Sport Psychology Service Delivery Research Articles

Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Develop Self-Confidence in a Neurodivergent Athlete

This case study outlines the sport psychology service delivery provided to a 17-year-old international-level competitive figure skater. The client had a diagnosis for autism spectrum disorder and reported experiencing low self-confidence, which hindered his performance in training and competition. An acceptance and commitment therapy intervention was implemented over 25 sessions across a 15-month period. The aim of the intervention was to develop self-confidence by encouraging acceptance of unhelpful thoughts, rather than changing or removing them, to move the client toward the athlete he wanted to be. This case offers a novel contribution to the wider literature by reporting an acceptance and commitment therapy intervention to develop self-confidence in sport. We report how psychological flexibility was achieved through exercises to “unhook” the client from his thoughts around perfection and self-imposed pressure. Reflections from the client and practitioner capture the evaluation of the service delivery process.

Using an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Overcome Distractive Overthinking With a High School Baseball Player

The present paper outlines a case study in sport psychology service delivery provided to a 16-year-old high school baseball player. The client reported experiencing distraction from overthinking in training and competition, which hindered his concentration and performance. An acceptance and commitment therapy intervention was implemented over 10 sessions across a 5-month period. The aim of the intervention was to overcome anxiety by encouraging acceptance of unhelpful thoughts, rather than changing or removing them, and helping the client focus on moving toward the athlete he wanted to be. This case offers a novel contribution to the wider literature by reporting an acceptance and commitment therapy intervention addressing performance anxiety in sport. We report how psychological flexibility was achieved through exercises to “unhook” the client from his thoughts around perfection and self-imposed pressure. Reflections from the client and practitioner capture the evaluation of the service delivery process.

“I Realized It Was a Different Kind of Culture to Other Sports”: An Exploration of Sport Psychology Service Provision and Delivery in Gaelic Games

In this article, we present two studies that provide the first evidence on sport psychology services in Gaelic games. In Study 1, 36 participants providing support for mental aspects of performance in Gaelic games completed a survey that ascertained an initial insight into practitioners and the services they provided in this context. Findings of Study 1 suggested considerable engagement with psychology support in Gaelic games but also highlighted a range of challenges with service delivery. In Study 2, we interviewed 11 sport psychology consultants to understand the active ingredients that contribute to context-driven sport psychology in Gaelic games and the role of contextual intelligence. Findings from Study 2 offered insights into how participants shaped their services to the context and how the active ingredients for effective service delivery, including working alliances, buy-in, and engagement with individuals within the performance environment, could be enabled or constrained in this context.

Using an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach for Fear of (Re)Injury With a Competitive Figure Skater

This case study outlines the sport psychology service delivery provided to an 18-year-old competitive figure skater. The client reported fearing (re)injury in training following her return to sport, which hindered her performance and concentration in training. An acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention was implemented over six sessions across a 3-month period. The ACT matrix was used to conceptualize the client’s “stuckness” and provide a foundation for the strategies and techniques implemented. The aim of our work was to increase psychological flexibility, helping the client sit with, rather than change or remove, her unhelpful thoughts, moving her toward the athlete she wanted to be. This case reports how psychological flexibility was achieved through exercises to help the client “unhook” from her thoughts around fear of injury. Reflections from the client and practitioner capture the evaluation of the service delivery process.

Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Unhelpful Thinking Toward Body Image With an Elite Figure Skater

We outline the sport psychology service delivery provided to a 23-year-old elite figure skater who reported unhelpful thoughts about her body image that hindered her performance and concentration in training. An acceptance and commitment therapy intervention was implemented over 12 sessions across a 6-month period. The acceptance and commitment therapy matrix was used to conceptualize the client’s “stuckness” and provide a foundation for the techniques implemented. The aim of our work was to increase psychological flexibility, helping the client sit with, rather than change or remove, her unhelpful thoughts, moving her toward the athlete she wanted to be. This case reports how psychological flexibility was achieved through exercises to help the client “unhook” from her unhelpful thoughts about body image. Reflections from the client were obtained to monitor and evaluate the service delivery process. The trainee’s reflections on practice highlight the unpredictability of presenting problems disclosed during service delivery, the isolating and challenging nature of working with elite athletes in private practice, and the need for practitioners to understand the theoretical orientations of their approach.

