Arguably, people from different professions face and cope with varying professional practice demands, which relate to the ethics of the profession. While professional ethics consists of both the personal and organizational standards of behavior that are expected of the professionals, the people working in diverse acknowledged professions exercise both skill and specialist knowledge, something that is primarily expected of them by the particular organization they work in. Thus, in this regard, like various other professionals, the sports psychology consultants who help in improving the training, learning, and performance of athletes and their coaches, continually struggle with various professional ethics (Cropley et al., 2016).
Based on this particular article, seek to explore the general coping strategies that are employed by UKs Sports Psychology Consultants (SPCs), the development of these strategies, as well as their impacts. Therefore, so as to achieve these objectives, the author made use of a mixed method approach that employed two individual studies. Firstly, an average of 29 BPS chartered sports psychology consultants completed a modified complete version inventory which was primarily intended to focus on gaining a clear understanding of the main coping strategies employed by the practitioners. On the other hand, the second study of the mixed-method approach encompassed of follow-up interviews in which the participants sampled from the first survey being interviewed so as to understand how the realized strategies were developed, the perceived impacts of these strategies in coping and not coping with the various stressors faced by the SPCs. In the same vein, the author used the second study of the mixed-method approach to give recommendations of how the sports psychology consultants can equip themselves with the realized strategies so as to adequately prepare for the stressful nature of this profession, in the future.
Citing various studies by different scholars, the author maintains that SPCs, while in the realm of their profession, experience a lot of pressure due to the fact that they are still struggling to gain broad acceptance in the different target markets. Thus, the field of Applied Sports Psychology (ASP) is tasked with the responsibility of providing the services which are paramount in the improvement of the ways in which this psychological field is used and perceived by various people (Hanton & Mellalieu, 2006).
With the aim to identify the various strategies that can be employed by sports psychology consultants in coping with the demands associated with their professional practice, this article primarily falls under different scholarly genres. For instance, the meta-genres represented in this article include original research, perspective, and commentary article, and the review article. Firstly, this article is considered an original research since the author, alongside a research team, provide a detailed study with the use of various methodologies that derive results identifying the ideal strategies that can be employed by the sports psychology consultants while coping with the different demands associated with their professional practice.
Besides, this article also falls under the perspective and commentary meta-genre. This is because, based on the results of the mixed method approach used in conducting the primary research on various SPCs in the field of applied sports psychology, the authors extend the discussion and analysis by providing a vast range of recommendations, implications, and future directions, which may enhance both the present and the future quality and wellbeing of the professional practice of the SPCs in the United Kingdom. Finally, before conducting the primary literature through the study, this article gives an overview of the various existing strategies used to cope with professionally related pressures, as contended by different scholars. For this reason, the article falls under the review article genre and under the systematic reviews meta-genre (Majumder, 2015).
With regard to creating a research space, the authors of this article achieve this by initially establishing a territory through acknowledging that indeed, like many other professionals, SPCs in the UK, face a ton of stressors which they are exposed to, by their profession. Further, through a conducting a primary literature which employs the mix method approach, the authors make a topic generalization, which provides statements about the current state of practice that evidences the prevalence of stressors in the sports psychology consultant profession. More so, the authors review the existing literature that specifically focuses on the on the ways in which, the UK-based SPCs make use of a vast range of strategies to cope with the numerous stressors they are exposed to, in the realm of their profession (Adika, 2016).
The sports psychologist journal is a platform that is designed to advance the theories, thoughts and the research which relate to the applied aspects of exercise psychology and sports. This being said, this articles organizational structure is that of a critical essay about literature. This is attributed to the fact that the article explores diverse contentions by various scholars, relating to both the demands of professional practice as well as existing coping strategies which are employed not only among psychology sports consultants but also across diverse professions. In a similar regard, the article conducts a study whose results highlight that various coping strategies in a majority of occupations are essentially developed through reflection on experiences in differing contexts (Barker & Winter, 2014).
As aforementioned, the primary objective of the sports psychologist journal, the journal where this article is posted, is to advance the thoughts, research, as well as the theories which essentially contribute to the applied aspects of both sports and exercise psychology. Therefore, based on the fact that the author and researchers of this particular article, through their initial study, identify the various strategies that can be employed by various PSCs to curb the pressures, demands, and stressors related to their profession, it is ethos essentially characterizes article. Thus, through the persuasion appeal created in the content of this particular article, the authors are able to establish both worthiness and credibility, which are key for the contribution of the discussions and conversations that characterize the sports psychologist journal.
Intrinsic ethos encompasses of the ways in which the author the author of any given article navigates about the act of persuading with the use of skilled language and vocabulary. Therefore, in this particular article, the authors make use of diverse vocabularies which substantially contribute in the context of the sports psychology discipline. For instance, in the systematic review subgenre of this article, the author uses numerous sources in the psychology discipline, while exploring the prevalence of stressors and demands in the PSCs profession and also, while discussing the existing strategies. Moreover, the authors make use of appropriate terminologies such as stress, mental, consultancy, emotions, and well-being among many others. These, in essence, helps the audience of the article to effectively match the article in the context of the objective highlighted in the articles title.
In conclusion, sports psychology, as a fundamental interdisciplinary science in psychology, which mostly studies various psychological factors and their relation to sports and exercise. Thus, similar to the values observed in this particular article, the sports psychology discipline as a whole, takes the time to reflect on the philosophy and values of individual PSCs in relation to behavior and professional ethics. For this reason, both the couches and the athletes, usually are under pressure to perform, conform and win medals at the same time. These being the central stressors, a majority of them, together with their PSCs are bound to experience ethical dilemmas, which are extensively mitigated through various coping strategies addressed in this and many other related articles.
References
Adika, G. S. (2016). Swales Cars Model and the Metaphor of Research Space: An illustration with an African Journal. Legon Journal of the Humanities, 25(0), 58. doi:10.4314/ljh.v25i1.4
Barker, S., & Winter, S. (2014). The Practice of Sport Psychology: A Youth Coaches' Perspective. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 9(2), 379-392. doi:10.1260/1747-9541.9.2.379
Cropley, B., Baldock, L., Mellalieu, S. D., Neil, R., Wagstaff, C. R., & Wadey, R. (2016). Coping With the Demands of Professional Practice: Sport Psychology Consultants Perspectives. The Sport Psychologist, 30(3), 290-302. doi:10.1123/tsp.2015-0125
Hanton, S., & Mellalieu, S. D. (2006). Literature reviews in sport psychology. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Majumder, K. (2015, February 20). 6 Article types that journals publish: A guide for early career researchers | Editage Insights. Retrieved from http://www.editage.com/insights/6-article-types-that-journals-publish-a-guide-for-early-career-researchers
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