Doing sport psychology briefly? A critical review of single session therapeutic approaches and their relevance to sport psychology

Abstract

Recent research in sport psychology has noted the potential importance of providing sport psychologists with a systematic approach to solve problems in settings constrained by time and pressure. To this end, a growing body of single session therapy (SST) research exists within psychotherapeutic literature and other domains of support work from which sport psychology might take both theoretical and practical guidance. In this article, we review the extant SST literature to provide a rationale for the potential systematic exploration of such therapeutic approaches within sport psychology. The article contextualizes SST as a therapeutic approach and summarizes the characteristics and effectiveness of these approaches via a critical review of descriptive and outcome-focused SST studies. Finally, the article discusses the potential relevance, applicability, and implications of SST approaches to applied sport psychology and addresses future directions for research.