Lessons Learned
Sport Psychology Practitioners’ Experiences of Working in Performance Sport During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Abstract: Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic led athletes and coaches to seek assistance from sport psychology practitioners (SPPs). However, SPPs were also constrained in their professional and private lives during this time. This qualitative study examined how the pandemic affected SPPs’ consulting work with athletes and coaches from March 2020 until June 2021. The overarching purpose was to derive insights into SPPs’ applied practice. I conducted semistructured interviews with eight certified SPPs from Germany, Austria, and Great Britain (4 females; Mage= 46.37 ± 11.16 years; Myears of practice = 18; range = 2 – 30). Participants were self-employed or worked at Olympic centers, youth academies, and sports schools. A reflexive thematic analysis revealed how the SPPs’ practice was tested, how their private and work life interacted, and how the pandemic promoted emerging trends within sport psychology. The lessons derived can help prepare SPPs for future challenges in their work, such as health crises or postponements of events.
Zusammenfassung: Auswirkungen der COVID-19-Pandemie führten dazu, dass Sportler_innen und Trainer_innen Hilfe bei SportpsychologInnen (SPPs) suchten. SPPs waren in dieser Zeit jedoch selbst beruflich und privat eingeschränkt. Diese Studie untersuchte, wie sich die Pandemie auf die Beratungsarbeit von SPPs mit Sportler_innen und Trainer_innen von März 2020 bis Juni 2021 auswirkte. Übergeordnetes Ziel war es, Erkenntnisse für die angewandte Praxis von SPPs zu gewinnen. Es wurden halbstrukturierte Interviews mit acht zertifizierten SPPs aus Deutschland, Österreich und Großbritannien geführt (4 weiblich; MAlter = 46,37 ± 11,16 Jahre; MJahre Praxiserfahrung = 18; Range = 2 – 30). Die Teilnehmer_innen waren selbstständig, arbeiteten an Olympiazentren, Jugendakademien und Sportschulen. Eine reflexive thematische Analyse zeigte, wie die Praxis von SPPs getestet wurde, ihr Privat- und Arbeitsleben interagierten und die Pandemie aufkommende Trends innerhalb der Sportpsychologie beförderte. Die gezogenen Lehren können dazu beitragen, SPPs auf zukünftige Herausforderungen in ihrer Arbeit wie z. B. Gesundheitskrisen oder Verschiebungen von Veranstaltungen vorzubereiten.
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