Applied Sport Psychology Supervision: A Survey of Students and Professionals

Abstract

The applied sport psychology supervision experiences of student and professional members of AAASP (N = 313) were surveyed. The results revealed that of those who provide applied sport psychology consultation, students were more likely than professionals to receive supervision and to receive weekly supervision. However, both groups received equal amounts of supervision and had case management as the primary component of their supervision. AAASP professional members providing supervision were more likely to hold certified consultant and licensure status than those who did not provide supervision. Only 22.4% of professionals reported providing applied sport psychology supervision, 75.9% of whom had little or no training in supervision. No differences were found in the amount, type, and quality of supervision provided to students from physical education/sport science programs and those in psychology programs.

Countertransference and the Self-Aware Sport Psychologist: Attitudes and Patterns of Professional Practice

“…Thirty-three percent of the sample had never received professional supervision, and 50% had received supervision between one and five times in the past 12 months. Importantly, these results when looked at in combination with the recent findings from the USA (Watson, Zizzi, Etzel, & Lubker, 2004), that less than 10% of the certified sport psychologists sampled were receiving supervision, highlight this as a potentially universal concern. This raises the concern that many sport psychologists in both the USA and the UK operate without the professional challenge, support, and safety net that supervision can provide.…”

“…Such a training program would increase the sophistication of the supervision being offered to cover both the supervisee's self-awareness and their programs of sport psychology intervention, thus raising the quality of service provided to athletes (Andersen & Williams-Rice, 1996;Pocwardowski et al, 1998;Van Raalte & Andersen, 2000;Watson et al, 2004).…”

Six Years Up: Applied Sport Psychologists Surviving (and Thriving) after Graduation

“…For example, Watson, Zizzi, Etzel, and Lubker (2004) found that more than 75% of AASP professional members who were certified consultants, licensed psychologists, or both, were not being supervised. Watson et al's results were published more than 6 years ago, and it is possible that today a greater proportion of AASP professional members are supervised.…”

Quality Counts: Critical Features for Neophyte Professional Development

“…Although supervisors have taken part in surveys (e.g., Watson et al, 2004) and interviews (e.g., Tod et al, 2007), few studies have combined rich contextual narrative with the supervisor's perspective (for an exception see Andersen, Van Raalte, & Harris, 2000). Examining the perceptions of the supervisor will lead to more fully informed recommendations for improvements to supervised experiences.…”