What’s the difference between a sport psychologist and a licensed professional counselor?
And how do you know what service you may need?
I notice a lot of confusion and misunderstandings between the two types of professionals, so I wanted to provide an understanding of how they are similar, different, and compliment each other.
(Specifically for the U.S.)
Differences
Sport psychologist
- Sport psychology is a proficiency that uses psychological knowledge and skills to address optimal performance and well-being of athletes, developmental and social aspects of sports participation, and systemic issues associated with sports settings and organizations. – American Psychological Association (APA)
- Providers may work with teams to improve communication, team cohesion, and leadership.
- Proficiency acquired after a doctoral degree in one of the primary areas of psychology and licensure as a psychologist. This proficiency does not include those who have earned a doctoral degree in sport psychology but are not licensed psychologists. – APA
…
- Assists athletes, coaches, administrators, and parents.
- Provides services from a wide array of settings and levels of competition, ranging from recreational youth participants to professional and Olympic athletes to master’s level performers.
- Specialized knowledge in theory and research in social, historical, cultural and developmental foundations of sport psychology.
- Issues and techniques of sport specific psychological assessment and mental skills training for performance enhancement and participation satisfaction.
- Clinical and counseling issues with athletes.
…
- Organizational and systemic aspects of sport consulting.
- Developmental and social issues related to sport participation.
- Biobehavioral bases of sport and exercise (e.g., exercise physiology, motor learning, sports medicine).
- Specific knowledge of training science and technical requirements of sport and competition, International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules, etc.
…
- Cognitive and behavioral skills training for performance enhancement.
- Goal setting
- Imagery and performance planning
- Concentration and attention control strategies
- Development of self-confidence, self-esteem and competence in sports
- Cognitive-behavioral self-regulation techniques
- Emotion management, sportsmanship and leadership skills.
- Counseling and clinical interventions.
- Athletic motivation
- Eating disorders and weight management
- Substance abuse
- Grief, depression, loss and suicide
- Over-training and burnout
- Sexual identity issues
- Aggression and violence
- Athletic injury and rehabilitation
- Career transitions and identity crises.
- Consultation and training.
- Team building
- Sports organization consultation
- Systems interventions with parents and families involved in youth sports participation
- Education of coaches regarding motivation, interpersonal and leadership skills and talent development
- Education of coaches and administrators regarding early identification and prevention of psychological difficulties.
Reference: American Psychological Association, 2008. Sport Psychology. https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/sports
Licensed professional counselor
- Mental health services are conducted only by licensed mental health professionals and are designed to address the full range of mental health concerns, such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, trauma, grief/loss, eating disorders, life transitions, and more.
- Renders or offers prevention, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, which includes psychotherapy.
- Application of principles, methods, or procedures of the mental health counseling profession.
- Educates people about mental illnesses.
- Can work with family, marriage, and couples issues. Trained to work in groups.
- Mental health services involve a variety of therapeutic approaches to address personality, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral concerns.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy
- Person-Centered
- Gestalt
- Narrative
- Acceptance and Commitment
- Motivational Interviewing
- Somatic
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
- and more.
- Hold at least a Master’s degree.
Similarities
- Both aim to improve the well-being of athletes, coaches, and other athletic personnel.
- Sport psychology services can be conducted by either sport psychology providers or licensed mental health providers who specialize in sport and typically focus on enhancing performance by providing education and techniques in competitive situations.
- This can involve helping individuals to manage anxiety, improve focus and concentration, reset and refocus their attention after mistakes, visualize, relax, set achievable goals, among others.
While there may be some overlap between sport psychology services and mental health services, the primary distinction is the focus of treatment and the training and credentialing of providers.
It is important to be an informed consumer, thus I always recommend asking potential providers to explain their backgrounds and to be clear about how their training informs their scope of practice.
Reference: Natasha P. Trujillo, Ph.D. Counseling and Sports Psychologist
Ultrarunner, are you ready to level up your mindset and mental wellness?
If you are interested in working together on stepping up your mindset and mental wellness around racing and life, reach out to me.
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Contact me if you have questions or want to schedule.
See what a few bada$$ ultrarunners say…
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