ABSTRACT
The time when you emerge from your Stage 2 training “cocoon” as a fully qualified sport and exercise psychologist will be a defining but critical moment in your career. During these types of critical moments you are transitioning from being a student to being a qualified autonomous practitioner, and you will probably feel both anxious and excited as you come to grips with your new identity (Nesti & Littlewood, 2011). You no longer need to operate according to the requirements dictated to you by your lecturers, teachers, and supervisors, but will be free to assist clients in the ways you see fit (but still within the ethical boundaries provided by the HCPC and BPS!). Although you will have increased confidence and a sense of freedom to choose your own professional destiny, you may also have some doubts about whether you can “make it work” and earn a living. It may help to learn that these feelings are normal, and if you did not feel like this then we would wonder how motivated you were to pursue your goal of helping athletes. One recent Stage 2 graduate said: “Once qualified, these concerns reappear, the competent confident trainee [I was] becomes a newbie again.” Her self-doubts arose from realizing that she had less access to the “safety nets” previously provided by her teachers, mentors, and supervisors from Stage 1 and Stage 2 training. She was now accountable for her choices, behaviours, and mistakes.
