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Important Information About Sport Psychologists
The following articles are intended to serve the public by informing them about some important training and competency issues in the field of sport psychology. Read these thoroughly before hiring a sport psychologist.
What
is Real Sport Psychology?
Athletes,
trainers, coaches, players and executives need to be aware that there are
generally two types of individuals who may be perceived as sport psychologists
by the public – and a clear distinction needs to be made. While there are exceptions
to every rule, I believe these truths hold in the vast majority of cases. I
know, because I have been on both sides of the academic fence, having been
University of Florida trained both as a sport scientist (Department of Exercise and Sport
Sciences) and as a licensed psychologist specializing in
clinical psychology and sport psychology (Department
of Clinical and Health Psychology).
The first group of individuals (coming primarily from sport science programs) may have taken courses in sport psychology and may be excellent scientists, researchers, or teachers, but they are 99 % of time neither trained nor licensed (the minimum standard of care required by a state) to provide psychological services. They may not hold themselves out to the public as sport psychologists in private practice in the vast majority of states. Some will say these individuals may call themselves sport psychologists in a restricted university environment reflecting their academic specialty similar to a social psychologist, but when clinical issues arise they must refer the athlete to a licensed professional (such as a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist) to allow proper care. The state does not recognize these individuals as any kind of "psychologists" (sport or otherwise) because they are simply not licensed, nor are they trained to provide psychological services.
The second group, the practicing sport psychologist, is a licensed psychologist who is additionally trained in the sport sciences with supervised training in providing both counseling/psychotherapy and performance enhancement services to athletes. This sport psychologist offers the benefits of one-stop-shopping by training athletes in performance enhancement while conducting assessments and counseling as needed rather than having to refer the client to another professional.
It is
extremely important to ask if the individual is licensed in their
state as a psychologist, and then inquire about the extent of their supervised
training and experience in working with athletes and teams. There are actually very
few authentic sport psychologists because you are talking about a professional
with dual specializations in sport sciences and in psychology. It
takes many years of extensive supervised training to adequately provide both
types of
services, and shortcuts are rarely the answer to helping improve team
performance or manage difficult situations.
It would not be surprising if you live in an area where there simply are no
licensed psychologists also specializing in sport/performance psychology. Look
in your yellow pages under "psychologists" and you will rarely find these "real"
sport psychologists. If this is the case, you might have to bring someone in
from the outside as a consultant, work by phone, or hire two individuals to do
the job.
What does
“Licensed” Sport Psychologist Mean?
There
is extensive public confusion about the field of sport psychology. This
article will hopefully clear up the issue for many. I have been called a “licensed”
sport psychologist in many places including AP wire reports, Sports Illustrated
and the New York Times. What does it all mean?
The
field of sport psychology is still emerging in the public eye. Practicing sport
psychologists optimally combine two separate academic and experiential
backgrounds – psychology and the sport
sciences. Proper credentials and training in BOTH disciplines
are essential to hold oneself out to the public as a sport psychologist.
As a bare minimum standard, this includes a professional license to practice psychology. Hence, a “licensed sport psychologist” refers to a sport psychologist who is also a licensed psychologist. This person will have undergone extensive education and supervised training in the sport sciences as well as in psychology. Since there are an extremely small number of these professionals around, there is no constituency for this group and you don't hear about them often. The vast majority of professionals fall into one camp or the other. They will have been trained primarily in psychology or in the sport sciences.
Since sport psychology combines two disciplines, training is required in both. There simply are no short-cuts and only an extremely small number of graduate programs even make the claim of being able to train individuals in both disciplines. It's just too hard! But unless the professional has been trained and experienced in BOTH disciplines, and licensed in psychology, the person is not a sport psychologist and cannot advertise as a sport psychologist.
While I
support the role of many kinds of professionals helping athletes and other top
performers, the public needs to know what they are getting in a so-called "sport
psychologist." One safeguard is that state laws prohibit any permutation of the title “psychologist” unless the
professional is state licensed. States laws protect the use of the title
“psychologist” and only allow licensed psychologists to legally use the title in
order to protect the public by establishing a
minimum standard of care.
This is smart. I learned almost nothing about how to counsel, assess, or
diagnose an athlete with a general problem when I was studying and receiving a
Masters degree in one of the best sport science programs in the country!
