“…Not unlike professional psychology (e.g., Nash & Larkin, 2012;Roberts, Borden, Christiansen, & Lopez, 2005), the field of sport psychology appears to be struggling with delineating competence for its practitioners (Fletcher & Maher, 2013; Practice Committee, American Psychological Association [APA], Division 47, Exercise and Sport Psychology, 2011). However, important efforts have been made to understand and define competence, for instance by studying characteristics of practitioners (e.g., Fifer, Henschen, Gould, & Ravizza, 2008;Sharp & Hodge, 2011), preferences of clientele (e.g., Anderson, Miles, Robinson, & Mahoney, 2004;Pain & Harwood, 2004), developmental stages (e.g., Tod, 2007;Tod, Andersen, & Marchant, 2011), and particularly novice consultants (e.g., Hutter, Oldenhof-Veldman, & Oudejans, 2015;Stambulova & Johnson, 2010;Tod, Andersen, & Marchant, 2009); by defining (effective) practice (e.g., Aoyagi, Portenga, Poczwardowski, Cohen, & Statler, 2012;Cropley, Hanton, Miles, & Niven, 2010; Practice Committee, APA, Division 47, Exercise and Sport Psychology, 2011); and by outlining competencies (e.g., American Psychological Association, 2005; Association for Applied Sport Psychology, 2012;Ward, Sandstedt, Cox, & Beck, 2005; see Fletcher & Maher, 2013 for a summary and critique of these competency outlines). Drawing on these efforts, Tod, Marchant, and Andersen (2007) conceptualized competent service delivery as "a multidimensional process in which practitioners (a) meet clients' needs and expectations, (b) develop and maintain mutually beneficial relationships [ …] (c) understand psychological interventions and apply them to assist athletes in specific situations, (d) empathize with athletes' situations and interpret them through the lens of suitable theory [ …], and (e) reflect on how they (the practitioners) have influenced the interactions and outcomes of service provision" (p. 318).…”