivational climates in youth sports, and investigating perfectionism’s role in physical activity. She has presented at conferences like the Canadian Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology and published in journals such as the Asian Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology and International Journal of Wellbeing.

• Awards: Ontario Graduate Scholarship (2015–2018), A. G. Leventis Foundation Grant (2014–2017), Dr. Bert Carron Scholarship (2017–2018).
• Professional Activities: Reviewer for Psychology of Sport and Exercise, external examiner for graduate theses, and Erasmus+ mobility participant (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 2023).