Developing and Sustaining Sport Psychology Programs: A Resource Guide for Practitioners

Developing and Sustaining Sport Psychology Programs: A Resource Guide for Practitioners outlines a systemic approach to creating comprehensive, sustainable sport psychology programs in professional sports organizations, colleges, universities, and at secondary school levels. Based on the author’s more than 30 years of professional experience, this volume presents a framework that delineates methods for designing, implementing, and evaluating sport psychology programs, discussing topics such as needs assessment and client identification. Featuring real-world experiences and clear, non-technical writing, this step-by-step guide can be applied to a range of sport psychology programs including mental skills, life skills, coach education, leadership training, and team development programs. Developing and Sustaining Sport Psychology Programs details a program development process that has been applied successfully at the professional, collegiate, and secondary school levels over a more than 30-year period. It has contributed to the development of sport psychology programs that have sustained themselves over the course of time and is an essential text for sport psychologists and mental skills coaches at all levels as well as graduate students and other professionals in the field.

Table of Contents:
PREFACE ORGANIZATION OF THE BOOK PHILOSOPHY OF SPORT PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Part I: FOUNDATIONS 1. Taking a Systems Perspective on Sport Psychology 2. Defining and Illustrating Sport Psychology Programs 3. Setting the Stage for Program Development 4. Overviewing the Program Development Process Part II: CLARIFICATION PHASE 5. Specifying the Program Participants 6. Assessing the Needs of Program Participants 7. Determining Relevant Organizational Context Part III: DESIGN PHASE 8. Establishing the Purpose and Goals of the Program 9. Organizing the Program Design 10. Putting the Program Design into an Evaluable Form Part IV: IMPLEMENTATION PHASE 11. Facilitating Program Implementation 12. Monitoring the Process of Program Implementation Part V: EVALUATION PHASE 13. Formulating a Program Evaluation Plan 14. Evaluating Program Implementation 15. Evaluating Goal Attainment 16. Evaluating Reactions to the Program 17. Evaluating the Program’s Strong Points and Limitations 18. Communicating and Using Program Evaluation Information 19. Closing Comments and Program Development Practice Standards APPENDICES Appendix A: Example of a Program Design Appendix B: Sport Psychology Program Evaluation Plan REFERENCES INDEX

About the Author :
Charles A. Maher is a Sport and Performance Psychologist and Senior Director of the Department of Personal and Organizational Performance with the Cleveland Indians Baseball Organization.

Review :
"Dr. Maher has detailed the sport psychology program development and evaluation techniques that have made him a standout in the highly competitive world of professional sport psychology consulting. The strong theoretical foundation, real-world examples, and professional practice exercises provide key information that novices and professionals in the field are likely to find themselves revisiting again and again. Bravo!"—Judy L. Van Raalte, Springfield College, USA "Dr. Maher has put together an outstanding innovative resource guide for practitioners that focuses on a systems-based approach to program development and service delivery. There is nothing else like it in the Sport Psychology Literature. The book provides a practical, thorough, systematic framework for designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating tailor made intervention programs that fit the needs of any sport organization and/or team. I highly recommend it!"—Dave Yukelson, Association for Applied Sport Psychology, USA "Invaluable resource for anyone developing sport psychology programs for individuals, groups, teams, and organizations. Maher has years of experience at all levels of sport, and is ideally suited to present an excellent framework for clarification, design, implementation, and evaluation of successful sport psychology programs." —Michael L. Sachs, Temple University, USA "This cutting-edge book provides a clear, concise, and practical template for the delivery of valuable sport psychology services to individual athletes, coaches, teams, and organizations. Both seasoned and early career professionals will find this useful in developing programs that will be comprehensive, self-correcting, and sustainable. This is a unique and highly valuable contribution to the field of applied sport psychology." —Jack J. Lesyk, Ohio Center for Sport Psychology, USA "Dr. Maher is a leader in the field of sport psychology at the professional and collegiate levels. It is no surprise that his text, Developing and Sustaining Sport Psychology Programs: A Resource Guide for Practitioners is an invaluable resource for those young professionals hoping to build a strong and sustainable sport psychology program at any level. Dr. Maher is masterful in building highly effective sport psychology programs that make sense, are evidenced-based, and are useful to coaches, players and sport psychology staff." —Richard D. Ginsburg, Co-Director of MGH Sports Psychology Program, USA "This is a must-read for anyone interested in developing a sport psychology practice. Clear, direct, comprehensive, and easy to read, Dr. Maher dissects every aspect to consider to set yourself up for success, even providing concrete examples and templates as resources. Seasoned professionals, graduate students, and everyone in between can find utility in this guide written by an expert in this space." —Amber Cargill, NFL Players Association, USA "Dr. Maher has detailed the sport psychology program development and evaluation techniques that have made him a standout in the highly competitive world of professional sport psychology consulting. The strong theoretical foundation, real-world examples, and professional practice exercises provide key information that novices and professionals in the field are likely to find themselves revisiting again and again. Bravo!"—Judy L. Van Raalte, Springfield College, USA "Dr. Maher has put together an outstanding innovative resource guide for practitioners that focuses on a systems-based approach to program development and service delivery. There is nothing else like it in the Sport Psychology Literature. The book provides a practical, thorough, systematic framework for designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating tailor made intervention programs that fit the needs of any sport organization and/or team. I highly recommend it!"—Dave Yukelson, Association for Applied Sport Psychology, USA "Invaluable resource for anyone developing sport psychology programs for individuals, groups, teams, and organizations. Maher has years of experience at all levels of sport, and is ideally suited to present an excellent framework for clarification, design, implementation, and evaluation of successful sport psychology programs." —Michael L. Sachs, Temple University, USA "This cutting-edge book provides a clear, concise, and practical template for the delivery of valuable sport psychology services to individual athletes, coaches, teams, and organizations. Both seasoned and early career professionals will find this useful in developing programs that will be comprehensive, self-correcting, and sustainable. This is a unique and highly valuable contribution to the field of applied sport psychology." —Jack J. Lesyk, Ohio Center for Sport Psychology, USA "Dr. Maher is a leader in the field of sport psychology at the professional and collegiate levels. It is no surprise that his text, Developing and Sustaining Sport Psychology Programs: A Resource Guide for Practitioners is an invaluable resource for those young professionals hoping to build a strong and sustainable sport psychology program at any level. Dr. Maher is masterful in building highly effective sport psychology programs that make sense, are evidenced-based, and are useful to coaches, players and sport psychology staff." —Richard D. Ginsburg, Co-Director of MGH Sports Psychology Program, USA "This is a must-read for anyone interested in developing a sport psychology practice. Clear, direct, comprehensive, and easy to read, Dr. Maher dissects every aspect to consider to set yourself up for success, even providing concrete examples and templates as resources. Seasoned professionals, graduate students, and everyone in between can find utility in this guide written by an expert in this space." —Amber Cargill, NFL Players Association, USA