become certified

AASP members are invited to apply to become Certified Consultants. Candidates must agree to support the objectives of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and abide by the provisions of its ethical code.

Deadlines for submitting applications for review by the Certification Review Committee:

February 1
June 1
September 1

Important processes for becoming a Certified Consultant:

Become familiar with the AASP ethical code
Find a Supervisor who is willing to help you become a Certified Consultant

An AASP CC must supervise practicum/internship hours.
Pre-approval is required before starting the supervision process with someone who is not an AASP CC. Without pre-approval, these hours may not count toward certification.

3. Determine which route to certification is for you:

Grandparenting: For candidates who received their doctoral degrees prior to December 31, 1992
Standard: For candidates who have a Doctoral degree
Master’s Degree: For candidates who have a Master's degree
Recertification: For current Certified Consultants

4. Complete and submit the appropriate application form

Standard Application Requirements

The applicant must have:

current AASP membership status;

a doctoral degree, from an accredited institution of higher education, in an area clearly related to sport science or psychology; and
completed the required coursework.

Coursework Guidelines

Pass/fail courses do not satisfy course requirements.
Unless otherwise specified, one three-credit course normally is required for each criterion.
Up to four upper-level undergraduate courses may be substituted for graduate courses, unless specifically designated as “graduate only.”
A course can be used in only one category of coursework.
On-line courses may provide felxibility in meeting certification requirements.

Required Courses

3 sport and exercise psychology courses (2 at the graduate level)
One course from each of the following categories:
- Professional Ethics and Standards
- Biomechanical and/or Physiological Bases of Sport
- Historical, Philosophical, Social, or Motor Behavior Bases
- Psychopathology and its Assessment
- Counseling Skills (a graduate course)
- Research Design, Statistics, or Psychological Assessment
- Biological Bases of Behavior
- Cognitive-Affective Bases of Behavior
- Individual Behavior
Demonstrated competence within skills/techniques/analysis in sport or exercise and related experiences (e.g., coaching, clinics, participation in sport)
400 hours of supervised experience in Sport & Exercise Psychology

Supervised Experience Guidelines

100 hours must be in direct contact hours with the clients
40 hours of supervision by an AASP approved supervisor, and all 400 hours must be verified by this supervisor
Only those hours actually spent in the preparation and delivery of sport and exercise psychology services are eligible for inclusion

Eligible Supervised Experiences

Consulting directly with an athletic team and/or coaching staff in an applied sport and exercise psychology setting while teaching such topics as goal-setting, cohesion, relaxation/activation skills, concentration, confidence-building, imagery, self-talk, and performance routines.
Serving as a consultant to a youth sports organization and teaching parents, athletes, and/or coaches about healthy competition patterns and moral reasoning.
Serving as a consultant to a cardiac rehabilitation program while teaching participants ways to increase exercise adherence patterns, controlling stress, coping skills and life management skills
Working with an athlete on performance-relevant issues (i.e., performance anxiety).
While serving as an academic counselor, providing formal work (e.g., stress management, problem-solving, goal setting, time management, etc.) with athletes on performance enhancement training.
Working as an intern in a corporation by providing exercise intervention programs to improve the psychological well-being of employees.

Ineligible Supervised Experiences

Serving as an athletic coach for a team.
Working in an alcohol rehabilitation center that happens to have athletes as clients.
Providing marital and family counseling to an athlete and her family.
Contracting with professional sports teams to do a psychometric work-up of players and making a DSM-IV diagnosis.
Being part of a general counseling practice or as a member of a consultation team treating an athlete for an eating disorder.
Using running as part of clinical therapy while completing as internship in psychology.
While serving as an academic counselor, providing only academic support services to athletes.
As an intern hired by a corporation you use sport and exercise psychology performance enhancement interventions to improve the mental health of their employees or improve their work productivity or effectiveness.
While serving as an athletic trainer, providing only physical rehabilitation services to athletes.

(Note: If in doubt, contact the Certification Committee Chair.)

Required forms
- AASP Supervision Verification Form
- AASP Record of Supervision Hours
- AASP Supervision Evaluation Form

Master’s Application Requirements

Steps to become an AASP CC through the Master’s application process:

Achieve Provisional Status by completing the required coursework and supervised experiences
Complete 300 additional hours of supervised experiences

Requirements for “Provisional Status”

Have current AASP membership status
Complete a Master’s degree, from an accredited institution of higher education, in an area clearly related to sport science or psychology
Complete the same required coursework as in the Standard Application process
Complete and submit the Master’s Application and supervision forms

Requirements for Certified Consultant Status

Complete a total of 300 additional hours of supervised experiences
Complete 75 hours of direct contact hours with the clients
Complete 30 hours of supervision
Submit a AASP Record of Supervision Hours and AASP Supervision Evaluation Form documenting the additional 300 hours of supervised experiences

Grandparenting Application Requirements

To be considered a candidate for grandparenting, the following requirements must be met:

Current AASP membership status
Completed a doctoral degree, from an accredited institution of higher education, in an area clearly related to sport science or psychology prior to December 31, 1992
3 or more years of post-doctoral experience in applied sport and exercise psychology, including consultation experience
3 sport and exercise psychology related publications
Professional sport and exercise psychology experiences that may include: supervised work experiences, sport and exercise psychology coursework, attendance in workshops, attendance at conferences, presentations/seminars/clinics, sport and exercise psychology related courses taught

Recertification

Recertification is required every 5 years

Recertification requirements:

Continuous AASP membership

Attendance at a minimum of three conferences (at least one of which is the AASP annual conference, the remaining two may be state, regional, or national conferences which include, but are not limited to, sport and exercise psychology content)
Participation in (by conducting or attending) a workshop or course intended to advance sport and exercise psychology knowledge or upgrade skills. The workshop must be comparable (at a minimum) in depth or intensity to a 6-hour AASP pre-conference workshop