Erikson’s epigenic theory of Psychosocial development considers both biological and genetic origins of behaviors, their environmental influences (parental / societal) and the overall psychosocial development of an individual through the successful or unsuccessful completion of a task (called “crisis”) through each stage and being the base for next one (Wong et al., 2021). The opposition – at each stage - of two opposing qualities, one being positive/syntactic and the other negative/dystonic and the adoption of one or the other contributes to the foundation of the core belief system that relates the individual internally and externally (Orenstein & Lewis, 2021).
Beyond that theoretical perspective it is important to understand principles of development, maturation and growth on emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physical levels (Henriksen et al, 2014). For instance the LTAD model for athletic development in Canada or the FTEM in Switzerland details the progression in physical abilities and motor skills from the foundational instants to the Athletic Mastery of a discipline (Schmidt & Lee, 2013). That blueprint needs to be cross-referenced with the notion of psychosocial development and multicultural idiosyncratic references of an athlete to make sure we are not only attuned to WHO the athletes is, WHAT he or she is experiencing but as well HOW he or she is experiencing it and WHERE (context). Without the contextualization of the encountered challenge, the WHY of both athlete and practitioner won’t be able to create the common ground of the therapeutic alliance and related plan. It asks as well to understand where we stand in our very own development as a practitioner, professionally and personally, as the key to our profession is the genuine and humble connection between individuals (Aoyagi et al., 2017 ; Siegel, 2020).
In other words, not only the knowledge but the way matters when it comes to developmental appropriateness.
References
Wong, Hall, & Hernandez, K. S. (2021). Counseling individuals through the lifespan. (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Orenstein, G.A. & Lewis, L. (2021). Eriksons Stages of Psychosocial Development. NIH National Library of Medicine, 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556096/
Aoyagi, M.W., Poczwardowski, A & Shapiro, J.L. (2017). The Peer Guide to Applied Sport Psychology for Consultants in Training. Taylor & Francis.
Siegel, D. J. (2020). The developing mind: How relationships and the brain interact to shape who we are (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.
Henriksen, K., Larsen, C.H. & Kamuk Storm, L. (2014). Sport Psychology Interventions With Young Athletes: The Perspective of the Sport Psychology Practitioner. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, (2014), No 8, pp.245-260
Schmidt, R. A., & Lee, T.D. (2013). Motor learning and performance (5th ed.) Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (2018). Systems of Psychotherapy. (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Carlstedt, R.A. (2012). Evidence-Based Applied Sport Psychology : A Practitioner’s Manual. Springer Publishing Company
Aoyagi, M.W. & Poczwardowski, A. (2012). Expert Approaches to Sport Psychology. Fitness Information Technology, 2012
Howells, K. (2014). The Dual relationship – the Neophyte dilemma. Sports & Exercise Psychology Review, 2014, Vol. 10, No.3, p87-p90
Watson, J.C., Clement, D., Harris, B., Leffingwell, T.R & Hurst, J. (2006). Teacher–Practitioner Multiple-Role Issues in Sport Psychology. ETHICS & BEHAVIOR, 2006, 16(1), 41–59
American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics.
ACA Online , https://www.counseling.org/resources/aca-code-of-ethics.pdf
Godfrey, M., Kim, J., & Eys, M. (2022). Ethnic diversity and cohesion in interdependent team sport contexts. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 26(1), 43–57. https://doi.org/10.1037/gdn0000162
Schinke, R. J., McGannon, K. R., Battochio, R. C. & Wells, G. D. (2013, April 8th). Acculturation in elite sport : a thematic analysis of immigrant athletes and coaches. Journal of sports Sciences, 2013. Vol. 31, No. 15, 1767-1686
Welfel, E. R. (2016). Ethics in counseling and psychotherapy: Standards, research, and emerging issues (Sixth ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.