Reflect In and Speak Out: An Autoethnographic Study on Race and the Embedded Sport Psychology Practitioner

Abstract

This paper aims to present a critical experience of race for the embedded sport psychology practitioner from a non-WEIRD, migratory, Black, Asian, and minority ethnic doctoral student and trainee sport psychologist in the United Kingdom. In particular, I move from intrapersonal reflection to an interpersonal cultural analysis that (re)considers some assumptions in existing training and applied sport psychology practice. In the consequential ripples to these reflections, I evaluate and argue to modify (a) ideology of the culturally isolated practitioner, (b) self-recognition of unconscious bias and discrimination, and (c) routes to incorporate antidiscriminatory practice training in sport psychology education pathways. Using a rigorous autoethnographic approach on this novel area reveals several implications for applied practice and the development of professional philosophy. Using conversation vignettes, personal lived experience accounts on the impact of race on education and development as a practitioner are discussed in this original work. The goal is to make the invisible visible by exploring vulnerabilities in practice, client engagement, and educational training in an equal and nondiscriminatory manner.