Reflections and directions: The profession of sport psychology past, present, and future.

The authors review the historical context of sport psychology to explore the present state of sportpsychology and make suggestions for the future of the field. The origins of sport psychology are rootedin efforts to improve athletic performance. However, the label “sport psychology” has been used todescribe two different service delivery models: performance enhancement and therapy with athletes.Presently, advancements have been made in terms of organizational structure, but there has been littleimpact on the applied profession. In order to advance the profession, protect the public, and resolveconfusion, sport psychology is examined. The authors identify performance excellence as the uniqueaspect of sport psychology and propose the field be identified as “performance psychology.” In order topractice performance psychology competently, four areas of training are identified: (a) performanceexcellence, (b) mental health counseling, (c) consulting psychology, and (d) performance specialtydomain(s). Finally, the authors recommend that a licensure specific to performance psychology bedeveloped.