DO WE REALLY NEED SPORT PSYCHOLOGISTS?

Facilitators and Barriers to Sport Psychology Development

Résumé

Even though sport psychology is an established field of Psychology, with over a century of research and well-defined practice, there are still questions about the added value of these professionals. In this paper, we briefly reflect on some of the advantages of hiring sport psychologists. namely the benefits of supporting evidence-based practice, certified professionals, and developing the athlete as a whole (not just focusing on their performance). On the other hand, there are some barriers related to costs, work conditions, and development opportunities that make organizations question the hiring of such professionals. In this manuscript, we propose a decision-tree on hiring sport psychologists based on one’s analysis of four domains: beliefs about science, ethical issues, career opportunities and work conditions.