Philosophical Assumptions: The Aims, the Substance and the Strategy

In the following chapter, we review a topic which receives insufficient attention in sport psychology yet which may hold the key to effective practice: the philosophical foundations of sport psychology practice. These can be divided into three broad categories including the purpose of sport psychology (aims could include resolving performance issues, promoting well-being, increasing participation, managing injuries and more), the subject matter of sport psychology (What is it, how can we measure/analyse it?) and the practice style one adopts when working with clients. Importantly, not only can we actually identify key themes in each category, we can also illustrate the consequences of adopting different assumptions, or sets of assumptions. Further still, we can uncover logical associations between different types of assumptions (aims, reality, style), and explore the impact of adopting consistent versus conflicting assumption sets. The problem for all sport psychologists is that all of the above assumptions are necessary, unavoidable parts of the service delivery process, but for many they will be implicit and undeclared.