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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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Previous articles
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“I remember just being on the wards during chemotherapy, off my face on drugs, in so much pain and just sobbing uncontrollably at this documentary: that was when I was like, ‘Okay, we're doing this’”
The idea of finding hope in moments of despair might sound hackneyed to some people, but Jake Woods isn’t one of them. The British para athlete is recallin…
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Teenagers on multi-million dollar contracts. Transfer systems (at least in the US) allowing college athletes to switch teams at the drop of a hat. Social media distractions - and scrutiny - coming from every possible angle.
The power dynamic governing the coach-player relationship is always in flux, but there’s reason to think that the very people charg…
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Elite sport’s struggle with issues such as identity is nothing new, but efforts to instill the type of self awareness and self reflection that might help young athletes are still something of a postcode lottery.
In this Mind Room podcast episode, Jonathan Harding speaks to Julia Eyre, a sport psychologist working with the cycling and cheerleading German…
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A few weeks ago, I spoke to Alex Auerbach about his spell in the NBA, gaining coach buy-in and sport psychology regulation.
During the conversation, Alex touched on the role he played in influencing the Toronto Raptors’ player recruitment, none more so than during the NBA Draft (an annual event which sees teams from across the league pick players who ha…
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In our last newsletter, Jonathan Harding wrote about a new study examining the link between personality and performance, focusing specifically on how the ‘Dark Triad’ of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy impacts sporting relationships.
This week, we’re taking a deeper dive into the subject, bringing you a 30-minute podcast based on Jonath…
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“There are so many ways to do sports psychology: it just so happens that I believe an optimal culture for the incorporation of sports psychology bases its language and behaviours around a shared mental model.
“That's because you can help the coaches, the physios, the club doctor, the sport scientists, the strength and conditioning coaches - who do sport…
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You’re 2-1 down to your arch rivals in a game that might decide who wins the league. You’ve played as though you’re chasing only your second title in 25 years: the nerves are palpable. You have 45 minutes to put things right.
The stakes don’t get much higher than Feyenoord’s match against Ajax in March 2023. The game at the Amsterdam Arena setup the pos…
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How do you convince an ageing centre back to swap the security of a low block for a high press that might make Ange Postecoglou blush? Karl Marius Aksum may have the answer.
The Mjallby assistant coach, who is part of a backroom team that has helped the Swedish club to the highest position in its 85-year history, was refreshingly honest in an explanation which exemplifies how he’s taken his doctorate knowledge onto the training ground.
“It's by using video clips in a manipulative way,” he jokes.
“So, it starts with me showing a lot of positive clips where we play a high line and we are successful.
“Then I emphasize how good this is, because maybe we win the ball and we create a chance. So, the clips are very important.
“When it comes to coaching, it's some principles that are non-negotiables - so, you have to play a diagonal pass instead of a sideway pass in this situation - but most of the time it's, ‘Hey, instead of doing that, what about if you do this instead? What if you waited one second, controlled the line first, and then pressed?’
“You're inviting their thoughts because it would be stupid for me to tell a 34-year-old who has played in European competitions and as a professional for 15 years, how to defend in every situation.
“It's a collaboration, it's getting their input, their understanding of the situation with their specific skills, and that is important because maybe I want him to do something but he's not quick enough to do it, in which case he shouldn't do it.”
Aksum’s insight was part of a wide-ranging discussion, exploring the Norwegian’s creative approach to honing cognitive skills, the club-wide culture which has helped propel Mjallby to third place in Sweden’s top-flight and the power dynamics crucial to establishing an effective coaching team.
Here are a few soundbites from the episode, which you can listen to in full via the audio player at the top of this article.
On making the move from academia to professional football:
“I was the one with the doctorate degree who had really never worked daily with a team at this level: all my ideas were mostly in my head and written down on paper, but never used in practice.
“So, yes, there was some scepticism for sure, but I also think that was why I got the job because they wanted someone who really had a deep understanding of how players learn and the game of football.
