"How do I know I’m doing a good job?”: exploring the influence of stakeholder interactions on the development of practitioner identity within applied sport psychology

Objectives: Contemporary research has identified identity as being an under-researched area within applied sport psychology. Concurrently, recent research has identified the micro-political nature of sport psychology contexts, and the
significance of stakeholder interactions in shaping the professional self-understanding of applied practitioners. Utilizing a multi theoretical perspective, this oral paper seeks to explore how interactions with key stakeholders' shape
and inform practitioner identity in relation to practitioner’s current roles and
responsibilities.

Methods: Purposive sampling identified 10 UK-based practitioners (6 male and 4 female) who gave their informed consent to take part in the research. All were either registered with the Health Care Professions Council or engaged on a professional accreditation pathway. Practitioners outlined their career histories on a timeline, highlighting key stakeholders within their current environment. These timelines informed semi-structured interviews, accruing over 9 hours of
data that were then transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Findings and Discussion: The analysis process generated three themes: Out of sight, out of mind; left to my own devices; feeling a part and apart. These themes encapsulate the impact of practitioners’ interactions with key stakeholders, their experiences of a lack of proximal line management, and their own perceived importance and contribution to their respective
organisations.

Conclusions: The findings identify the contextually bound nature of practitioner
identity and professional self-understanding. Recommendations are made as to how supervisory and peer-support processes can develop practitioner understanding around stakeholder interactions, and the subsequent impact that these can have on the formation and maintenance of practitioner identity.