Sport Psychology Essay

Before having any knowledge of what Sport Psychology was, I used to believe that sport psychology only focused on how athletes performed and the benefits athletes got out from performing sports. However, I learned that there are many psychological factors that are involved in sport psychology. There are many specializations within the field of sport and exercise psychology such as: sport performance, stress management, body image and disability. Dr. Shipherd and Dr. Keim are both in the field of sports and exercise psychology, they differ from each other in various ways from education, to their specialization and population they work with.
Dr. Amber Shipherd, Ph.D., CC-AASP, received her B.S in Human Development from the University of California
Shipherd and Dr. Keim are both in the field of Sport Psychology, both were members of the US Olympic Committee and Certified Consultant with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, their philosophies and careers are different from one another. To begin with, Dr. Shipherd has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology whereas, Dr. Keim has a Psy.D in Clinical Psychology, meaning that different types of training were used for both professionals. For Dr. Keim has the ability to diagnose and treat an individual, yet Dr. Shipherd can only educate her clients into thinking differently but cannot diagnose or treat them. For example, when working with her clients Dr. Shipherd conducts a needs assessment that determines what areas need improvement. This helps her customize a specific program for her client to help them improve their mental skills. On the other hand, Dr. Keim provides performance assessments in areas of physical, technical/tactical and mental skills. She focuses more on the areas outside of sports that affect her clients such as mental skills (motivation, confidence, self-talk, mindfulness/meditation), life balance (occupation, school, time management), relationships (team building, team dynamics, team cohesion) and transitions (returning to training after injury/recovery, athletic identity, body