What?
Sports Psychology is a field devoted to the mental health, wellness, performance, and rehabilitation of athletes. According to the APA, Sports Psychology is the use of “psychological knowledge and skills to address optimal performance and well-being of athletes, developmental and social aspects of sports participation, and systemic issues associated with sports settings and organizations.” In many ways, the principles and skillsets which would allow a counseling psychologist to help an individual struggling with anxiety or depression to improve are the same as those which would allow a sports psychologist to help an athlete with performance anxiety or low motivation. The field of Sports Psychology sometimes is labeled in different ways, including “Athletic Counseling,” “Performance Therapy,” and “Exercise Psychology,” and shares a great deal of overlap with Kinesiology and Exercise Science. According to the AASP, Sports Psychology “focuses on providing every performer the resources to power their inner edge by strengthening the ability to perform, as well as the ability to thrive” and notes that this field is relevant not just to athletes, but also to those who perform in realms such as business, tactical / military, emergency / first responding, and the arts.
Who?
Sports psychologists are people who are interested in applying the skills and principles of psychology/psychotherapy to the broad world of physical and mental performance. Like any other psychologist, a sports psych is one who is curious about the mental lives of others, committed to helping others grow and change in healthy ways, and can work with others in ways which balance support/empathy/validation with challenge/accountability/inspiration. However, unique to sports psychologists is their focus upon performance-related wellness and optimization. Oftentimes, these individuals have their own rich history with performance endeavors (e.g., competitive athletics, top-tier musicianship, professional acting) which inspired their initial interest in performance wellness. Consider the following: How do coaches foster positive teamwork in their players? How do athletes mentally recover from injuries? How do professional performers stay calm despite crowds of spectators? How do children develop the hand-eye coordination and finesse to become strong performers? How do non-professionals improve their fitness routines and engage in healthy exercise behaviors? And how are the mental health needs of athletes unique from others? If such questions are fascinating to you, then perhaps you would make a great fit for the field of Sports Psychology!
Where?
Sports psychologists work in a variety of settings! Perhaps most obvious is that many consult with professional, Olympic, or college-level athletes, but even this may happen in a diversity of ways: Some are available on the sidelines during sporting events, while others see patients/clients in a private office setting. Some are housed in universities (e.g., teaching classes and conducting relevant research), while others are housed in counseling centers or other clinics where they specialize their clientele based on particular interests and activities. Still others are found in private practice, hospitals, forensic settings, remote-work setups, or contracted corporate locations. Many people trained in Sports Psychology go on to work in the broader health coaching / physical wellness industry, serving a diverse array of performers. Still others can be found in military training and rehabilitation settings such as the VA.
How?
Degree: In order to become a sports psychologist, one would need to start with a relevant Bachelor’s degree (e.g., B.A. or B.S. in Psychology or Kinesiology), and then move on to a graduate-level degree of some kind. As noted above, the exact name of this field goes by a few different labels, so one’s graduate degree may similarly have variety and may or may not specifically be called a master’s or doctorate in Sports Psychology. Further, while there are indeed graduate programs in sports psych (but they are somewhat rare), many people instead start by pursuing a graduate degree in a broader area such as Clinical Psychology, Counseling Psychology, or Kinesiology, and specialize in sports/performance along the way.
License: To practice as a psychologist in the state of Michigan, sport and performance psychologists are held to the same licensing standards and guidelines as any clinical, counseling, school, community, or industrial/organizational psychologist. Legally speaking, one simply earns the title “licensed psychologist,” as there is no specifier for sports or other specialties. They need to achieve a master’s or doctoral level degree which incorporates an adequate amount of supervised therapeutic practice, a post-degree supervised period of some kind (e.g., a post-doc position), and a passing score on the EPPP licensing exam. The requirements for licensure as a practicing psychologist in the state of Michigan can be explored at LARA. All that said, it is also true that some sports psychologists are hired directly by an entity which employs them for consultation purposes (e.g., professional sports team, military organization, school) which may or may not require them to be licensed for the position. Sports psychologists who practice independently and conduct psychotherapy, psychological assessments, or other professional psychological services will certainly need to have a state-sanctioned license–but others who are framed more as a ‘consultant’ for wellness purposes by the employer may not necessarily face the same requirements.
Certification: Another route which is becoming increasingly expected by employers is that individuals earn Certified Mental Performance Consultant status (CMPC). This certification, managed by the AASP, involves specific graduate-level coursework requirements, a 400-hour mentored experience involving direct contact with clients, and a passing exam score.
Training: As noted, one could attend a wide variety of graduate programs in either Psychology or Kinesiology and during (or later) specialize their work in the topic area of Sports Psychology. However, there are also some topically-specific programs of relevance. For instance, MSU offers a Kinesiology M.S. degree program titled Psychosocial Aspects of Sport and Physical Activity and Miami University in nearby Ohio offers an M.S. program in sport psych titled Sport Leadership and Management. For more help searching programs, try the AASP’s Directory of Graduate Programs in Applied Sport Psychology.
***Keep in mind that this sub-field is very niche and small, especially at the elite level. For example, if your career goal is to work as an NFL sports psychologist for the Detroit Lions (like Dr. Garvin), you have to recognize that such positions are extremely rare and selective. The ratio of NFL players to their respective sports psychologists is probably about 100:1, thus it might be more realistic to become a professional quarterback than the quarterback’s therapist. I want you to dream big, but I also want you to have accurate expectations! By casting a wider net in your job search and career goals, you might find success more attainable. For instance, consulting at the collegiate level is a great path for many sports psychs, as is working in a sports medicine office. You may also find that it works just fine to run a generalist private practice while marketing some of your services specifically to local athletes. A psychotherapist who specializes in trauma likely does not have a caseload 100% composed of individuals suffering from PTSD, and similarly a sports psychologist could be reasonably expected to have clientele which includes performers alongside other types of patients.***
Why?
Finally, why would someone be motivated to pursue Sports Psychology as a career? Well, like most mental health professionals, they are interested in the mind and want to have a helping impact upon others; but they are unique in their specific fascination with the intersections of performance and wellness. Sports psychologists often had formative experiences in their own prior performance endeavors (e.g., an inspiring coach/mentor, important life experiences afforded due to their team involvement, struggles with performance anxiety, strengthened sense of identity within a performance group) and thus want to “pay it forward” to the next generation of up-and-coming performers and athletes. Further, whereas some other areas of psychology have a reputation of focusing on the negatives in mental phenomena, sports psychologists are able to aim some of their efforts at the maximization of human potential. Seeing an athlete achieve their personal best in an event due to mindfulness training, a musician overcome stage fright and perform in a beautiful flow state, or a set of teammates previously disinterested in one another come to provide mutual support during an arduous competition can be deeply rewarding for the therapist involved!
Relevant State-Level Organization
Michigan Psychological Association
Relevant National/International Organizations
Association for Applied Sports Psychology
APA Division 47: Society for Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology
Clinical/Counseling Sport Psychology Association
North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity
Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology
European Federation of Sports Psychology
MI Mental Health Helping Professions 