Hypothetically Speaking

Wearing Multiple Hats

TONY WILLIAMS

ARGOSY UNIVERSITY

DR.PAMELA FITZPATRICK

15 MARCH 2018

SP6300_M3_A1_WILLIAMS_T

Most Sport Psychology professionals (SPPs) find themselves between two intertwining work roles, seemingly interrelated and quite indistinguishable. It is evident from various researchers that many sports aspects are so much interrelated with the human mind. Evidently, sport-related topics such as social factors and multicultural differences (Balague, 2003), parental behavior influences (Hellstedt, 1995) and coaching styles (Hollembeck & Amorose, 2005) are in the field of a Sports Psychology. This is a significant proof of the importance of SPPs being in dual-role relationships with their clients. There are many efforts that are born into this engagement hence the impact cannot be taken for granted.

Interrelating job roles and relations in sports is a reality that every SPP should embrace and endeavor to cultivate with a culture of balance and work-duality sense of consciousness. The interrelation in these SPP work areas is an added advantage to their experience and competence to deliver on both sides. This existence in dual-roles requires being mastered with a resilient workability and accountability. The Professionals should learn to deliver on both sides of the social and professional aspects without being agitated by their involvements. It is a professionally achievable and ethically possible endeavor to become a master of dual-role relationship in work. In order to remain balanced across the two sides, these SPP should become sensitive to clients’ information. This will secure client trust on both sides of roles hence building and fostering a trusting therapeutic relationship (Zaro, Barach, Nedelman, & Dreiblatt, 1993). Securing confidentiality is a pillar in maintaining such a status of dual-roles.

All Sports Psychology professionals entrusted with clinical services as well as their professional work should become acquainted with this fact and diligently serve their clients. It a proven trend that those clients interacting with their service providers and professionals have a propensity to become more transparent and open to them. More often, this relationship creates an opportunity for better professional services and client satisfaction in all the fields involved. Organizations, teams or even individual clients do not get bothered in seeking every service they need from different professionals. The creation of economic opportunities for these SPPs becomes part of this dual-role relationship with their clients. The possibility of work delivery is at its peak when professional work is appreciated and rewarded.

Ethical practice is great for any licensed and legally working Psychologist practicing in any field or applied settings. Ethics are a shield of self-defense in that most people won’t cross one’s social boundaries as long as theirs are not intruded. It is a guard against professional misconduct and particularly a defense against personal embarrassment while on service delivery. Sports professionals in dual-role relationships should consider a deliberate initiative to maintain work ethics and observance of codes of conduct. It is very likely that both worlds of sports psychology and clinical practice will have nuances that require ethical diligence to escape. In the event of encountering these ethical situations, it is expected that one evades any compromising engagements in order to avoid misconduct.

The need to maintain competence and high standards of service delivery is key to holding one to the boundaries of Sports Professionalism. At no time should a professional compromise their quality of service at the expense of the client’s satisfaction and demands. Further, it is an ethical violation to hold oneself out to the public as an expert in sports psychology when one does not actually possess the competence (American Psychological Association, 2005). There should be a way to guard the standard of service so that one keeps aligned with their area of mastery. Such efforts include the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (2005) .Furthermore, competence cannot just be measured on the basis of sports awareness and experience with no educational knowledge and skills from the licensed institutions. All services and practice should be done under the norms of ethical conduct and behavior.

Being keen and observant is a golden rule for every sport psychology professional. They should learn to predict problems in their domains and install measures to mitigate any future problems that may arise from these signs. Uncommon situations in the service fields should be expected and when they come, one must arise and confront them without any fear of unknown. Actually, any profession is a subscription to facing the known and unknown problems and being in a position to deal with them. Potential dilemmas should, therefore, be a thing to expect for every sports psychology professional in dual-roles. It is important that ethics be observed in work delivery. Keeping confidential information secure, establishing and maintaining competence in the marketing of professional skills are priorities never to be altered for anything else.

References

American Psychiatric Association. (Ed.). (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th edition.). Washington DC:Author

Balague, G. (2003). Gender differences when working with men’s and women’s teams. In R. Lidor & K. P. Henschen (Eds.), the psychology of team sports (pp. 131–142). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.

Hellstedt, J. C. (1995). Invisible players: A family systems model. In S. Murphy (Ed.), Sport psychology interventions (pp. 118–146). Champaign IL: Human Kinetics.

Hollembeck, J., & Amorose, A. (2005). Perceived coaching behaviors and college athletes’ intrinsic motivation: A test of self -determination theory. Journal of Applied Sports Psychology,( pp20–36).

Zaro, J., Barach, R., Nedelman, D., & Dreiblatt, I. (1993). A guide for beginning psychotherapists. New York: Cambridge University Press.