Evaluating Sport Psychology Service Delivery for Elite USA Track and Field Athletes: Findings and Recommendations

In preparation for the 2020–2024 Olympic cycle, members of the USA Track and Field sport psychology (SP) subcommittee investigated the SP service provision needs and preferences of 88 elite Olympic-level athletes. A mixed-methods needs analysis was employed, which consisted of surveys, interviews, and a focus group, to help understand current SP usage and shape future SP services for USA Track and Field. Findings highlighted a lack of knowledge and exposure to SP services and a desire for increased contact with SP professionals among athletes, exposing gaps and room for improvement in service delivery. Athletes cited flexibility in terms of service delivery mode and shared common core preferences for mental training, including help managing stress, pressure, emotions, and other challenges of competition and training. The results are discussed in relation to strengthening the effectiveness of service provision through increasing visibility, accessibility, and education regarding the benefits of SP services.

“What if I Get Injured?”: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach for Fear of Injury With a Semielite Youth Snowboarder

We outline the sport psychology service delivery provided to a 13-year-old male semielite youth Snowboarder, who reported experiencing a fear of injury when performing difficult tricks in training. The trainee practitioner used an approach informed by acceptance and commitment therapy that targeted the six core processes (acceptance, defusion, self-as-context, contact with the present moment, values, and committed action) to increase psychological flexibility. First, the acceptance and commitment therapy matrix was used to conceptualize the client’s “stuckness” and provide a foundation for mindfulness and defusion techniques to be implemented. Subsequently, the case reports how focus circles and “thanking the mind” exercises were introduced to increase the client’s contact with the present moment, and to cognitively defuse from the thought “What if I get injured?” Reflections from the client and their father were obtained to monitor and evaluate the service delivery process. The trainee’s reflections on practice also served to highlight the challenges of using acceptance and commitment therapy with a youth athlete, in particular the dominating “control” agenda, which in performance contexts, can be reinforced by the socially inferred narrative that athletes must control internal states as a prerequisite for optimal performance.

Opportunities and Considerations of New Media and Technology in Sport Psychology Service Delivery

The rapid growth in forms of technology used within society presents the field of sport and exercise psychology with numerous opportunities and considerations. Nevertheless, there currently exists a scarcity of knowledge or research for sport psychology professionals (SPPs) to draw from when seeking to use technology and media in their service delivery. This article presents a commentary on the perceived opportunities and considerations drawing primarily from the online counseling literature and we offer recommendations for good practice for SPPs utilizing technology and media in service delivery.

Mental Performance Consultants' Perspectives on Content and Delivery of Sport Psychology Services to Masters Athletes.

In the absence of sport psychology resources for Masters Athletes, mental performance consultants could benefit from information to assist consultancy with older adult athletes. We conducted semistructured interviews to explore 10 Canadian professional mental performance consultants' (two men and eight women) perspectives of targeted content and the nature of service delivery to Masters Athletes. Following inductive thematic analysis, results for Content of Sport Psychology related to performance readiness (e.g.,preparatory routines, mental focus plans); prioritizing sport (e.g.,balance/time management, recruiting social support); preserving sport enjoyment (e.g.,self-reflection, gratitude/sport as opportunity); and age-related considerations (e.g.,managing changing physical realities). Results pertaining to Addressing and Delivering Sport Psychology Services included considerations toward age-related attributes (e.g.,values/identity, engaged/invested clients) and accommodating barriers/constraints (e.g.,time, stigma). Our results show there are novel considerations when consulting with Masters Athletes, and we discuss what these findings mean for adult-oriented approaches in applied practice.

Developing a Professional Philosophy for Applied Exercise Psychology: Integrating Theory and Practice

Professional philosophy has become a topic of great interest within the sport psychology literature. However, professional philosophy for applied exercise psychology has not yet been clearly established as a specific line of applied or research interest. This reflective paper aims to fill this void by promoting awareness of how professional philosophy can be used to guide exercise psychology practice and evaluating a case study involving the application of professional philosophy within an exercise context. A prominent model of professional philosophy for sport psychology service delivery is discussed in relation to applied exercise psychology along with corresponding examples of each of the levels along the model's hierarchy specific to exercise psychology. Taken together, this serves as the reflective foundation from which applied implications are discussed.

