Strategies for reflective cross-cultural sport psychology practice

Abstract

Sport psychologists, in their work as applied practitioners, face a very challenging yet rewarding task in trying to help individual athletes or teams fulfil their athletic potential. For any athlete, there are potentially a wide range of internal and external forces to consider that can exert influence upon performance and psychological wellbeing. The list of factors that impinge upon individual performance grows considerably once the complexities of group dynamics are added, such that when working with teams our professional skills are likely to be severely tested at times. Take this complex challenge and put it into a completely new cultural context and the complexity grows still further; indeed the ground may appear to shift beneath your feet. This chapter has been written to provide guidance for sport psychology practitioners who have occasion to work cross-culturally and who recognise that cultural differences may necessitate significant changes to their normal way of operating.