Professional Doctorate in Sport and Exercise Psychology

Abstract

With the recent development in the field of sport psychology professional training, the value of the professional doctorate has become increasingly apparent due to its ability in allowing neophyte practitioners to develop competence required of practitioner psychologists, and translate knowledge in research to the workplace. The present portfolio contains a blend of research and practice components, complimented by significant reflective practice content, to demonstrate the author’s competency in ethics and professional standards, consultancy, research and teaching and training, whilst demonstrating aspects of originality and the generation of new knowledge for the field. The portfolio commences with the author’s reflective accounts across key professional standards, consultancy, research, and dissemination experiences, identifying the meaningful learning experiences that most developed the author both personally and professionally. Following this are three consultancy case studies, which provide an in-depth account of the staged-process the author underwent in the creation, development, and monitoring of an intervention(s) when working with golf, running, and football athletes. Within this, ongoing critical analysis and reflective practice allowed the author to develop an effective, congruent philosophy of practice in humanism and holism, facilitating a more authentic sense of self within their practitioner identity. The portfolio then explores the teaching and training elements of the professional doctorate, including the negotiation of the environment and key stakeholders within the process, the construction of an applied, active learning environment for the teaching of sport psychology, and the key pedagogical frameworks and taxonomies that underpinned the approach. Attention then switches to the research elements of the portfolio, with the systematic review and two empirical papers attempting to bridge the gap between research and practice within the topic of Identity in disability sport, including investigation of the psychological well-being experiences of stakeholders working in Para-Football and the development of a psychological well-being culture. Within this, key ontological and epistemological paradigms enabled the author to navigate a coherent and congruent practitioner–researcher identity. Ultimately, the reflective practice commentary (meta-reflection) provides a summary of the process, with the professional doctorate providing the candidate with an authentic connection between their work and a broader transcendent life purpose beyond the self (Bailey & Madden, 2016).