Ethical Clinical Practice and Sport Psychology: When Two Worlds Collide

Abstract

From their own practices, the authors offer insight into potential ethical dilemmas that may frequently develop in an applied psychology setting in which sport psychology is also being practiced. Specific ethical situations offered for the reader's consideration include confidentiality with coaches, administration, parents, and athlete-clients; accountability in ethical billing practices and accurate diagnosing; identification of ethical boundaries in nontraditional practice settings (locker room, field, rink, etc.); and establishment of professional competence as it relates to professional practice and marketing.

Applied Sport Psychology: A Profession?

“…However, the field of sport psychology draws from several disciplines and is made up of practitioners from very different avenues of study, for example, psychology, sport science, and pure kinesiology. Therefore, although competence is perceived to be of vital importance for all consulting psychologists, maybe not surprisingly no regulatory body has provided a specific and clear definition of competence that may be used within the field of applied sport psychology (Brown & Cogan, 2006;Tod, Marchant, & Andersen, 2007;Wylleman et al 2009). Thus, practitioners and, more importantly, clients can remain confused over what defines and delimits the practice of sport psychology (Aoyagi et al, 2012).…”

“…The core of applied sport psychology should therefore include a consideration of the fundamental ethics in professional practice. Hence, it is often regarded as crucial to what shall be counted as acceptable conduct and to ensuring control over standards, that any profession worthy of the name ought to be governed by a code of professional ethics, which clearly identifies professional obligations and responsibilities by reference to the rights of clients (Brown & Cogan, 2006;Carr, 1999;Stapleton, Hankes, Hays, & Parham, 2010). Of course, this issue of professional ethics is complex and multifaceted.…”

“…Moreover, these professional organizations have established policies, guidelines, and standards to regulate the development, certification, and maintenance of competence. However, due to the novelty of this field of study, the ethical issues faced by sport psychology practitioners often differ to some degree from those who practice a more traditional form of psychology (Brown & Cogan, 2006).…”

“…If at the elite level of sport everything is performance focused, then the sport psychologist must be prepared to work with the entire athlete and that requires competence in all aspects that applied sport psychology entails. In short, authors have agreed that when concerned about the ethicality when working in the athletic arena, the profession should be aware of the differences between sport psychology and traditional psychology, and always be willing to consult with a fellow practitioner (Brown & Cogan, 2006;Stapleton et al, 2010).…”

Behavioral Sport Psychology

“…While experience is a good teacher for many aspects of life and drawing on previous athletic experience may be helpful when building an alliance with a client, it is insufficient for meeting professional standards of practice (Brown & Cogan, 2006).…”