What Does a Sport Psychologist Do?

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is a Sport Psychologist?What They DoEducational RequirementsCredentialsHow to Become a Sports Psychologist?Salary

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is a Sport Psychologist?

What They Do

Educational Requirements

Credentials

How to Become a Sports Psychologist?

Salary

Close

At a GlanceIf you enjoy applying psychological principles to help amateur, collegiate, and professional athletes perform their best, then you might be interested in a career in sport psychology. Professional sport psychologists work directly with athletes to improve motivation, helps teams function more effectively, and treat psychological conditions that can affect performance.

At a Glance

If you enjoy applying psychological principles to help amateur, collegiate, and professional athletes perform their best, then you might be interested in a career in sport psychology. Professional sport psychologists work directly with athletes to improve motivation, helps teams function more effectively, and treat psychological conditions that can affect performance.

Asports psychologistis apsychologistwith expertise in the following areas:

What Exactly Does a Sport Psychologist Do?

So what is the role of a sports psychologist? What do they do on a day-to-day basis? The exact answers to these questions depend a lot on exactly where the individual works. Some of the tasks they might do regularly include:

What Degree Does a Sport Psychologist Need?

For example, you can obtain a graduate psychology degree with a concentration in specific subfields such as child development or substance abuse. However, the same has not always been said of sport psychology.

Due to the rising popularity of the subject, however, some schools have begun adding sport psychology as a specific concentration, with the possibility that more will follow suit in the future.

According to the American Psychological Association, specific sub-specialty areas include:

What Credentials Does a Sport Psychologist Need?

At the present time, no credentials beyond a state license are needed to practice sport psychology. Ethically and practically speaking, you should have expertise in specific areas, including:

Getting supervised, hands-on experience in the field, and passing state certification exams are also important.

While there is no American Psychological Association certification for sports psychology, the organization does recognize it as a proficiency. Individuals offering sports psychology services must adhere to the standards outlined in this proficiency.

Otherwise, they could risk violating ethical guidelines, which could result in the suspension and/or termination of their license to practice.

Although accreditation is not necessary, it does not mean that there are no benefits to becoming a certified sports psychologist. There are many organizations offering to certify individuals.

AASP CertificationOne of these organizations is the Association for Applied Sports Psychology (AASP). Designation as a Certified Consultant, AASP carries the benefit of the possibility of being listed on the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Sports Psychology Registry. This lists individuals who are approved to work with Olympic athletes and national teams. For more information, you should visit the AASP web site.

AASP Certification

One of these organizations is the Association for Applied Sports Psychology (AASP). Designation as a Certified Consultant, AASP carries the benefit of the possibility of being listed on the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Sports Psychology Registry. This lists individuals who are approved to work with Olympic athletes and national teams. For more information, you should visit the AASP web site.

Two basic qualifications are needed in order to become anything in life: education and experience. This holds true for becoming a sports psychologist as well.

Sports Psychology Education

The educational opportunities for working as a sports psychologist are limited. Perhaps the best way to get into a top-flight graduate program is to go to a school that offers some formalized experience in the field.

If your school doesn’t have a sports psychology major, we recommend that you stick with a psychology major and try to get experience however you can.

Some graduate programs in psychology offer a concentration in sports psychology.

If you are in a graduate program at a school that offers only an introductory sports psychology course but it is something that genuinely interests you, consider speaking with your department chair.

Ask if there are any independent study classes or independent research classes that you can take to gain further knowledge of this field. The independent research class is especially useful since it will bring you into direct contact with athletes for performance enhancement.

Sports Psychology Experience

Perhaps one of the most difficult things to get in the field of sports psychology is the direct contact with athletes. You should work with a supervisor with an expertise in sports psychology and find a population to work with.

There are different ways of getting experience. One way is to meet with the athletic director or their assistant to find coaches who are willing to support you. Some internship sites offer sports psychology training as part of their formal curriculum

Many professional athletes and teams have realized the value of sports psychology and regularly make use of the services. However, they tend to use the well-established individual. When you are just getting started, working with amateur and collegiate athletes is a good experience.

How Much Do Sport Psychologists Earn?

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics does not list specific sport psychologist salaries, but psychologists have an overall median salary of $85,330.

The American Psychological Association reports that sport psychologists working in university athletic departments earn around $60,000 to $80,000 per year. The highest salaries in the field an be higher than $100,000 per year.

What This Means For YouIf you are interested in a career as a sport psychologists, it can be helpful to start learning more about what they do and where they work. Professionals in this field work with athletes, both amateur and professional, to help them deal with mental health challenges and improve their athletic performance and participation. If this sounds like an exciting career to you, coursework and experience in sport psychology are a great place to start.

What This Means For You

If you are interested in a career as a sport psychologists, it can be helpful to start learning more about what they do and where they work. Professionals in this field work with athletes, both amateur and professional, to help them deal with mental health challenges and improve their athletic performance and participation. If this sounds like an exciting career to you, coursework and experience in sport psychology are a great place to start.

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Lochbaum M, Stoner E, Hefner T, Cooper S, Lane AM, Terry PC.Sport psychology and performance meta-analyses: A systematic review of the literature.PLoS One. 2022;17(2):e0263408. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0263408

American Psychological Association.Sports psychology.

Jasser J, Patel DR, Beenen KT.The role of psychologists in sport medicine practice.Pediatr Clin North Am. 2022;69(5):975-988. doi:10.1016/j.pcl.2022.05.010

American Psychological Association.A career in sport and performance psychology.

Latinjak AT, Hatzigeorgiadis A.The knowledge map of sport and exercise psychology: An integrative perspective.Front Psychol. 2021;12:661824. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.661824

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.Psychologists.Occupational Outlook Handbook.

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