Mapping the field of sport psychology in Scandinavia
Mapping the field of sport psychology in Scandinavia
The purpose of the study is to gain insights into who delivers sport psychology provisions in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. We will focus on all practitioners independent of educational backgrounds, membership lists, certification.
Findings in previous research (Sanchez et al., 2005) found that that degree-holding psychologists and people without any credentials coexist. Practitioners highlighted the need for informing the world of sport about applied sport psychology, developing specific training programs in sport psychology, and certifying people working as sport psychologists.
The significant contribution from the study would be a comprehensive picture of sport psychology provisions in the included countries. Research from the United States of America (Donohue et al., 2018) showed that 78% of athletes who approached a sport psychology clinic had an undiagnosed mental health diagnosis. Such numbers highlight how important it is that sport psychology professionals have a high level of qualifications. It is valuable knowledge for governing sports organisations such as the Danish Football Association, Olympiatoppen, Norges Fotballforbund, which set the guidelines for football academy requirements and psychological provisions for athletes etc.
