Exercise and Sport Psychology

Counseling Psychologists Working with Athletes

The dramatic growth of sport psychology over the last decade has spurred an increase of counseling psychologists interested in working with athletes. Although not typically viewed as a special population with particular needs, many unique and influential factors of athletic systems and subcultures create situations and demands outside of the traditional norms of the manner in which counseling psychologists tend to work. Although the empirical evidence of the effectiveness of sport psychology interventions is mixed, athletes view the most effective consultants as those who they perceive are interested in sport, establish caring rapport, offer concrete sport-specific advice and feedback, and provide follow-up. Athletes believe that consultants show their interest in sport by attending practices and games, maintaining consistent and sometimes extensive contact, and learning their specific sport.

Although athletes do not always feel it is necessary for consultants to have participated in their sport, they do expect consultants to possess a general understanding of the sport experience and the sport environment in which the athlete is involved. This characteristic often involves working with athletes in different settings and under different circumstances. For example, athletes' needs may differ substantially between try-outs, practice, major competitions, and the off-season. Attending practices and competitions can be time consuming, but these are key opportunities to understand the sport environment, observe the client-athlete in context, gather relevant information, and build the therapeutic relationship. Furthermore, the high visibility of athletes and the public nature of their performances provide the counseling psychologist with frequent evaluations of therapeutic goal attainment. Athletes describe poor consultants as those with bad timing and inappropriate behavior (i.e., crowding them or interrupting precompetition routines).

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