"That stuff doesn't work," he said. "You're doing it to yourself. Nobody's going to help you get out of it but yourself. You have to change something you're doing. Someone's not going to grant you good luck."

The exception, he says, is if relying on a higher power helps an athlete stop thinking about his current slide. An occasional miracle is always nice, too.

While he also believes "some of it's psychological," Klauke believes technique tweaking can help. Batters can watch video of themselves to see if they need to alter their batting stances or hand placement; pitchers might need to adjust their delivery a bit for better results.

Henschen suggests that struggling athletes try to back up and go through the fundamentals to make sure their technique isn't the problem. The danger is that high-level athletes can get obsessed in worrying about what they need to change and the anxiety and frustrations can feed upon themselves. Then self-esteem can take a big hit, which reinforces the slump mentality.

"That's what a slump does — lets the critic take over," Henschen said. "That hurts them. We have to reframe the thinking. Go back to the basics."

One good example of this, he says, is how former Jazz great Jeff Hornacek has been helping Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko regain his shooting confidence.

"He could shoot, but he felt he couldn't shoot," Henschen said of the Russian star. "When he started thinking about it, I think that starts to interfere with it."

Reestablishing trust in their abilities and in their training is important, even though Henschen admits that can be the tricky part. Athletes need to play automatically and instinctively — like typing for many. Focusing on the negative only interrupts that free flow.

"What we really have to try to do is get confidence back," Henschen said. "You didn't get there (in the pros) because you thought your way there. You got there because you played your way there ... When a person is not in a slump, they don't think of those things; they just go play."

Play it forward

Though he's officially the Jazz's team psychologist, Henschen said the NBA franchise has another excellent one in coach Jerry Sloan.

"He's one of the best psychologists I've ever been associated with, and he doesn't even know it," Henschen said.

Sloan's "don't-play-sideways" philosophy might sound quirky, but it's a sound and effective principle, Henschen claims. He loves the coach's "you've got to play forward" attitude. Putting mistakes behind them and focusing on accomplishing something positive ASAP is an effective slump-busting mentality.

"The most important play is the next one," Henschen said.