European certification of specialists in applied sport psychology.

FEPSAC  has established the European certification of specialists in applied sport psychology.

Preamble

Professional certification is a crucial element to the establishment, legitimization, and reputation of a profession (Portenga, 2014). The FEPSAC Managing Council developed certification guidelines for specialists in applied sport psychology, establishing a certification process to distinguish these professionals from others in the marketplace (e.g., performance enhancement consultant, mental skills trainer, mental coach). The goal of such an initiative is to define the minimum standards that should be met by individuals in order to qualify for independent practice in the field of applied sport psychology.

The certification process focusses on the standards for practitioners in the field of sport psychology who have an initial qualification background in either sport science, psychology, or both. FEPSAC believes that practitioners should meet high standards of training and delivery using and complementing the expertise specific to their initial training.

FEPSAC carefully examined several certification systems across Europe and met and discussed with individuals and international organizations involved in certification, continuous professional development and education and training, and legal aspects of certification in order to guarantee that best practices across Europe were upheld.

Members who are certified may use the acronym SASP-FEPSAC after their name and highest university degree; such an acronym will denote the label “a specialist in applied sport psychology”, also referred in this document as specialist. While SASP-FEPSAC accounts for the minimum standard of education and training in applied sport psychology, it does not designate the individual as a “sport psychologist”; rather, the individual is certified as a specialist in the field of applied sport psychology. Note that requirements for providing psychological services are determined by individual state and territorial licensing boards.

The next submission deadline will be on March 30, 2021.