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Cultural competence, identified as the ability to understand other cultures and being aware of one’s own cultural assumptions, has been found to be important for sport psychology professionals (SPPs). In the current study, one of a few exploring the SPPs’ own perceived cultural competence, a sample of 203 SPPs completed an online survey examining the perceptions of their own levels of cultural competence. Most participants reported receiving formal training in cultural competence. However, this training was perceived as only moderately effective and only able to predict the reported level of the SPPs’ perceived cultural competence in a limited way. These results could be attributed to the reported lack of support for SPPs engaging in culturally centered self-reflective practice and to the limited role that these factors have played in training programs. Additional findings are described and discussed, along with recommendations for professional development and applied training.

This article provides a neophyte practitioner’s account of providing psychological support to a national team for the first time. The practitioner felt “caught in the headlights” due to his lack of preparation for the range of organizational issues he encountered. In this confessional tale, experiential knowledge gained by the practitioner is shared through the presentation of self-reflections from the 6-month period when he supported the squad. While the practitioner’s time with this national squad was limited, it gave him a sense of the micropolitical landscape of the sporting organization and illuminated some of the complexities and dilemmas that characterize applied sport psychology practice. These reflections are offered to guide other aspiring professionals during their initial training experiences.

Scholars have noted the importance of helping professionals’ work experiences through the exploration of Professional Quality of Life. Due to the unique experiences of sport psychology professionals, a sport psychology specific equivalent of the construct, the Sport Psychology Professional Quality of Life (SP-PQL), has recently been developed based on the experience of senior and experienced sport psychology professionals, yet researchers have not accounted for the experiences of neophytes. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 neophyte sport psychology professionals with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of how they conceptualize, experience, and manage their SP-PQL. The data offer novel insights regarding neophyte’s conceptualizations of SP-PQL as well as the barriers and facilitators toward their SP-PQL. We conclude that greater emphasis on SP-PQL is required within British sport psychology development pathways, outlining considerations for educators, such as the provision of educational resources and curricula to better inform and support future neophyte’s SP-PQL.

In this case study, we present a confessional tale that outlines the unique challenges and experiences of a trainee practitioner working in an elite youth soccer academy, during and following a racism scandal. We first locate our intersectional identities before contextualizing how the racism scandal emerged. Nested within the confessional tale is a series of critical reflections relating to the internal conflict between the trainee practitioner’s values, beliefs, and ethical obligations when working with released players who engaged in the racist behavior, confronting his Whiteness, White privileges, and experiences of White guilt and the lack of a culturally centered framework within the supervisee–supervisor relationship. While the trainee practitioner recognizes the significant work still required to become more culturally humble, we conclude by offering several applied recommendations to support others in developing a more culturally grounded practice framework.

Experienced and senior sport psychology practitioners achieved longevity in effective professional practice by embracing sustainable approaches to their profession, assumed to be influenced by their positive professional quality of life. The aim of this study was to gain insight into how these practitioners defined and attended to their profession-specific quality of life. Utilizing Consensual Qualitative Research method, researchers examined the perceptions and meanings that 20 internationally located practitioners attributed to their Sport Psychology-Professional Quality of Life (SP-PQL). Findings revealed a view of SP-PQL that encompassed five domains: (a) the lived experience of SP-PQL, (b) the nature of the SP profession, (c) SP-PQL as an ongoing journey, (d) deliberate engagement in the SP profession, and (e) the interconnection between the personal and the professional. These practitioners recognized the importance of a positive SP-PQL as a foundation for a positive, effective, and long-lasting career in the field.

Researchers have examined psychology professionals’ ability to maintain and sustain effective practices while managing to balance their personal and professional lives. Stamm’s concept of professional quality of life was intended to capture both positive and negative aspects of caregivers’ professional experiences. The concept, however, inadequately addresses the unique context of sport psychology practitioners’ (SPPs) practice. As part of a larger qualitative study of sport psychology professional quality of life (SP-PQL), in this paper the researchers explored the challenges and strategies articulated by a multinational sample of 20 senior-level SPPs related to developing and maintaining their SP-PQL. Findings from an analysis of in-depth interviews revealed challenges and the strategies that participants undertook to foster and sustain their SP-QOL. These findings can be used to inform efforts by current and future practitioners to identify aspects that may thwart or support their SP-PQL.