psychologist” has been debated vigorously in such countries as Australia, Britain, Canada
and the United States (see details of each country’s position on this issue in Zizzi,
Zaichkowsky and Perna, 2002). In most of these countries, there has been a disjunction
between psychology associations and sport science organisations with regard to the issue
of labelling and/or accrediting people as sport psychologists. For example, in the United
States, anyone who receives a recognised doctoral degree in psychology qualifies for
licensure (or statutory registration) as a “psychologist”. Unfortunately, the American
Psychological Association (APA) does not yet accredit programmes in sport psychology.
Therefore, this organisation accepts that a psychologist’s decision to claim a professional
specialisation in sport psychology is a personal one which should only be taken in the
light of full awareness of relevant APA ethical guidelines. For example, one of these
guidelines stipulates that psychologists should work only within the boundaries of their
competence. Working apart from the APA, sport science organisations have made
important advances in accrediting sport psychology practitioners. For example, in the
United States, the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology
(AAASP) developed a certification procedure for sport psychology in 1989. People who
satisfy the criteria stipulated by AAASP (see details in Zizzi et al., 2002) are entitled to
call themselves “Certified Consultant, AAASP”—but not “Certified Sport Psychologist”.
This latter title is precluded because, as explained above, the term psychologist is
protected by state licence in the United States. Similar certification processes have been
established in Britain where the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
(BASES) has a psychology section. So, how can one qualify as a sport psychologist in
Britain?
According to Cockerill (2002), there are two general categories of people in Britain
who use the title of “sport psychologist”. The first category consists of people who have a
recognised primary degree in psychology (i.e., one that confers eligibility for “Graduate
Basis for Registration” (GBR) of the British Psychological Society), an eligibility for
“Chartered Psychologist” status, and who have an interest or involvement in sport.
Incidentally, to qualify as a chartered psychologist within the BPS, one needs to have a
recognised primary degree in psychology as well as BPS-approved post-graduate training
with a certain duration of supervised practice. The second general category of sport
psychologists in Britain comprises people who do not have qualifications leading to
“GBR” but who have completed, or are in the process of completing, the accreditation
procedure established by the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
(BASES). To qualify for registration as a sport psychologist with BASES, one needs to
have either a primary degree in psychology and a post-graduate degree in sport science or
a(primary degree in sport science with a post-graduate degree in psychology. In addition,
BASES requires candidates to submit a portfolio of academic achievements and relevant
supervised professional experience in the field. It is notable that the membership
requirements of the Australian Psychological Society’s College of Sport Psychologists
are also stringent. Thus one needs four years of academic training in psychology (with an
honours degree or its equivalent), additional undergraduate coursework in sports science,
a two-year accredited master’s degree in sport psychology, and a two-year period of
specialised supervision in sport psychology (Bond, 2002).
Although the British Psychological Society has not yet accredited any academic
training programmes in sport psychology, it is currently negotiating with BASES
Sport and exercise psychology: A critical introduction 24