Does sport psychology have an access and inclusion problem?

The Mind Room

Psychologists fighting for fair pay. ‘Fake psychs’ exploiting the lack of regulation governing sport psychology in the UK (and elsewhere). The exorbitant cost of training to become a sport psychologist.

The issues facing the sport psychology profession are well documented (we’ve covered a whole host of them on The Mind Room over the last couple of years), but they deserve continued scrutiny.

In this bumper edition of The Mind Room podcast, Jonathan Harding speaks to Sofie Kent, Shakiba Moghadam and Shameema Yousuf about a topic that seeps into every one of the challenges mentioned at the start of this post: does sport psychology have an access and inclusion problem?

It’s a fascinating discussion which gets under the skin of a complex subject, straddling a whole host of issues, from ‘gatekeeping’ to the sport psychology job market.

You can listen to the conversation via the audio player above, but here are a few sample quotes from the discussion, covering some of the key issues which Jonathan, Sofie, Shakiba and Shameema talked about:

Gatekeeping within sport psychology

“I would say with confidence there are white men who do some gatekeeping and are very particular about who goes through those gates and who doesn't.”

Lack of female and BAME sport psychologists

“There aren't that many women at all, let alone women of colour, in sports psychology, and I think as a result of gatekeeping, it's really difficult for women to progress in particular roles and feel safe, whether it's physical safety, emotional safety or psychological safety.”

“Where we are today is very different and I am stoked to see the number of (university) applications from people of colour coming through the pipeline…but whilst there is quite an equal (gender) balance when you look at some of the spaces…women of colour are really not featuring in those spaces much at all, which I think speaks to a patriarchal, hierarchical system that’s quite toxic at times.”

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Defeminising female psychologists

“Entering football was quite challenging and there were lots of different tips that I'd picked up along the way about defeminising. So, for example, if I was going into a club full time, I wouldn't have my lashes on, I wouldn't be wearing makeup, and I wouldn't have my nails done and you'd wear the kit. So, for me, it was about defeminising.

“But now, as time's gone on, and you see the different kinds of challenges in the environment, you recognize what feminine qualities can bring. So, for example, I'm starting to do lots of work with romantic partners of athletes, and when you're presenting to male staff about some of the challenges the partners face and the impact that it has on performance, some male staff haven't recognised it.”

The cost of education

“One of the only reasons I was able to even do my Master's was because I got a scholarship, which just about covered my fees and rent.

“My PhD was a studentship and the same (financial and workload) issues happened…it's not until you reflect back, that you think that really wasn't right. My mental health was horrendous, but it provided you with the opportunity and you think, ‘Well, imagine if hadn’t happened, would you still be in this job role now’?

“It also inspires you to not want anybody else to have to go through that, to protect those individuals (studying) and to give them that safe space to learn, to have the funding to do it, but not at the cost of their mental health.”

Ineffective regulation

“There are so many ‘catfish’ sports psychologists who are essentially fake…because of their social media following, their great business skills and talking ability, in terms of being able to sell their product, they then sometimes ‘out market’ the people who have trained so hard to be where they are.”

“There's nothing that holds people accountable for saying I'm a psychologist when they're not…and that then exploits people who are trying to seek help, who are trying to get help for whatever it is that they want to get, particularly athletes who are already hesitant to want to go and get help.”

A saturated sport psychology job market?

“I don't think there's necessarily a place for all sport psychology students in the marketplace just yet. Yes, sports psychology is growing. Yes, there are more and more people finding themselves a job within the space - certainly more so than a decade ago - but I don't think the number of jobs justifies the intake of students.”

“The player care role provides a fantastic opportunity to really support young people and first team players within football, in particular in areas that are stressful. So, for example, if you're relocating to the UK and your children need a new school, you need a home and visas, player care is brilliant.

“But because there's been no regulation of that role, academies and football teams are using it as a cheaper way to potentially facilitate a psychological service.

“So whereas a (sport psychology) practitioner may charge £50k a year, the player care (officer) may charge £25k a year. The club don't have to pay anything towards it and they're still thinking that they tick that box. So it's about how much do the club value true psychological support, delivered by a practitioner that aligns with the values and beliefs of that club.”

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