On what psychological theory looks like on the training ground:
“For me, it’s about making everything specific to the game of football. Every time I start planning a session, I start with the session intention and session design, because I believe that players are learning in their interactions with teammates and opponents in game situations, where you have to perceive a situation, you have to decide and you have to execute.
“Also, you need cognitive intensity in everything you do. You need to be fully committed to each exercise. And then there’s repetition without repetition.
“So, we create a scenario or a situation where we never tell the players exactly what to do because football is too complex. You never, ever play the same situation two times. So we would set up a situation with some principles, and then we will run through that situation 10, 15 or 20 times, where they play and they make decisions.”
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Previous articles
As a Mind Room Member, you can access all of the website stories - covering everything from AC Milan’s neuroscience lab to the way English rugby teams are embracing ‘shared mental models’ - via the four sections below:
* Theory
* Practice
* Strategy
* Features
Thanks again for reading The Mind Room!
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This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themindroom.substack.com
“Most athletes compete at one Olympics, so they might have been working forever for this one moment, and then, that's it, it's gone.
“There's only one heat that you get to compete in. You've only got one chance to do your beam routine. It lasts a minute, but you've trained for it for 15 years.
“It's about how you prepare for those moments.”
Misia Gervis…
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“If someone calls themselves a sports psychology consultant and they're not licensed, what do you do? There's no punishment. There's nothing you can do to change that. The psychology board can send them something that says, ‘Please don't do this’ and maybe the club can sue them if something goes wrong, but by and large, there's not an accountability me…
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Geir Jordet has spent most of his professional career studying penalties. The Norwegian professor, who has worked with several of Europe's top teams over two decades in football, knows the psychological subtleties of spot kicks as well as anyone.
All of which means that, as Euro 2024 moves towards the knockout stages and the drama of penalty shootouts, …
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Barely a week goes by without mentions of ‘culture change’ within sport. Some of the commentary is vital: in sports ranging from rugby to swimming, there are serious issues to confront, requiring systemic reforms and widespread behavioural change. In other instances, the term is in danger of becoming a buzzword, meaning anything from dressing room camar…
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We've launched a new sister newsletter, bringing you the latest football psychology stories to your inbox - for free - every week. To subscribe to The Mind Room, just visit https://themindroom.substack.com/, where you can also find a back catalogue of articles and interviews. We'll be back with a new pod in the near future, but if you want to get in touch with us in the meantime, our Twitter DMs are open: https://twitter.com/soccerpsychshow.
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Former Lionesses psychologist Misia Gervis drops by for an exclusive interview, explaining how she prepared the England women's side for their last visit to a European Championship final and the lessons the current team might learn from 2009.
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We welcome back Wycombe assistant manager Richard Dobson and regular guest Dr Misia Gervis for a discussion about the secrets of a successful coach-psychologist relationship. After almost a decade of working together, Richard and Misia reflect on how they formed their partnership, the key elements behind their sustained success and offer some advice for coaches and psychologists on similar journeys.
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Former Premier League psychologist Sarah Murray joins us to discuss:
The emotional impact of going on loan
Adding psychologists to EPL coaching teams
What are the ingredients of successful leadership?Read 'The Mind Room', The Football Psychology Show sister newsletter: https://themindroom.substack.com/
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We welcome back regular guest and former England women's team psychologist Dr Misia Gervis to discuss the psychology of the play-offs, whether managers' motivational stunts really pay off and the mental benefits of celebrating.
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We look back on the life of Professor João Carvalhaes, football's first World Cup-winning psychologist. Join us for a discussion about a fascinating individual who pioneered the use of cognitive examinations in elite football, divided opinion with his analysis of Pele and Garrincha, and helped Brazil win the 1958 World Cup.
To watch the Sao Paolo Regional Psychology Council's video about João Carvalhaes, visit: http://www.crpsp.org.br/memoria/joao/videos.aspx
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Wycombe coach Matt Bloomfield and former England women's team psychologist Dr Misia Gervis join us to discuss:
Chelsea & Derby: how off-pitch problems really affect players' state of mind
Conte: the impact of pressurising players to return from injury
Wycombe: the power of psychological support
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