Course Project Task # 5

Hypothetically Speaking

TONY WILLIAMS

ARGOSY UNIVERSITY

PAMELA FITZPATRICK

27 March 2018

Hypothetically Speaking

Hypothetical Scenario

The dual relationship I choose to handle for this assignment is one as a sports psychology professional (SPP) in a school athletics team. There are very many roles which are accrued to me as an SPP including educational roles, skill development, as well as counselling roles and this, forces me to interact with the athlete at very different levels both professional and personal (Keegan, 2015). For example, as a professional, I am supposed to ensure that the athletes have the knowledge and skills needed to ensure they are in the best possible mental capacity and preparedness to handle the responsibilities that come with a sport.

However, I still have to relate with these athletes at a more personal level by performing roles such as helping them to deal with their personal fears which may affect their performance and also help meet the various mental needs of the athletes which differ from one athlete to another. This situation results in a few difficulties when handling relationships with the athletes, since each of the relationships has a different dynamic. The professional role needs to be very formal on one hand whereas for the personal relationship walls need to be broken down and form some form of an informal and a more friendly relationship.

The differences in terms of this dynamic create a major obstacle in terms of boundaries at any particular time. This is because in some instances when the relationship needs to be strictly professional, the athletes may want to engage in a more familiar form of relationship which makes it very hard to achieve the desired goals. While both relationships are important in helping develop teams that have a very strong mental capacity it is not possible to narrow down the relationship to only one working relation and therefore to ensure that either of these relationships work, it is important to set standards for each of them and clearly communicate them and also ensure that the athletes know the exact kind of relationship being engaged in at any particular times so as to know which standards to apply.

Wearing Multiple Hats

What are your opinions about an SPP being in dual-role relationships with clients, teams, and/or organizations?

I believe that for a sports psychology professional having a dual role relationship with their clients is not only important but it is also very necessary and inevitable. This is mainly because of the kind of work dynamic that they are engaged in. As mentioned in the hypothetical scenario a sport psychology professional has different roles they play with their clients may it be individuals, teams or even organizations. On the one hand, they have the role of making sure that sports individuals receive necessary knowledge as well as mental skills which are needed to enhance their performance. This role is more professional and more generalised since it is necessary for every sports team member (Brown & Cogan, 2006). However, an SPP also carries out more personal counselling roles which are less professional and friendlier, for example, they can help counsel a person who has been forced to go out of a team as a result of an injury. In such an instance they need to develop a more personal relationship for this to work. This, therefore, means that an SPP needs to know how to balance these two relationships and establish good boundaries for both roles to be effective.

If an SPP is in a dual-role capacity, how should that individual establish professional boundaries and identify solutions to potential problems, before they become problems?

Failure to establish boundaries in a dual role relationship can lead to a very chaotic scenario where none of the roles is not being executed effectively, and therefore there is need to create professional boundaries. The first step to creating professional boundaries is identifying various problem areas that may require for boundaries to be established. Identifying the problem areas which may vary from one dual relationship to another can help an individual identify the right boundaries that are needed (Brown & Cogan, 2006). The second step in the establishment of professional boundaries is ensuring that standards that govern each form of relationship are established. Standards are important since they help guide the manner in which individuals at any particular time interact with one another. Standards help to define boundaries. For example, when the situation of interaction is formal, a standard can be set to manage the level of familiarity that individuals bring in when interacting. Finally, it is very important to ensure that all the parties that engaged in these interactions are well engaged whenever necessary in creating these boundaries and also that these standards are clearly communicated to them. It is also important to ensure that a consequence is set for each standard if an individual fails to adhere for the sake of reinforcement. In terms of the ramifications for the teacher–coach, the role ambiguity and conflict that can arise from assuming these two positions can create stress, lowered job

stagnation and teaching stagnation (Figone, 1994b).

References

Brown, J. L., & Cogan, K. D. (2006). Ethical clinical practice and sport psychology: When two worlds collide. Ethics & Behavior, 16(1), 15–23.

Keegan, R. (2015). Being a Sport Psychologist. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Figone, A. (1994b). A professional development program for the teacher–coach. CAPHERD Journal/ Times, 56(4), 18–20.