Practitioner development: Adopting and adapting service delivery approaches

One of the challenges (neophyte) sport psychology consultants are faced with is how to adopt and adapt a service delivery approach that fits with them and fits with the aims for their work with their clients. In this chapter we take you on a reflective journey based on Poczwardowski and colleagues’ (2004) structure for professional philosophy that contains “personal core beliefs and values”, a “theoretical paradigm”, a “model of practice and consultant role”, “intervention goals”, and “intervention techniques/methods”. We specify this journey by giving the example of the first author of this chapter, and by providing a tour guide for your own reflective journey. In so doing, and by giving examples and reflective steps, we hope to encourage you to start off the journey to get an in-depth understanding of your approach, and how to adapt it if the occasion calls for it.