Running weekend retreat programs: A therapist guide
Expanding your clinical services into a sports psychology practice offers a proven, high-revenue specialty for psychologists.
In this article, we discuss how to provide clinical services to athletes and cover the skills and credentials needed to develop a sports psychology practice. You’ll find information on how to work with teams, athletic performance therapy, which assessments may be needed, how to handle pressure and competitions, and measures of success.
What is a sports psychologist?
Sports psychologists work with athletes and teams to help them achieve peak performance and overcome specific challenges, such as difficulty achieving performance goals, communication issues, motivational problems, or training difficulties. Athletes may also see sports psychologists to help with anxiety and other performance-related stress.
While clinical psychologists can see individuals who may be athletes, official sports psychologists need specific training. Sports psychologists have both clinical training and education in sports science. Sports psychologists must undergo specific postdoctoral training to work with athletes on their performance and well-being.
Other sports and exercise professionals can work with athletes if certified by the Association for Applied Sport Psychology. But these professionals cannot call themselves psychologists unless they have been doctorally trained and met their specific state and board requirements.
How to work with teams and athletes
“Many prominent athletes and coaches believe that although sport is played with the body, it is won in the mind,” says Dr. Aidan Moran, professor of cognitive psychology and director of the psychology research laboratory at University College Dublin.
Sports psychology combines sports and exercise science and psychological principles to help athletes and teams on and off the field using athletic performance therapy. Some sports psychologists focus on mental skills and stamina to improve performance, while others help athletes with their mental health and the challenges that affect it.
Broadly speaking, sports psychologists may work with athletes and teams to:
Reframe cognitive distortions or negative beliefs.
Learn mindfulness strategies to promote relaxation and cognitive resilience, and to stay focused on the present moment.
Practice visualization or mental imagery strategies to promote focus and a positive mindset.
Use stress reduction techniques showing athletes how to manage pressure, performance goals, and competitions.
Develop positive self-talk to increase self-esteem and confidence.
Identify roadblocks to achieving goals and strategies to overcome them.
In sports psychology practice, clinicians also use specific psychological principles and techniques to enhance athletic performance, such as:
Building athletes' psychological strength, often referred to as “mental toughness,” to improve athletic performance.
Team-building activities to improve communication, build trust, and promote cohesiveness among the team.
Identifying and leveraging strengths to overcome weaknesses.
Creating routines to achieve performance and training goals.
Strengthening resilience by developing strategies to overcome mistakes or recover from injuries.
Teaching skills, like deep breathing or progressive muscle relaxation, to cope with performance anxiety and stress.
What assessments are needed in sports psychology?
There are over 300 assessment tools used in sports psychology practice. Some of the most common assessment tools used in athletic performance therapy include:
Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R): Measures optimism among athletes.
Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ48): Evaluates overall mindset and four key components of mental strength, including control, commitment, challenge, and confidence.
Self-Motivation Inventory (SMI): One of the most used assessment tools, with a 20-item questionnaire measuring motivation.
Sports Anxiety Scale (SAS): A 21-item questionnaire assessing anxiety and its impact on athletic performance.
Return to Sport After Injury Scale (ACL-RSI): A 12-item questionnaire measuring the effects of injury on confidence, emotions, and risk.
Brief COPE Inventory: A 28-item questionnaire measuring a variety of coping strategies.
Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) and Social Support Inventory (SSI): Assessments measuring the availability and satisfaction of an athlete’s support system.
Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS): Assesses the role of athletic identity in comparison to other areas of an athlete's life.
Sport Mental Health Assessment Tool (SMHAT-1): Screens athletes for underlying mental health concerns.
Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK): Measures fear of injury or movement, and avoidance behaviors.
Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS): A 13-item questionnaire measuring perception of pain.
Beck Depression Inventory Fast Screen (BDI-FS): A screening tool to measure symptoms of depression. This is preferred over the PHQ-9 because it can differentiate between depressive and somatic symptoms.
State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI): Measures two different types of anxiety: temporary situational anxiety and baseline anxiety.
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS): A tool used to measure symptoms of anxiety and depression.
ACL Quality of Life Scale (ACL-QoL): Measures recovery after ligament injuries.
Short Form Health Survey (SF-36): A 36-item questionnaire measuring different components of quality of life, including general health, physical functioning, social functioning, pain, mental health, and vitality.
Profile of Mood States (POMS): A 65-item questionnaire that measures an athlete's mood changes and emotions.
Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ): An 18-item questionnaire measuring cohesion among athletic teams.
When to see athletes in sports psychology practice
Wondering when to see athletes for athletic performance therapy? The timing of appointments varies depending on your role.
For example, if you are a psychologist seeing a client for mental health concerns and they happen to be an athlete, you would want to see them soon as the issue is impacting their mental health or performance.
Whereas, if you run a dedicated sports psychology practice, the frequency and timing of sessions depend on factors such as training, whether they are in-season or off-season, and their overall goals. For instance, if you are seeing an elite athlete who wants to improve their performance and overcome pre-competition anxiety, you may want to see them weekly.
What about competitions?
Competitions can be a stressful time for athletes, causing them to feel anxiety or overthink.
In sports psychology practice, therapists use techniques such as visualization, deep breathing, and the development of competition routines to strengthen athletes' mental preparedness. Psychologists may also have more check-in points with athletes before a competition.
How to measure success in sports psychology practice?
In athletic performance therapy, success isn’t just measured by winning a game or event. Sports psychologists also measure success by evaluating resilience, focus, mental strength, coping skills, team cohesion, and emotional regulation skills.
They may use the above-mentioned measures or track performance and measure success based on an individual or their team's goals.
Sources
American Psychological Association. (2022). Sport psychologists help professional and amateur athletes.
American Psychological Association. (2014). Sport and performance psychology delivers peak performance.
Ayranci, M., & Aydin, M. K. (2025). The complex interplay between psychological factors and sports performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE.
Crust, L., & Clough, P. J. (2011). Developing mental toughness: From research to practice. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action.
Everhart, J. S., Harris, K., Chafitz, A., Kirven, J. C., Abouljoud, M., et al. (2020). Psychological assessment tools utilized in sports injury treatment outcomes research: A review. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine.
Lesyk, J. J. (1998). The nine mental skills of successful athletes. Ohio Center for Sport Psychology.
Luebbe, D. (2025). The role of psychology in athletic performance. Concordia University, Nebraska.
McCarthy, P. (2025). Sport psychology tests: Expert guide to essential assessment tools. Dr. Paul McCarthy Sport Psychology.
Moran, A. (2012). Sport and exercise psychology: A critical introduction. Routledge.
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