I found studies on how leisure activities can positively affect well-being, e.g. stress reduction.
My question is more specific as I want to research how participation in sport can help one deal with difficult life circumstances like for instance loss of a loved one or abuse. Academic literature in this area seems to be very scarce.
My aim would be to bring out the implications for counselling practice and demonstrate that sport participation is effective in dealing with negative life events.
scholar.google.com
and searching "sport as psychological therapy" I found this article "Exercise treatment for depression: Efficacy and dose response". Alternatively, if you're looking more at the effect of team sports, you're going to have to be more specific. $\endgroup$ – Seanny123 Oct 29 '17 at 23:50