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“Does anybody think that Premier League football teams are taking on psychologists who are fundamentally saying the way that your coach is treating players is dehumanizing and should stop?”

John Amaechi’s question is simple but stirring. Are elite sports, such as English footba…

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In last week’s newsletter, I highlighted some key takeaways from my discussion with Dr. Brett Haskell, the National Women’s Soccer League’s clinical mental health and performance director. Now - for Mind Room Members only - I’m releasing the full interview.

The podcast is an in-depth exploration of how Brett is working with NWSL clubs to setup a system s…

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Half-time team talks are the stuff of legend. Alex Ferguson’s ‘hairdryer’ treatment, which the former Manchester United manager reserved for unsuspecting players during his time at Old Trafford, was once seen as a vital reminder of dressing room discipline. Steven Gerrard’s infamous Istanbul speech, credited with helping Liverpool to overcome a 3-0 defi…

Psychologists fighting for fair pay. ‘Fake psychs’ exploiting the lack of regulation governing sport psychology in the UK (and elsewhere). The exorbitant cost of training to become a sport psychologist.

The issues facing the sport psychology profession are well documented (we’ve covered a whole host of them on The Mind Room over the last couple of years), but they deserve continued scrutiny.

In this bumper edition of The Mind Room podcast, Jonathan Harding speaks to Sofie Kent, Shakiba Moghadam and Shameema Yousuf about a topic that seeps into every one of the challenges mentioned at the start of this post: does sport psychology have an access and inclusion problem?

It’s a fascinating discussion which gets under the skin of a complex subject, straddling a whole host of issues, from ‘gatekeeping’ to the sport psychology job market.

You can listen to the conversation via the audio player above, but here are a few sample quotes from the discussion, covering some of the key issues which Jonathan, Sofie, Shakiba and Shameema talked about:

Gatekeeping within sport psychology

“I would say with confidence there are white men who do some gatekeeping and are very particular about who goes through those gates and who doesn't.”

Lack of female and BAME sport psychologists

“There aren't that many women at all, let alone women of colour, in sports psychology, and I think as a result of gatekeeping, it's really difficult for women to progress in particular roles and feel safe, whether it's physical safety, emotional safety or psychological safety.”

“Where we are today is very different and I am stoked to see the number of (university) applications from people of colour coming through the pipeline…but whilst there is quite an equal (gender) balance when you look at some of the spaces…women of colour are really not featuring in those spaces much at all, which I think speaks to a patriarchal, hierarchical system that’s quite toxic at times.”

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Defeminising female psychologists

“Entering football was quite challenging and there were lots of different tips that I'd picked up along the way about defeminising. So, for example, if I was going into a club full time, I wouldn't have my lashes on, I wouldn't be wearing makeup, and I wouldn't have my nails done and you'd wear the kit. So, for me, it was about defeminising.

“But now, as time's gone on, and you see the different kinds of challenges in the environment, you recognize what feminine qualities can bring. So, for example, I'm starting to do lots of work with romantic partners of athletes, and when you're presenting to male staff about some of the challenges the partners face and the impact that it has on performance, some male staff haven't recognised it.”

The cost of education

“One of the only reasons I was able to even do my Master's was because I got a scholarship, which just about covered my fees and rent.

“My PhD was a studentship and the same (financial and workload) issues happened…it's not until you reflect back, that you think that really wasn't right. My mental health was horrendous, but it provided you with the opportunity and you think, ‘Well, imagine if hadn’t happened, would you still be in this job role now’?

“It also inspires you to not want anybody else to have to go through that, to protect those individuals (studying) and to give them that safe space to learn, to have the funding to do it, but not at the cost of their mental health.”

Ineffective regulation

“There are so many ‘catfish’ sports psychologists who are essentially fake…because of their social media following, their great business skills and talking ability, in terms of being able to sell their product, they then sometimes ‘out market’ the people who have trained so hard to be where they are.”

“There's nothing that holds people accountable for saying I'm a psychologist when they're not…and that then exploits people who are trying to seek help, who are trying to get help for whatever it is that they want to get, particularly athletes who are already hesitant to want to go and get help.”

A saturated sport psychology job market?

“I don't think there's necessarily a place for all sport psychology students in the marketplace just yet. Yes, sports psychology is growing. Yes, there are more and more people finding themselves a job within the space - certainly more so than a decade ago - but I don't think the number of jobs justifies the intake of students.”

