
Overview
Background
Dr Veronique Richard earned her doctoral degree in Sport Science from the University of Montreal and subsequently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Sport Psychology at Florida State University. Specialising in performance psychology and creativity, she has extensive experience in both research and applied settings.
Currently a research fellow at the University of Queensland, Dr Richard conducts pioneering research that integrates creativity and movement sciences to enhance performance, health, and wellbeing. Her research interests stem from her dual engagements with high-performance sports and circus arts. In her previous roles as a mental performance consultant for Canadian national sports organisations and Cirque du Soleil, Dr Richard observed the complexities of balancing high-level performance with wellbeing among athletes and performers.
To address these challenges, she designs enriched movement activities aimed at fostering creativity-supportive environments and investigates their impact on cognitive, affective, and socio-cultural variables related to creativity. Her research aspires to promote holistic growth by creating spaces where individuals can use their physicality to experiment, discover, connect, and express themselves.
While sports organisations remain a significant area of her research, Dr Richard is expanding her focus to other high-performance domains such as the medical field, educational institutions, and health and wellbeing organisations. She is also exploring how creativity-supportive environments can enhance equity, diversity, and inclusion within organisations.
Availability
- Dr Veronique Richard is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Masters (Research), University of Montreal
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Montreal
Research interests
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Creativity, performance and wellbeing
Balancing high-level performance and wellbeing can be challenging. My research examines how designing creativity supportive environments in various contexts (sport, school, health, etc.) can contribute to performance while fostering cognitive, affective and socio-cultural factors associated with wellbeing. Specifically, I examine the impact of implementing enriched movement activities on performance and well-being variables.
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Performance psychology
Applied expertise: I have worked as a mental performance consultant with various national Canadian sport organisations and with Cirque du Soleil. In addition to help athletes and artists develop mental skills, I design risk friendly environments to encourage them to navigate sport-related uncertainties and ambiguities and grow psychologically from it.
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Creative movers
Much can be learned from observing those that use their body to create breathtaking moments. Specifically, my interest is to better capture the processes supporting movement creativity in dancers, circus artists, figure skaters, and all those that create through the body.
Research impacts
While societies are in constant motion, requiring creativity to adapt, our bodies have never been in such a state of inertia. Our research is impactful because it tackles two essential human needs; to create and to move. By shifting towards creativity, sport, education, and health organisations will offer rich landscapes of opportunities to ignite individuals' motivation to live a healthy life, but also equip them with the skills needed to creatively confront societal issues, thereby contributing to economic sustainability.
Works
Search Professor Veronique Richard’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Factorial validity and measurement invariance of a self-reported scale of paradoxical leadership behaviours: evidence from sport industry leaders
Bourke, Matthew, Cairney, John, Richard, Veronique, Mulcahy, Samantha, Moos, Chris and Dopson, Sue (2025). Factorial validity and measurement invariance of a self-reported scale of paradoxical leadership behaviours: evidence from sport industry leaders. Frontiers in Psychology, 16 1541891. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1541891
2024
Journal Article
Toward a knowledge-synthesis heuristic for sport leaders: the strategic leader synthesis model
Cairney, John, Richard, Veronique and Legg, David (2024). Toward a knowledge-synthesis heuristic for sport leaders: the strategic leader synthesis model. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 6 1408887, 1-6. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2024.1408887
2024
Journal Article
The exploration of the holistic and complex impacts of creative dance on creative potential enhancement
Richard, Veronique, Brown, Denver M. Y., Garcías, Silvia, Almarcha, Maricarmen, Cairney, John and Torrents, Carlota (2024). The exploration of the holistic and complex impacts of creative dance on creative potential enhancement. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 58 (3), 511-529. doi: 10.1002/jocb.673
2024
Journal Article
Emergency medicine residents and performance under pressure: learning from elite athletes’ experience
Trepanier, Gabrielle, Falardeau, Viviane, Sohi, Gurpreet and Richard, Veronique (2024). Emergency medicine residents and performance under pressure: learning from elite athletes’ experience. International Journal of Emergency Medicine, 17 (1) 67. doi: 10.1186/s12245-024-00648-8
2024
Journal Article
Through the big top: An exploratory study of circus-based artistic knowledge translation in rural healthcare services, Québec, Canada
Théberge, Julie, Smithman, Mélanie Ann, Turgeon-Pelchat, Catherine, Tounkara, Fatoumata Korika, Richard, Véronique, Aubertin, Patrice, Léonard, Patrick, Alami, Hassane, Singhroy, Diane and Fleet, Richard (2024). Through the big top: An exploratory study of circus-based artistic knowledge translation in rural healthcare services, Québec, Canada. PLoS One, 19 (4) e0302022, 1-25. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302022
2024
Book Chapter
Engaging in creative behaviours and activities as a well-being and recovery approach
Richard, Veronique, Wergin, V. Vanessa and Cairney, John (2024). Engaging in creative behaviours and activities as a well-being and recovery approach. Fostering recovery and well-being in a healthy lifestyle: Psychological, somatic, and organizational prevention approaches. (pp. 92-102) edited by Michael Kellmann and Jürgen Beckmann. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781003250654-8
2023
Other Outputs
Design of the Athletics Australia First Nations Community Impact Framework
Wheeler, Kai, Hall, Emily, Griffiths, Kealey, Boyd-Ford, Stella, Carle, Maleah, Richard, Veronique, Beckman, Emma and Cairney, John (2023). Design of the Athletics Australia First Nations Community Impact Framework. Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland.
