Ask anyone that knows me, and they will say that I have always been hugely passionate about sport, whether that be participating in it or watching it on the TV. I always dreamt that I would be able to have a career in the sporting industry. When I found out that I could combine my two passions of sport and working with people in becoming a Sport and Exercise Psychologist, I knew that this is something I wanted to pursue.
The dream is well and truly coming to the fore now as I come to the end of my first few months of being a Sport and Exercise Psychologist. Over the next two years I want to be able to share my experience of this journey with you guys in a blog series where I can hopefully share with you all the highs, and lows, of this journey and help anyone who may also be interested in pursuing this career. When I first started looking into Sport and Exercise Psychology as a career, I found there wasn’t a lot of real-world accounts out there of what it is like to be in training and so my hope is that with this blog I can fill that void and help any aspiring Sport and Exercise Psychologists out there.
One of the main areas where there appears to be little easily understandable and accessible information is around the route to becoming qualified. There are 3 possible routes to becoming a sport psychologist, with the end goal for all three to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
My Route to Accreditation
Although deep down I think I knew I always wanted to work in sport, I did my undergraduate degree in pure psychology at the University of Birmingham. This was a BPS accredited BSc which means I could then move on to undertaking a master’s degree (MSc) in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Loughborough University. Completing a BSc and MSc was stage 1 to of my path to becoming qualified.
The route I have chosen to take to accreditation is the Qualification in Sport and Exercise Psychology (QSEP) run by the BPS. Having completed BPS accredited undergraduate and postgraduate degrees this was the most appealing option to conduct my stage 2 training. This is what I am now currently doing and in simple terms involves on the job training with supervision with the aim of showing competency in four key roles: applied consultancy work; research; communication, and; professional and ethical practice.
However, this is not the only route to becoming qualified. There are two other routes which allow you to be eligible for HCPC registration. Firstly, you have the Sport and Exercise Psychology Accreditation Route (SEPAR) run by BASES. Similar to the QSEP route candidates must undertake a certain number of hours supervised practice to show competence in four key areas. The final option for accreditation is through a professional doctorate. This is a PhD degree which combines professional practice with research. Upon completion you will be eligible for HCPC registration and a title of Doctor.
Didn’t do a BPS accredited undergraduate degree? Don’t worry as you can remain on the path to becoming qualified, you just have to take an extra step. This involves taking a psychology conversion course (PGDip) which can be completed before or after your master’s.
Where I am now
I am now at the start of my QSEP stage 2 training. This is where things start to get a little daunting. Stage 2 training involves conducting supervised practice for 2-3 years where we are required set up our own private practice, obtain placements and actively seek clients to work with.
Until recently the placement opportunities for supervised practice have been sparse, however, with the narrative around the use of Sport and Exercise Psychology changing more opportunities have begun to arise. One example of this is the new Loughborough Applied Psychology Service (LAPS) working within the University. This opportunity allows for a group of SEPiT’s to offer a psychology service to not only the performance sports within the university, but also to any students or members of the public who may wish to benefit from the service! The evolution of Sport and Exercise Psychology is such that teams and individuals are more and more motivated to use psychology in their sports and place much greater value on its benefits. This allows places like Loughborough to be able to develop this service, which allows us as trainees to conduct our training in a world class environment.
Since beginning my stage 2 training at Loughborough it has been a whirlwind of learning and experiences which quite frankly has made my brain feel like it is going to explode on many occasions. From contributing ideas to the development of the psychology service at Loughborough, to business planning and budgeting for our own private practice, to overcoming my imposter syndrome to be able to successfully integrate into an IDT of a world class netball team.
The last couple months have been difficult and challenging in a sense that we are not yet working full-time or earning a full-time income and it feels odd to have a fair bit of free time. However, my overwhelming feeling of the journey so far is that I am so lucky and grateful to be surrounded by a peer group all in the same position and a supervisor who is willing to support us in any way he can.
What’s next
The next challenges I face are to overcome my self-doubt in speaking up and being confident in my voice and opinions. Linked to this is being able to push myself out of my comfort zone to be able to go out and seek opportunities and work to further aid my development. This isn’t dissimilar to what I will be doing as a practitioner though. While I am reflecting on my own confidence and using strategies to help my professional development, I will be asking the same of my clients. It is easy to get caught up in everything that you can do for a client that you can forget to reflect on your own achievements and development as well. Whilst it is easy to be daunted by these things, I have to remind myself that I am hugely privileged to be able to pursue a career in something I am hugely passionate about and I need to enjoy every step of the experience.
Everyone is going to experience the journey to becoming a Sport and Exercise Psychologist differently and this blog is just going to be my own. I hope for this to be an honest view on my experience while also trying to educate and inform readers on the journey. Today has just been an introduction to me and my journey so far. If you have enjoyed this blog, then please keep an eye out for the next one when I go into more detail around developing my own practice and some more real-life examples of what training to be a sport and exercise psychologist looks like.
Thank you for reading!