The Sport Psychology Consultant Evaluation Form

Abstract

An evaluation inventory was developed to help sport psychology consultants assess and improve the field services they provide. Consultant characteristics included in the inventory were based on extensive interviews with Olympic athletes and coaches. The inventory was administered to 104 Canadian Olympic athletes who assessed 26 sport psychology consultants. Data from this survey were used to determine the validity and reliability of the Sport Psychology Consultant Evaluation Form (CEF). Practical suggestions are provided for enhancing the quality of sport psychology consultation services through the use of the CEF.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Applied Sport Psychology Practice: Making the Case for a Case Study Approach

“…The knowledge, delivery style, and characteristics of the individual sport psychologist have a central influence on the overall effectiveness of the service (Partington & Orlick, 1987). Petitpas, Giges, and Danish (1999) suggested that the practitioner's skills in developing a working relationship characterized by trust, openness, and collaboration with the athlete are important in determining the effectiveness of the support.…”

“…That is, as professionals, sport psychologists should continually strive to improve their effectiveness and provide the best possible service they can. Partington and Orlick (1987) noted that by subjecting themselves to evaluation, sport psychologists give a clear indication that they are "committed to pursuing personal excellence in (their) consultation field in the same way that athletes are committed to pursuing excellence in their field of sport" (p. 316). Pertinent evaluative feedback will enable practitioners to develop their own skills and learn how to improve their effectiveness (Milne, 1987;Weigand, Richardson, & Weinberg, 1999).…”

“…Monitoring and evaluating the support is necessary so that the sport psychologist can be sure that it is effective, any detrimental effects can be prevented, and improvements are made where appropriate (Partington & Orlick, 1987). Second, the sport psychologist is accountable to the secondary client, who is normally the direct funder of the service (Sheppard, 1979).…”

“…A more formal approach to evaluating consultant effectiveness is the use of standardized feedback forms. For example, Partington and Orlick (1987) developed the Consultant Evaluation Form (CEF) to assess consultant characteristics associated with effectiveness. The CEF has been used regularly in practice and is recognized as a valuable and appropriate means of evaluating consultants (Hardy & Parfitt,1994;Poczwardowski, Sherman, & Henschen, 1998;Vealey & GarnerHolman, 1998).…”

Elite Refereeing in Professional Soccer: A Case Study of Mental Skills Support

“…The evaluation was carried out using (1) a comparison of the number and level of UEFA/FIFA refereeing appointments that were awarded in the seasons before, during and after the intervention period (2) an analysis of an interview that explored the referee"s perceptions of the intervention programme and (3) the Sport Psychology Consultant Evaluation Form (SPCEF) (Partington & Orlick, 1987). The qualitative data was collected during a semi structured interview that was carried out by an independent researcher who was not involved in any aspect of the intervention delivery.…”