Developing the effectiveness of applied sport psychology service delivery: A reflective practice intervention

Little empirical evidence exists to corroborate the proposed benefits that reflective practice may have for service delivery effectiveness in Applied Sport Psychology (ASP). To systematically address this gap, we collected data over a five-year period via a staggered, single-subject multiple-baseline intervention that aimed to: (a) investigate the effectiveness of a training programme designed to enhance practitioners’ abilities to engage in higher levels of reflection; and (b) explore whether developments in level of reflection influenced practitioner effectiveness. Eight trainee and four professionally qualified, UK based practitioners participated in an individualised 14-week study, which contained a two week intervention and a two month post-study retention assessment. All participants demonstrated immediate improvements in the level they were able to reflect at, as well as augmented reflective learning following the intervention. Measures of effective practice (e.g. client feedback, self-assessments) also demonstrated improvements post-intervention. In-depth social validation procedures substantiated these findings, with participants reporting that through more critical levels of reflection they experienced enhanced self-awareness, approaches to meeting client needs, professional judgement and decision making, and a range of other characteristics associated with effective consultants. Our findings offer novel support for the links between reflective practice and service delivery effectiveness, as well as a better understanding of the mechanisms through which such adaptations occur. This study makes a significant contribution by providing an in-depth, longitudinal insight into the value of focusing practitioner training on reflective practice as a meta-cognitive strategy to enhance ASP practice.

Navigating Subclinical Sport Psychology as a Trainee: A Case Study of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Elite Youth Athletics

The current case reports the service delivery experiences of a trainee practitioner working within elite youth athletics, discussing the experiences and challenges associated with encountering clinical issues and appropriate referrals for the first time. Alongside ongoing clinical support, this case warranted ongoing sport psychology service delivery, during which the trainee adopted an acceptance and commitment therapy approach. Interventions were focused toward the promotion of openness to experience and the identification of value-driven behaviors for sport. Service effectiveness was evaluated via a multimodal method including other professionals in a multidisciplinary support team. Reflections on the service delivery highlight the potentially beneficial or detrimental impacts that practitioner beliefs and values may have, as well as issues regarding role clarity, education, and preparedness for sport psychology trainees encountering clinical issues for the first time.

Case Study 1: The challenges of consultancy with an amateur league soccer team

This case study describes the challenges faced in the delivery of sport psychology services to an amateur league soccer team from a trainee sport and exercise psychologist’s perspective. The report outlines the consultation context and various ethical issues associated with delivery of service in this context. The theoretical and philosophical frameworks which guided the consultancy are described and justified with regard to the client and the context. It is explained how these factors guided the development of the programme for service delivery. The report also offers an evaluation of the work and reflections on the process of service delivery from a trainee’s perspective.

Education and training in the field of applied sport psychology in Europe

Applied sport psychology (ASP) service delivery rests on adequate training in ASP. To enhance future quality of ASP, attention should be drawn to education in the field. We examined programmes and courses that lead to ASP expertise in Europe and explored the possibility and objectives of a network of educators in ASP. Data were collected through a survey (N = 59; 30 European countries, 35 ASP education programmes) and analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. An overview of education in ASP in Europe is presented and discussed in terms of entry, structure, and completion of programmes and courses. In addition, perceived quality of programmes and a network for educators in ASP are discussed. Findings illustrate that education in ASP is available in most European countries, but programmes and courses vary widely in terms of level, size, and applied focus. Educators in ASP are interested in interacting, mainly with the objectives to form a network, collaborate and exchange (e.g. knowledge, staff, students, experiences, quality standard).

Spirituality & Sport: Consulting the Christian Athlete

The real world practice of sport and performance psychology will inevitably present the practitioner with performers for whom spirituality is the supreme motivator (Balague, 1999). Spirituality and sport, despite its practical relevance, is an underdeveloped and sometimes misunderstood combination (Nesti, 2007). The aim of this study was to reveal the individual experiences of athletes as they integrate spirituality and their sport participation. Five high level athletes (1 female, 4 male), each holding a Christian worldview were interviewed. A strategically designed interview guide illuminated several key themes, which Watson and Nesti (2005) suggested, would contribute much to the existing literature. Out of these themes, practical implications have been considered for the delivery of sport and performance psychology services to Christian athletes. Evidenced by this study, is the reality that some Christian athletes present a unique perspective through which appropriately tailored sport psychology services can readily precipitate personal excellence in sport and life.

