Developing a Sport Psychology Consultancy Practice - A Book Review
For anyone considering becoming an applied Sport Psychology practitioner, or indeed for anyone who is already on that journey, I would consider this book to be essential reading.
I am 3 months into my QSEP Stage 2 training and spent a considerable amount of time researching the various routes and options of becoming a Sport Psychology Consultant before taking the plunge. I can honestly say that the information available online is awful. This book does a far better job than anything else I have found of summarising the issues to consider and provides a pathway through the maze of accreditation, all backed up by the latest research. In an ideal world, this book would have come out last summer (before I made my leap into QSEP) and it would have made my life a lot easier. As it is, I found it an almost gripping read, dealing with many of the issues I am encountering on a daily basis at the moment.
The book was published in January 2023 by Routledge and is written by Vaithehy Shanmuganathan-Felton and Stephen Smith. It is split into three parts:
Part I deals with the 3 main pathways into applied Sport Psychology Practice;
Part II is about developing a Sport Psychology Practice; and
Part III highlights the personal and professional development issues/requirements/suggestions for consultants.
Part I provides a clear explanation of the three options through to accreditation. Information that is difficult to find online and I spent a long time trying to piece together the options and the pros and cons of each route. To have these options laid out so clearly in this book will be a huge time saver to those students currently doing their Masters degree and considering next steps.
Part II was fascinating and I will be re-reading it as soon as I finish writing this review. The process of setting up your own consultancy (if that is what you choose to do), trying to find clients, marketing to potential clients and all the admin that goes with it is incredibly daunting. And despite the guiding hand of a supervisor, you do feel largely on your own for this bit. This book really does give you practical tips to get you going.
Part III then supplies thought provoking discussions of some of the challenges of day to day life as a nascent practitioner, dealing with self-care, mental health issues, awareness of culture, bias and diversity and finally, the importance of life-long learning. What was interesting to me was that a lot of this section discussed issues that practitioners usually become aware of through their experience on the job. They are not necessarily new issues. Indeed, they are issues that any Masters student will be aware of, but the book does a good job of providing stories and guidance (won through a lifetime of experience) to newbies such as myself so that we may benefit vicariously. Hopefully that will enable me, and others, to start their consultancy with an awareness of the potential pitfalls ahead and to plan for them.
In summary...
A fascinating read, full of valuable information and really very well written, I would highly recommend this book.