Florida. Two sport psychologists were stationed there for the full four weeks of
camp training.- Olympic village
One of the sport psychologists worked in the Olympic village in Atlanta,
providing a “drop in” service to interested athletes and coaches. Surprisingly, this
strategy produced few referrals. What worked better was a referral route operating
through medical and physiotherapy staff.
Recommendations
In their report, Terry et al. (1997) recommended that team psychologists should be
appointed at least 18 months in advance of a trip to the Olympics. This suggestion sprang
from the conclusion that the most satisfactory and successful psychological interventions
were obtained in cases where “a good working relationship and mutual trust already
existed” (p. 79). Not surprisingly, it seems that one cannot be an effective team
psychologist unless one has established a solid relationship with the athletes involved.
Unfortunately, many national Olympic organisations around the world have been slow to
appreciate the value of accrediting sport psychologists to their travelling squads. How can
this problem be overcome in your opinion?
In summary, this section shows that sport and exercise psychologists have multifaceted
professional roles. Unfortunately, these roles cannot be performed adequately until an
important question has been explored. Specifically, what model facilitates the optimal
delivery of sport psychology services to athletes and coaches?
What is the best model for the delivery of psychological services to
athletes?Although discussion of the theoretical basis of service delivery may seem somewhat
removed from the practical concerns of applied sport psychology, it has profound
practical importance for the field. To explain, if sport psychologists work according to a
traditional medical model, they will be expected to provide “quick fixes” and instant
“cures” for athletes with problems in much the same way as physicians are expected to
treat their patients through the prescription of suitable medication. What is wrong with
this traditional medical model of service delivery and is there any alternative to it?
Unfortunately, there are at least three problems associated with a medical model of
applied sport psychology (Kremer and Scully, 1998; Moran, 2000a). First, it places the
burden of responsibility on the “expert” psychologist to “cure” whatever problems are
presented by the athlete or coach. This situation may encourage clients to depend
excessively on their sport psychologist, thereby impeding their growth towards self-
reliance. Interestingly, in a recent discussion of his philosophy of service delivery,
Gordin (2003) advocated the importance of empowering athletes when he remarked that
“it is my intent to put myself out of a job with a client. That is, a goal of mine is to make
the client self-sufficient and independent. Once these athletes have achieved
independence, then the relationship is appropriately terminated or altered” (pp. 64–65). A
second problem with the medical model of intervention is that the “expert” sport
Introducing sport and exercise psychology: discipline and profession 21