Barriers for Sport and Performance Consultants
Pile of blue Legos.
Sport and performance consults exist within the world of psychology. They also exist within the world of sports. Both of these worlds introduce challenges for how a sport and performance consult can be introduced into the picture to help athletes. What is identified in this post about barriers for sport and performance consults hopes to illuminate some of these barriers and suggests ways that these barriers can potentially be overcome.
Mental Health Stigma
Ravissa (1988) wrote about the assumptions that athletes bring when they hear the words sport psychology, such as the potential for a problem to be dealt with or the sense that there is a weakness to address. I would take this a step further and address the pervasive stigma about mental health in the athletic community. Numerous research studies have demonstrated how, despite attempts at awareness of the effectiveness and benefits of mental health treatment and the prevalence of mental health concerns, there continues to be both social and cultural stigma in the athletic community (Bauman, 2016; Castaldelli-Maia et al., 2019; Uphill et al., 2016). I only cited three, but there are many more! If I were to cite research about mental health stigma in the United States, I would run into the same situation. There would be many studies. Bharadwaj et al. (2017) and Sickel et al. (2014) are just two examples.
Here are a few different strategies that I have used in the past to help begin breaking down the wall of mental health stigma. The first strategy I use is publicly acknowledging that I have a therapist and am a therapist. This acknowledgment usually takes people off guard because it is uncommon to bluntly share this information. The stigma begins to be broken down by talking openly about the topic. Another strategy is to have athletes look at national governing bodies, what they offer their athletes, and how athletes benefit from these services. For example, USA Triathlon has sport psychologists on staff. Many triathletes have talked about their work with sport psychologists. One last strategy, of many, is to allow space for skepticism. When people are told that their feelings and beliefs are invalid, this shuts them down. However, when they are encouraged to express concerns and beliefs, it allows an opportunity to build rapport and share additional information. Sometimes, depending on the audience, I share how I did not even believe in seeing a therapist and thought it was a waste of time. I humanize and empathize with the experience.
Constraints of the Sport Culture
Ravissa (1988) specifically, in their writings, addressed the political constraints of organizational structures as a significant hurdle. While I agree with what was discussed, more is woven into that statement than explicitly stated. Money, time, coaches' and staff's minimal understanding of sport psychology, and concerns around confidentiality and consent are some of the many barriers (Ford et al., 2022; Zakrajsek & Zizzi, 2008). I bring these up because thinking that barriers are isolated and disconnected is foolhardy. They can be, and often are, interrelated.
There are a few strategies that a sport and psychology professional can use to help overcome some of the barriers addressed in the paragraph above. That said, not all can be addressed by a sport and psychology professional alone with a specific team. Some of these barriers require cultural and systems change. There is also an equity factor to consider. The first strategy is to learn how to advocate for mental health and sport and performance psychology so that there is greater awareness and the door to cultural change can be pushed open more widely. Suppose there is greater awareness and cultural change. In that case, there may be a more remarkable change in funding being available, potentially more understanding of the benefits of sport psychology, and even a shift in the importance of building mental skills and mental health. The second strategy is to understand the role of equity and allow your thinking to be influenced by cultural sport psychology, queer sport psychology, and feminist sport psychology (Gill, 2001; Heil, 2016; Krane & Waldron, 2021; Schinke et al., 2019). These different theories expand our understanding of the systemic nature of the above barriers and other, interrelated barriers. The final one I will discuss is working towards developing rapport and trust with different key stakeholders in a sport organization. Ravissa (1988) talks about the importance of trust and rapport, and I think it is important to also highlight what I wrote about all the stakeholders. Each has a different role to play in the organizational structure, and by taking the time to acknowledge and engage with each role, there is a more significant opportunity for change and acceptance.
These are just a few ideas of how the above barriers can be overcome. The additional component to consider as well is that these changes do not happen overnight and require the work of many people to bring about change. That said, it takes each of us doing our part to bring about change. Do not think that one voice doesn’t matter. It matters!
take action today moment:
Use your voice to advocate for change. Lean into the discomfort rather than leaning away. It is when we begin to push the edges of our windows of tolerance that we also grow. Whether you are advocating for sport psychology, mental health, or any other cause that you believe in yourself and find a community of people you jive with for support.
Learn More About Barriers and Stigma in Sport Psychology and Mental Health:
Breaking Down Barriers in Sports Psychology
Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness
References
Bauman, N. J. (2016). The stigma of mental health in athletes: are mental toughness and mental health seen as contradictory in elite sport?. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(3), 135-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095570
Bharadwaj, P., Pai, M. M., & Suziedelyte, A. (2017). Mental health stigma. Economics Letters, 159, 57-60.
Castaldelli-Maia, J. M., e Gallinaro, J. G. D. M., Falcão, R. S., Gouttebarge, V., Hitchcock, M. E., Hainline, B., ... & Stull, T. (2019). Mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes: a systematic review on cultural influencers and barriers to athletes seeking treatment. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(11), 707-721. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2019-100710
Ford, J. L., Masters, S., & Vosloo, J. (2022). High school coaches’ attitudes toward sport psychology consultation and the barriers to implementation of sport psychology services. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 17(5), 999-1008. https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541221101226
Gill, D. L. (2001). Feminist sport psychology: A guide for our journey. The Sport Psychologist, 15(4), 363-372.
Heil, J. (2016). Sport advocacy: Challenge, controversy, ethics, and action. Sport, Exercise, and Performance Psychology, 5(4), 281–295. https://doi.org/10.1037/spy0000078
Krane, V., & Waldron, J. J. (2021). A renewed call to queer sport psychology. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 33(5), 469-490. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200.2020.1764665
Ravizza, K. (1988). Gaining entry with athletic personnel for season-long consulting. The Sport Psychologist, 2(3), 243-254.
Schinke, R. J., Blodgett, A. T., Ryba, T. V., Kao, S. F., & Middleton, T. R. (2019). Cultural sport psychology as a pathway to advances in identity and settlement research to practice. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 42, 58-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2018.09.004
Sickel, A. E., Seacat, J. D., & Nabors, N. A. (2014). Mental health stigma update: A review of consequences. Advances in Mental Health, 12(3), 202-215.
Uphill, M., Sly, D., & Swain, J. (2016). From mental health to mental wealth in athletes: Looking back and moving forward. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 935. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00935
Zakrajsek, R. A., & Zizzi, S. J. (2008). How do coaches’ attitudes change when exposed to a sport psychology workshop?. Journal of Coaching Education, 1(1), 66-83. http://doi.org/10.1123/jce.1.1.66