What are Good Questions to Ask a Sport Psychologist?

This interesting article will be checking out some great questions that you can ask a Sport Psychologist. You can use these if you are meeting a Sport Psychologist for the first time and are interesting in pursuing future sessions with them.

What are Good Questions to Ask a Sport Psychologist?

Some good questions that you can ask a Sport Psychologist are:

What are your qualifications in Sport Psychology?

As a Sport Psychologist myself, I have seen many clients hesitate to ask this particular question, since they think it will offend me. In reality, asking such a question to your Sport Psychologist will only help in improving your confidence that you are working with a proper professional

2. How much are your fees per session?

Different Sport Psychologists have different fees, depending on the region they are working in and also the type of athletes they deal with. When you ask the Sport Psychologist about their fees, you can also ask if they take insurance for their sessions.

3. What type of athletes do you work with?

Another important question to ask your Sport Psychologist is about their clientele. While some Sport Psychologists work with almost any type of sports, some of them are limited to just one or two sports.

If you are a sportsperson, you may want to stick to a Sport Psychologist who is more experienced in your particular field. This can help you more in your performance since this type of SP will know more of the ins and outs of your specific sport.

4. How long are your sessions?

This is another very common question that clients often ask me. Often, athletes are concerned about the duration of their sessions since they don’t want them to eat away at their existing schedule. Most often, Sport Psychology sessions cover about 45 minutes to an hour.

5. What can I expect from my sessions with you?

You can also ask your Sport Psychologist what to expect from these sessions. Depending on your goals and your aims, your Sport Psychologist will prepare a schedule for your sessions. Otherwise, your SP may simply have a minimum number of sessions that you need to attend.

Your Sport Psychology sessions will most revolve around the goals that you would have set in your goal-setting exercise. In these sessions, you can expect a lot of talking about your issues and also practice of certain mindset exercises and tools.

6. Will I cry during my sessions?

This question may seem pretty silly, but you have no idea how many clients actually ask me this. To answer this, I would say that crying is perfectly normal during Sport psychology sessions and you don’t have to be ashamed of this at all.

7. Will there be any homework?

Most Sport Psychologists give homework exercises and tools that need to be practiced at home or on the field. These homework exercises are super-important and necessary if you want to see an improvement in your on-field performance.

8. Will my performance improve immediately?

Many Sport Psychologists hate this question, but it is quite commonly asked by athletes. You can ask your SP when they think your performance will improve after your sessions. Most SP’s would not give a specific date since improvement actually depends on your mindset.

9. Are all my secrets completely confidential?

Confidentiality is actually a factor that all mental health professional abide by as a policy and as a rule. However, in certain cases, this rule may be broken, especially when the health of the athlete is at risk. For instance, if your Sport Psychologist thinks that you may be self-harming.

10. What if I don’t benefit from your sessions?

Sport Psychology is essential for the improvement of performance and this is being increasingly realized by coaches and athletes everywhere. At the same time, Sport Psychology may not be accepted or liked by everyone.

If you feel that you are truly not getting results from your Sport Psychology sessions, your SP may encourage you to take a break and come back later. If you have enrolled for a particular program in Sport Psychology, your SP might simply ask you to complete the said program.

If you like this article, please post your comments and questions in the space below.

Citations

https://www.apa.org/ed/graduate/specialize/sports

https://www.betterup.com/blog/sports-psychology