It was almost entirely coursework and research. Similarly, while studying in a
clinical psychology program, I learned almost nothing about how to improve an
athlete's performance through mental skills training, or how to structure
practice conditions. They are so different, yet both are so absolutely necessary
to become a "sport psychologist." The thousands of hours of supervised
training or "on the job" work with hundreds of clients, however, was the
critical piece that would have never in 20 years been possible to acquire in a
strictly sport science program. While performance principles are key, knowing
about people, how to diagnose and treat problems and how to counsel is
infinitely more important! Psychology programs are set up to provide that kind
of training. Sport science programs are not even close.
Most important to me is that sport psychologists know how to handle issues
related to the “person” as well as performance-related issues.” By hiring a
licensed sport psychologist – you are getting a professional with extensive dual
specialization who can handle crises, perform assessments and do mental training
and workshops to enhance performance too.
Why the discussion? The public needs to be protected and be aware of what they are getting. Thousands of hours of supervised training go into becoming a "licensed" sport psychologist. By making a distinction between unlicensed and licensed professionals, the public is much better served. The license serves as proof of at least a minimum standard.
But … just as highly trained sport scientists without proper training and licensure in psychology cannot use the title “psychologist,” the same holds true for authentic licensed psychologists who have not undergone rigorous and proper training and supervision in the various sport sciences, or who have not received the proper supervision by another legitimate sport psychologist.
In my
training, I chose to become licensed (with the academic coursework, research, book
writing,
articles, supervised training, dissertation, internship, and post-doc in sport
sciences and sport psychology) and a clinical psychologist too. I felt that
holistic care requires an understanding of both the "person" and the
"performer."
When I am working with an athlete, I find that much of our time is spent
discussing and resolving general issues - perhaps even 70% of the work! This
goes way beyond mental skills training or performance enhancement. Reducing and
resolving problems off the court or field can help an athlete perform better
just as much or more than specific mental skills training!
Prior to entering graduate school, I was a professional coach, fully immersed in
the "physical." Now I advocate for what I believe to be the optimal educational
background. This in no way takes away from the good work many “non-licensed”
sport science trained individuals can do. There are brilliant people in all
fields who through individual accomplishments can do wonders for many people.
However, they must refer the client away to a licensed professional whenever a
clinical issue is suspected (e.g., anxiety, depression, anger). In the New York
Times article, Selena Roberts makes the case (like Jon Wertheim in Sports
Illustrated) that using licensed sport psychologists is smart and allows for
more professional care.
With a license in psychology, the sport psychologist can handle both kinds of
issues (personal and performance-related) and it's much easier on the team and
client as "one-stop shopping." I would not be comfortable in my practice if I
had to refer my client to another professional every time a clinical issue
arose. But if the client would appear to benefit from medication, I will always
refer to a psychiatrist or other licensed medical doctor for an evaluation. Clinical issues are huge with the pressure to win in sports, as Wertheim
says in Sports Illustrated.
The public needs to know that there are many people practicing within the field who lack the proper credentials and/or a good working knowledge of the profession itself and try to tackle issues without proper training or licensure. It can harm the public when a proper referral is not made or proper treatment is not conducted.
Many are not even aware that there is a distinction between licensed psychologists who also specialize in performance enhancement/sport sciences and can call themselves "sport psychologists." – and many others. When there is a suspected clinical issue, and a referral is not made to the proper professional, the client suffers. State licensure means a lot in terms of protection.
My goals as a licensed sport psychologist (I hope the distinction is clear now!) are to give my clients the best possible care I can, whether that involves clinical psychology counseling and assessment, performance enhancement, or team building. I also emphasize winning and believe that taking care of the "performer" and the "person" makes stronger and smarter athletes and teams. I took extra care, time and money to be well trained and qualified to practice sport psychology. As such, it's important to at least communicate this message to others, especially when journalists in places like Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, and the Associated Press are beginning to grapple with the issue of what a sport psychologist is.
According to many reports, pro sports teams are not always giving their athletes the proper care because they do not have the properly trained professionals on board! I would be negligent if I did not communicate this message to others. Truth speaks for itself and good writers are catching on to our emerging profession and the extensive training and licensure needed to deal with the enormously complex issues in sports today.
In sum, becoming a licensed psychologist is necessary for the sport psychologist who wants to handle serious personal or clinical issues, enhance performance through mental skills training, and use the title "psychologist." While gaining this extra training takes more time and effort, these professionals are more versatile than either "non-psychologist sport scientists" or "non-sport scientist psychologists." The license also carries its weight in gold in terms of client well being and public safety.
UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARK WITH
THIS NEW WEBSITE AT THE URL:
http://www.JohnFMurray.com