AASP Newsletter - January 2020

Natalie Durand-Bush

Natalie Durand-Bush, Ph.D., AASP President, University of Ottawa

Season’s greetings, everyone! By now, you have likely heard the fantastic news – AASP has received accreditation in the U.S. for the CMPC® certification program by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)! NCCA is the accrediting body of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence, which has been certifying programs since 1977. AASP joins the 300+ NCCA-accredited programs that certify individuals in a wide range of professions and occupations including athletic trainers, strength & conditioning coaches, counselors, nurses, and emergency technicians. Special thanks to Robin Vealey, Betsy Shoenfelt, Bob Harmison, and the rest of the Certification Committee members for their hard work and tireless effort in achieving this important milestone for our field.

I wanted to thank the record number of AASP members who attended our Annual Conference in Portland this past Fall. The combination of location, programming, and engagement made it one of our most memorable conferences in history. If you couldn’t attend, or did and wanted to review some of the keynote sessions, please visit the AASP 2019 Conference Video highlight page. Looking ahead to the next few years, we are excited to return to Orlando (2020) and Las Vegas (2021) and are considering a Texas location for 2022. In 2023, we are planning an extra special event! AASP is partnering with the International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP) and the Canadian Sport Psychology Association (CSPA) for a joint congress to be held in late September 2023 in Vancouver. More details to follow as they become available.

There are several important projects that will be completed in 2020. First, we are wrapping up work with a professional certification consulting firm on the development of a message portfolio to promote the CMPC® certification program to key stakeholders. This will include implementing a plan for educating the public and various constituencies (e.g. NCAA, professional sport leagues, coaching associations, national governing bodies) about the benefits of hiring a CMPC®, while highlighting AASP’s accreditation status.

A full report of the research study that AASP commissioned to analyze the expansion of sport psychology employment opportunities in North America is slated for our 2020 Conference in Orlando. Note that this work will also include a summary of compensation data for professionals in our field, which is a specific goal in AASP’s current Strategic Plan. There will be important touch points for all AASP members in the results so you will want to keep your membership active to receive this information. It is not too late to participate in the study! Share your valuable experiences in the field by completing this employment survey.

AASP’s 6th Annual Virtual Conference will be held in April and focus on Why, What, When, and How: Using Technology in Applied Sport Psychology Practice. Invited speakers will explain how to best utilize available technology to help athletes and performers in areas such as: Biofeedback/Heartrate Variability, Neurofeedback, Vision Training/Eye Tracking, Virtual Reality and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS).

In closing, I would like to thank you for being a member of AASP and hope each and every one of you had a joyful, peaceful, and restful New Year's.