Edson Filho
Associate Professor
Dr. Edson Filho is an associate professor of sport, exercise & performance psychology at Boston University, where he is also the director of the Performance, Recovery & Optimization (PRO) Lab. Dr. Filho’s research centers on performance optimization in individual and team settings. He studies the individual and shared zones of optimal functioning as well as the relationship among team processes (e.g., cohesion, team mental models, and collective efficacy). He is also interested in developing applied interventions for performance optimization and mental health for athletes and performers across domains.
Dr. Filho is the author of over 100 manuscripts and book chapters and has edited two books on mental skills training in sports and research directions in the field. He is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and an Established Supervisor and Established Practitioner registered with the International Society of Sport Psychology. He has worked as a consultant for professional, collegiate, and amateur athletes. His work on performance optimization has been funded by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and been featured in media outlets including BBC Latin America, the Boston Globe, Nature Lindau, and Scientific American.
Recent News
- Scholarly Accomplishments April 2025
- Max Performance
- The High Stakes of Performance
- 2024 BU Wheelock Forum Photo Gallery
- How Do Elite Athletes and Performers Keep Their Cool?
- Sport Psychology Team Says “Grazie, Italia!”
- Book by Edson Filho Added to Olympic World Library
- The Science of Excellence
- Getting Into the Zone
- BU Wheelock Welcomes Six New Faculty
In the Media
Education
PhD, Sport Psychology, Florida State University
MS, Sports Training, University Federal of Minas Gerais
BS, Physical Education, University Federal of Minas Gerais
Courses
CE 650: Counseling Skills and Techniques for Sport and Exercise Psychology
DS 700: Advanced Seminar in Sport and Exercise Psychology
Selected Publications
Sliz, K., & Filho, E. (2025). One mile at a time: the relationship between mindfulness, self-talk, and psychobiosocial affective states in collegiate cross-country athletes. Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1080/19357397.2025.2472322
Filho, E. (2020). Shared Zones of Optimal Functioning (SZOF): A framework to capture peak performance, momentum, psycho-bio-social synchrony and leader-follower dynamics in teams. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 14(4):1-29. DOI:10.1123/jcsp.2019-0054
Filho, E., Piasecki, P., & Groen, M. (2023). Performance Recovery and Optimization for Teams (PRO-TEAMS): A Psychological Skills Training Program to Enhance Team Functioning. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action. 10.1080/21520704.2023.2186993
Filho, E., Rettig, J., Gaspar, P., & Bagni, G. (2022). Development and initial validation of the Team Mental Models Instrument (TMMI): A psychometric tool to measure shared and complementary mental models in sports. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 61, 1-8.
Filho, E., Husselman, T., Zugic, L., Penna., E., & Taneva, N. (2022). Performance gains in an open skill video-game task: The role of neural efficiency and neural proficiency. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 47, 239-251.
Filho, E., Dobersek, U., & Husselman, T. (2021). The role of neural efficiency, transient hypofrontality and neural proficiency in optimal performance in self-paced sports: A meta-analytic review. Experimental Brain Research, 239, 1381–1393.
Filho, E. (2020). Shared Zones of Optimal Functioning: A framework to capture peak performance, momentum, psycho-bio-social synchrony, and leader-follower dynamics in teams. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 14, 330–358.