Sport Psychology Consulting at Elite Sport Competitions

The purpose of this investigation was to examine what experienced sport psychology consultants (SPCs) believed to be essential for consulting effectiveness at elite sport competitions (i.e., pinnacle sporting events). A purposeful sampling method was used to recruit 10 experienced SPCs (8 male and 2 female, M age = 50.44 years, M years consulting experience = 21.67 years) who held current sport psychology accreditation/certification and who had considerable experience consulting at pinnacle sporting events (e.g., Olympic Games, World Championships, World Cups, European Championships). Following individual participant interviews, extensive inductive content analysis revealed that effective consulting was reflective of building a relationship with clients that has a positive impact on the individual and which the client is both happy with 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 essential while working at elite sport competitions.