2023
Journal Article
The golden ratio in baseball: the influence of historical eras on winning percentages in major league baseball
Cairney, John, Townsend, Stephen, Brown, Denver M. Y., Graham, Jeffrey D., Richard, Veronique and Kwan, Matthew Y. W. (2023). The golden ratio in baseball: the influence of historical eras on winning percentages in major league baseball. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 5 1273327, 1-9. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2023.1273327
2023
Journal Article
The embodied journey of an idea: an exploration of movement creativity in circus arts
Richard, Veronique, Glăveanu, Vlad and Aubertin, Patrice (2023). The embodied journey of an idea: an exploration of movement creativity in circus arts. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 57 (2), 221-236. doi: 10.1002/jocb.571
2023
Journal Article
What would the idea say? Experimenting with creative writing about creativity
Richard, Véronique, Glăveanu, Vlad and Aubertin, Patrice (2023). What would the idea say? Experimenting with creative writing about creativity. Minnesota Review, 2023 (100), 132-150. doi: 10.1215/00265667-10320947
2023
Journal Article
Holding open spaces to explore beyond: Toward a different conceptualization of specialization in high-performance sport
Richard, Veronique, Cairney, John and Woods, Carl T. (2023). Holding open spaces to explore beyond: Toward a different conceptualization of specialization in high-performance sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 14 1089264, 1089264. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1089264
2022
Journal Article
Assessment of professional circus students’ psychological characteristics at four strategic timepoints over the scholastic year: a longitudinal study using the stress process model
Decker, Adam, Richard, Veronique, Cairney, John, Jefferies, Philip, Houser, Natalie, Aubertin, Patrice and Kriellaars, Dean (2022). Assessment of professional circus students’ psychological characteristics at four strategic timepoints over the scholastic year: a longitudinal study using the stress process model. Medical Problems of Performing Artists, 37 (4), 249-258. doi: 10.21091/mppa.2022.4036
2022
Journal Article
The Gold Medal Profile for Sport Psychology (GMP-SP)
Durand-Bush, Natalie, Baker, Joseph, van den Berg, Frank, Richard, Véronique and Bloom, Gordon A. (2022). The Gold Medal Profile for Sport Psychology (GMP-SP). Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 35 (4), 547-570. doi: 10.1080/10413200.2022.2055224
2022
Journal Article
Effects of bali yoga program for athletes (BYP-A) on psychological state related to performance of circus artists
Cadieux, Elena Grilli, Richard, Véronique and Dupuis, Gilles (2022). Effects of bali yoga program for athletes (BYP-A) on psychological state related to performance of circus artists. International Journal of Yogic, Human Movement and Sports Sciences, 7 (1), 23-33. doi: 10.22271/yogic.2022.v7.i1a.1249
2022
Journal Article
Considerations for the medical management of the circus performance artist and acrobat
Faltus, John and Richard, Veronique (2022). Considerations for the medical management of the circus performance artist and acrobat. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, 17 (2), 307-316. doi: 10.26603/001c.31645
2021
Journal Article
Creativity in motion: examining the creative potential system and enriched movement activities as a way to ignite it
Richard, Veronique, Holder, Darren and Cairney, John (2021). Creativity in motion: examining the creative potential system and enriched movement activities as a way to ignite it. Frontiers in Psychology, 12 690710, 690710. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.690710
2021
Book Chapter
Kinesthetic creativity in sports and performing arts
Richard, Veronique (2021). Kinesthetic creativity in sports and performing arts. Expertise and Excellence: A Multi-Dimensional Perspective. (pp. ---) edited by Gershon Tenenbaum and Yair Galily. Needham, MA United States: IDC University Press.
2021
Journal Article
Embedding perceptual–cognitive training in the athlete environment: an interdisciplinary case study among elite female goalkeepers preparing for Tokyo 2020
Richard, Veronique, Lavoie-Léonard, Béatrice and Romeas, Thomas (2021). Embedding perceptual–cognitive training in the athlete environment: an interdisciplinary case study among elite female goalkeepers preparing for Tokyo 2020. Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 5 (S1), 44-58. doi: 10.1123/cssep.2021-0028
2021
Journal Article
Effect of preperformance routine on advanced swimmers' performance and motor efficiency, self-efficacy, and idiosyncratic emotions
Richard, Veronique, Mason, Justin, Alvarez-Alvarado, Stacey, Perry, Inbal, Lussier, Benoit and Tenenbau, Gershon (2021). Effect of preperformance routine on advanced swimmers' performance and motor efficiency, self-efficacy, and idiosyncratic emotions. Sport Psychologist, 35 (2), 97-107. doi: 10.1123/TSP.2020-0023
2021
Journal Article
Effects of movement improvisation and aerobic dancing on motor creativity and divergent thinking
Richard, Veronique, Ben-Zaken, Sigal, Siekańska, Małgorzata and Tenenbaum, Gershon (2021). Effects of movement improvisation and aerobic dancing on motor creativity and divergent thinking. Journal of Creative Behavior, 55 (1), 255-267. doi: 10.1002/jocb.450
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Veronique Richard is:
- Available for supervision
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