Sport Psychology Consulting at Elite Sport Competitions

The purpose of this investigation was to examine what experienced sport psychologyconsultants (SPCs) believed to be essential for consulting effectiveness at elite sportcompetitions (i.e., pinnacle sporting events). A purposeful sampling method was usedto recruit 10 experienced SPCs (8 male and 2 female, M age 50.44 years, M yearsconsulting experience 21.67 years) who held current sport psychology accreditation/certification and who had considerable experience consulting at pinnacle sportingevents (e.g., Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, European Championships).Following individual participant interviews, extensive inductive contentanalysis revealed that effective consulting was reflective of building a relationship withclients that has a positive impact on the individual and which the client is both happywith and will continue to develop. Additionally, fitting in but not getting in the way,consistent SPC behavior and working closely with coaches were perceived as essentialwhile working at elite sport competitions.