Sports are a microcosm of society, as the old maxim goes—and that’s never been more apparent. When elite athletes such as swimmer Michael Phelps and basketball player Kevin Love speak out about their mental health struggles, it reflects a growing awareness of mental health among society at large. When football players like Colin Kaepernick kneel during the national anthem, it sparks a national conversation about social justice. When Olympic champions speak out about the sexual abuse they endured from USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar, it adds gold-medal weight to the #MeToo movement.

As athletes navigate these difficult topics, sport psychologists are playing an expanded, and increasingly important, role.

Sport psychologists are best known for helping athletes overcome mental roadblocks and improve their performance: for example, helping a baseball player snap out of a hitting slump or supporting a runner as she regains confidence postinjury. While that performance emphasis remains a cornerstone of sport psychology, it’s only a slice of what sport psychologists are now doing to support athletes. Their expanding roles include helping athletes navigate interpersonal issues and addressing mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and eating disorders.

The practice of sport psychology is also finding fans beyond athletics. Sport psychologists’ skills are increasingly sought out by professionals in high-stress jobs, such as surgeons, firefighters and performing artists. In fact, the U.S. Army is now the country’s largest employer of sport psychology professionals, who help soldiers learn to focus in combat and deal with stressful situations. “Sport psychology has become more widely recognized as being beneficial to address a variety of needs,” says Sari Fine Shepphird, PhD, a Los Angeles–area sport and performance psychologist. And demand is growing, she adds, even among youth athletes and serious amateurs. “There’s increased demand for sport psychologists to address sports performance as well as mental health concerns, which is fantastic not just for the field of sport psychology but for athletes and for the general population.”

Perfecting performance

Technically, only licensed clinical and counseling psychologists can describe themselves as “sport psychologists.” (APA approved a proficiency in sport psychology in 2003.) This field is growing as today’s athletes realize that psychologists can help them gain a mental edge that translates to better performance. Pro sports teams—especially in Major League Baseball (MLB)—have expanded access to performance psychology resources in recent years, says Courtney Albinson, PhD, a sport psychologist at Northwestern University and president of APA Div. 47 (Society for Sport, Exercise & Performance Psychology). In 2018, for instance, a record 27 of 30 MLB teams employed “mental skills coaches” to help players deal with the mental challenges of the game.

Stigma once kept athletes from seeking help for mental health issues. As athletes are exposed to sport psychologists to improve performance, it helps chip away at that stigma, making it easier for them to seek help for mental health problems. Prominent athletes like Phelps, Love and others who disclose their own mental health challenges are also bringing attention to the issue of mental health in sports. “By discussing their mental health concerns, they have opened the door for athletes of every age and background to seek help for theirs,” says Shepphird.

Even superstar athletes are susceptible to the same mental health issues as nonathletes. And sometimes athletes face unique struggles, including the psychological pressure to perform at an elite level, or dealing with a culture in which eating disorders are common.

Fortunately, athletic organizations are getting the message that mental health and mindset are as important as an athlete’s physical condition. In May, the National Basketball Players Association launched a new Mental Health and Wellness Program, headed by a psychologist, to assist players with mental health challenges. And the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has made mental health for college athletes a strategic priority, Albinson notes. In 2016, the NCAA issued its Mental Health Best Practices document, outlining steps colleges and universities should take to better promote and support student athletes’ mental health.

Sport psychologists are also poised to help with other pressures and challenges familiar to athletes, including violence and anger issues, says Mitch Abrams, PsyD, a New Jersey–based sport psychologist who specializes in anger management, violence and trauma in athletes. While it’s a myth that athletes are more prone to violence than nonathletes, he says, there are factors that increase the risk of violent behavior and sexual misconduct among male athletes. Among them: adoption of traditional concepts of male roles, groupthink in teams and the proverbial locker room talk that teaches young men that women are objects for conquest. But those problems can be overcome, Abrams says. “Most aggressors can be rehabilitated, but we need more prevention, risk assessment and treatment.”

On the other side of the equation, sport psychologists may serve as important resources for the victims of assault and violence, such as the members of USA Gymnastics and USA Swimming who have spoken out recently about sexual abuse and misconduct in their sports.

Psychologists can also help athletes manage the emotions and decisions involved in speaking out or becoming activists, Abrams says. Athlete activists like Kaepernick draw both praise and criticism for voicing issues of social importance. When aligning themselves with a controversial cause, athlete activists can experience public backlash, professional repercussions and all kinds of emotional upheaval. “We’re at a time where athletes are given a platform to have a real voice with regard to social justice. Sport psychologists have to be standing side by side with athletes on this,” Abrams says.

Beyond the playing field

Meanwhile, professionals in fields outside athletics are realizing the benefits of sport psychology. Like athletes, those in tactical positions, such as paramedics, police officers and military personnel, have to act fast and function in high-stress environments. The U.S. Army now provides soldiers with mental skills training—drawn heavily from sport psychology—to improve cognitive and physical abilities.

Many business executives also consult with sport psychologists to help them perform at their peak in the boardroom. Even The Juilliard School has a sport psychologist on faculty to help students overcome performance anxiety.

That growth is good news for those interested in a career in sport psychology. Not every sport psychologist will find work with Olympic athletes, but interesting opportunities are out there, says Jamie Shapiro, PhD, associate professor of sport and performance psychology at the University of Denver. “To work in sport psychology, you often have to be a bit entrepreneurial,” says Shapiro. “But the skill set you develop during graduate and postgraduate training is applicable to almost any performance area.”