“The player care role provides a fantastic opportunity to really support young people and first team players within football, in particular in areas that are stressful. So, for example, if you're relocating to the UK and your children need a new school, you need a home and visas, player care is brilliant.

“But because there's been no regulation of that role, academies and football teams are using it as a cheaper way to potentially facilitate a psychological service.

“So whereas a (sport psychology) practitioner may charge £50k a year, the player care (officer) may charge £25k a year. The club don't have to pay anything towards it and they're still thinking that they tick that box. So it's about how much do the club value true psychological support, delivered by a practitioner that aligns with the values and beliefs of that club.”

Questions?

If you have any queries about the newsletter, get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Previous articles

As a Mind Room Member, you can access all of the website stories - covering everything from AC Milan’s neuroscience lab to the way English rugby teams are embracing ‘shared mental models’ - via the four sections below:

* Theory

* Practice

* Strategy

* Features

Thanks again for reading The Mind Room!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themindroom.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themindroom.substack.com

“I remember just being on the wards during chemotherapy, off my face on drugs, in so much pain and just sobbing uncontrollably at this documentary: that was when I was like, ‘Okay, we're doing this’”

The idea of finding hope in moments of despair might sound hackneyed to some people, but Jake Woods isn’t one of them. The British para athlete is recallin…

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Teenagers on multi-million dollar contracts. Transfer systems (at least in the US) allowing college athletes to switch teams at the drop of a hat. Social media distractions - and scrutiny - coming from every possible angle.

The power dynamic governing the coach-player relationship is always in flux, but there’s reason to think that the very people charg…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit themindroom.substack.com

Elite sport’s struggle with issues such as identity is nothing new, but efforts to instill the type of self awareness and self reflection that might help young athletes are still something of a postcode lottery.

In this Mind Room podcast episode, Jonathan Harding speaks to Julia Eyre, a sport psychologist working with the cycling and cheerleading German…

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A few weeks ago, I spoke to Alex Auerbach about his spell in the NBA, gaining coach buy-in and sport psychology regulation.

During the conversation, Alex touched on the role he played in influencing the Toronto Raptors’ player recruitment, none more so than during the NBA Draft (an annual event which sees teams from across the league pick players who ha…

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In our last newsletter, Jonathan Harding wrote about a new study examining the link between personality and performance, focusing specifically on how the ‘Dark Triad’ of narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy impacts sporting relationships.

This week, we’re taking a deeper dive into the subject, bringing you a 30-minute podcast based on Jonath…

“There are so many ways to do sports psychology: it just so happens that I believe an optimal culture for the incorporation of sports psychology bases its language and behaviours around a shared mental model.

“That's because you can help the coaches, the physios, the club doctor, the sport scientists, the strength and conditioning coaches - who do sport psychology in their role every single second of every single day - do it better through this shared mental model.

“You can be on hand to support them as they deliver it to the players and then, ultimately, you want the senior players to be driving it and the younger players to be able to help each other.

“When you've got that - if all the players are driving a high-performance mindset - that's a very, very special place to be in.”

For two seasons, Dan Abrahams was part of something special. The ex-England rugby psychologist joined Feyenoord in the summer of 2022, just as the Dutch club embarked on a run that would see them scoop only their second league title in the last quarter of a century.

Abrahams’ spell with the current Dutch Cup holders came to an end earlier this year, allowing him - for the first time - to talk candidly about his time in the Netherlands as part of a two-episode podcast.

You can catch up on the first half of our interview here or use the audio players above to listen to Part 2, in which Abrahams explains how he collaborated with players, coaches and backroom staff to create a culture that underpinned one of the most successful spells in Feyenoord’s recent history.

You can listen to both episodes by becoming a Mind Room member, giving you access to:

* The weekly Mind Room newsletter

* The full archive of 150+ stories and podcast episodes, covering sport psychology theory, practice and strategy

* The monthly podcast/Q&A

Questions?

If you have any queries about the newsletter, get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Previous articles

As a Mind Room Member, you can access all of the website stories - covering everything from AC Milan’s neuroscience lab to the way English rugby teams are embracing ‘shared mental models’ - via the four sections below:

* Theory

* Practice

* Strategy

* Features

Thanks again for reading The Mind Room!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit themindroom.substack.com/subscribe