Sport Psychology Interventions With Young Athletes: The Perspective of the Sport Psychology Practitioner

Young competitive athletes are not miniature elite athletes; they are a distinct client group to whom sport psychology practitioners (SPPs) increasingly deliver services. Interventions with this client group are often undertaken by newly educated SPPs who are in need of good guiding principles. Yet, there is a lack of research informing SPPs’ work with this group. In this current study, semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with four experienced practitioners about their most successful interventions in competitive youth sport. Analysis showed three major themes: (a) young athletes should be equipped with a holistic skills package that enables them to handle a number of existential challenges; (b) young athletes are embedded in an environment (coaches, experts, teammates etc.) that should be involved in the interventions; and (c) interventions with young athletes should maintain a long-term focus. These themes are discussed in the context of current literature on sport psychology service delivery.

Sport Psychology Service Delivery Training: The Value of an Interactive, Case-Based Approach to Practitioner Development

The process of service delivery has not been a prevalent focus in the discussion of applied sport psychology. The topics, techniques, or strategies relevant to practice have dominated the literature. Further, a gap exists between the coursework taken to learn the necessary knowledge and real-world consulting experiences. Case-based instruction can fill this gap, and provide an opportunity to practice procedural knowledge and skills, and obtain feedback about that application in order to learn how to effectively use knowledge in practice. A model interactive, case-based program, and lessons learned on effectively using this type of instruction are discussed.

Revisions to the Sport Psychology Service Delivery (SPSD) Heuristic: Explorations With Experienced Consultants

Sport psychology service delivery (SPSD) heuristic (Poczwardowski, Sherman, & Henschen, 1998) included key components of applied work. Nevertheless, the complexities of sport psychology consulting need an even broader representation. In individual, semistructured interviews, 10 experienced sport psychology consultants explored the usefulness of the original heuristic and newly added elements in their professional practice. Inductive analysis (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) resulted in a total of 2409 meaning units that were grouped into 127 lower-order themes and 32 higher-order themes that were used to clarify, expand, and revise the SPSD model as interpreted by the participants. Based on the new elements (i.e., consultant-client relationship, the consultant variables, the client variables, immersion, and the goodness of fit) and two meta-themes (i.e., interrelation and person-focused values), a newly configured heuristic is proposed (SPSD-Revised). Future researchers will benefit from different research methods and diversified conceptualizations of sport psychology service delivery to account for professional practice variables in various contexts.

The role of positive ethics and virtues in the context of sport and performance psychology service delivery.

Ethical principles developed for clinical/counseling psychologists are a useful, but incomplete, guide for sport and performance psychology (SPP) practitioners. Positive and virtue ethics are introduced to the SPP ethical literature as an additional resource. Positive ethics focus on practitioners’ reaching their fullest potential rather than avoiding risk (Knapp & VanDeCreek, 2006). Virtue ethics emphasize the character of the professional rather than situational variables (Newman, Robinson-Kurpius, & Fuqua, 2002). The context in which SPP practice occurs is described and commonly resulting ethical dilemmas are identified. The aspects of SPP context explored are: the domain of performance, SPP settings, SPP interventions, and expectations. The ethical issues discussed are: multiple relationships (including boundaries and dual agency), confidentiality, and self-regulation. Drawing from positive and virtue ethics as well as small community and military psychology, advice for managing the issues is provided. The inclusion of character and fitness requirements in training programs is explored to address the selfgovernance necessitated by the professional isolation of SPP practitioners. Suggestions for future professional practice and research are offered.

Doing Sport Psychology: A Youth Sport Consulting Model for Practitioners

While there are significant benefits to be gleaned from the delivery of sport psychology services to youth athletes, there does not appear to be a sport psychology consulting model that adequately addresses the unique needs and organizational structure of a youth sport population. The authors have both integrated and extended the current paucity of literature in an attempt to provide sport psychology practitioners with an inclusive youth sport consulting model. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to introduce the Youth Sport Consulting Model (YSCM) which serves as an educational framework for guiding and supporting sport psychology practitioners in the implementation and delivery of sport psychology services for young athletes and their sport organizations.