Counseling, Sport Psychology (PhD)

What is A Counseling, Sport Psychology (PhD) Degree?

Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior and mental processing.  Sport Psychology combines psychological theory and findings in other fields like physiology and biomechanics to help athletes improve their performance and increase their motivation by helping them to develop mental skills that work in concert with their athletic skills. Coursework for the PhD in Counseling Psychology specializing in Sports Psychology will revolve around research design and advanced statistics and will review current literature in the field.  You’ll study advanced systems of psychotherapy, courses in psychological testing, psychopathology, child psychopathology, pharmacology, along with numerous specialized courses in counseling related to athletic performance and physical training.

A PhD in Sport Psychology, usually included as an add-on to a Counseling Psychology program, will allow the professional to be licensed as a Psychologist after passing the licensing exam.  Sport Psychologists use a variety of counseling techniques to work with both amateur athletes in schools or professional athletes who will play in the Olympics or on professional sports teams.

The videos below discuss “typical” programs, so they should help regardless of which school you are considering.