LOW GPA + Psych Grad School + Sport Psych + MFT + NBA

[RonArtestDr]

Hi everyone,

Basically my story goes, I have FINALLY completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at an average school in California. I have was involved within a research lab (Cognitive psychology Lab) for 2 years, worked as a Volunteer Center Director, within group homes, the foster system, and numerous other psychology related venues.

I initially, always, wanted to get my MFT. Then I became more infatuated with SPORTS, and was informed I could make a killing if I were to get my degree in Sports Psych! I interned with an NBA team, and worked in many, MANY sports related networks and fell in love! (My dream was to be the sport Psychologist for the LAkers 😍) As I have stated, I have much work experience within both field. Now here is my problem...

My GPA is very low. 2.5 (ish) and I am realizing, I do want to go back and get my MFT. My final year, year and a half, I extended to a 5th year, just to take pre reqs in Sport Psych, for their program, and bombed it (due to personal, and family issues, that were very traumatic.) Not to mention, I can admit, I some what BSed my undergraduate collegiate career.

Now I feel lost. I still am not 100% sure which avenue I want to take.

MA in Psych
MFT
MA in Sport Psych

It would be much appreciated if someone can (and yes I have searched, but came up short) some schools, which hold programs for MFT & Sport Psychology that are more lenient with GPA scores. Basically, every other area is solid: Letters of Req, Personal Statement, Experience even Lab work (which I don't know is needed for MFT). I just know I have worked the last 2 years and I am ready to go back to school. I miss higher education! Learning! The atmosphere! I feel it has taken my 5 years, but for once in my life, I WANT to be in school and I am willing to step out of my comfort zone to go where I need to be.

Sorry for the essay of a message, could have saved it for my personal statement, huh?

SO yea, basically... if someone can give me some school options, which are acceptive of LOW GPAs in MA Psych, MFT & SPort Psych, I will be really appreciative.


Thank you so much!😳

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[erg923]

I will admit right off the bat that I have no idea what a "masters in sports psych" does, or why an multimillion dollar organization would hire such a person over a doctoral-level psychologist (its not like they dont have money to through around 🙄), but I think your ticket into grad school will be your GRE scores.

Your GPA will DQ you from most psychology graduate programs (even masters), so you would may have to resort to the MFT degree. I think if you have good GRE scores, you will be able to wiggle into a MFT program somewhere. I am not sure how one could taylor that to a sports psych subspecialty, but I suppose you can try.

 

[RonArtestDr]

Majority of sports teams prefer someone with more of a background in such specific area of Sport Psych, because it deals with goal setting, temperament, mind tools, visualization, self talk, etc..... all dealing with the fundamentals of sports. Things that a normal PhD etc. do not have any training, practice or education on.

Sport Psychology isn't just "therapy for athletes". Such the misconception.

But I am taking heed to making sure I do outstanding in the GRE!

 

[erg923]

First of all, an MFT program is going to be just that--Training in marriage and family therapy. Sports psychology is really a specialty area of practice for psychologists. Most "sports psychologists" that consult or work full-time with collegiate or pro teams were actually trained as clinical (or counseling) psychologists in regular programs. Specialty training (in sport psych) comes after generalist training....not before. There are predoctoral internships and post-doc fellowships in sports psychology for those that choose to specialize in that area after completion of the doctorate. I'm sure you might be able to work with athletes in some clinical capacity with a masters degree, but your not going to be that team's "psychologist" unless you hold a doctorate.

And who gave you the idea that a Ph.D. program in clinical or counseling psychology doesn't deal with "goal setting, temperament, mind tools, visualization, self talk, etc?"

 

[MNGradToBe12]

I'm wondering if the interest is in psychology, or in merely the pseudo-celebrity of professional athletes. (i.e. "I want to get paid to hang out with the Lakers")

 

[Hadashi no Gen]

Springfield College (the birthplace of basketball) has a very well known and respected MA in Sports Psychology. I recommend looking into them.

Also... I don't understand your two different choices for Psychology (Counseling) and Psychology (Clinician). Counselors are clinicians.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Majority of sports teams prefer someone with more of a background in such specific area of Sport Psych, because it deals with goal setting, temperament, mind tools, visualization, self talk, etc..... all dealing with the fundamentals of sports. Things that a normal PhD etc. do not have any training, practice or education on.

Sport Psychology isn't just "therapy for athletes". Such the misconception.

But I am taking heed to making sure I do outstanding in the GRE!

The vast majority of research and advancements in sports psychology have come from clinical psychologists who work in related areas: positive psychology, mindfulness, imagery, etc. It is a niche area within clinical psychology, though some non-clinical programs are trying to hitch their wagon to it.

A few years ago I interviewed at one of the top training programs for sports psych (internship/post-doc) in the country, and all of the applicants came from strong clinical Ph.D. programs with solid research training. After meeting everyone, I knew I had no shot at landing the spot. It's easily one of the most competitive and "hot" areas in clinical psychology right now.

I'm not saying working in sports psychology can't happen, but it most likely won't be at the pro level because those teams almost always go with the best-selling/most well know one or two experts in the country. It is akin to being a writer and wanting to get your book on Oprah....great if it happens, but most writers will never get that chance.

 

[Googlrific]

I don't know if you are still reading this thread, but I'll offer my advice nonetheless...

I would not advise getting a Masters in Sport Psychology, especially if your dream is to work with a big name organization. From what I have learned, being successful in Sport Psychology is largely based on marketing yourself, especially since Sport Psychology is not universally accepted (at least in the U.S.). As a result, being able to call yourself a "Psychologist" or "Doctor" is very important. In addition, with a Masters in Sport Psychology, you cannot (legally... I think) call yourself a "Sport Psychologist" since "Psychologist" is a protected title for those with doctoral degrees. If you only have a Masters, I think the best title you could come up with is "Sports/Performance Consultant." Most people are hesitant of the field because they haven't heard of it, so if potential clients are going to trust or be open to Sport Psych, they are going to want to work with someone they can trust as an expert.

What I would advise is this: Apply for Masters programs in Clinical Psych or Counseling Psych. In California, I know Cal State Fullerton and Cal State Northridge have good Masters programs in Clinical Psych. Also, I know that at least with Fullerton, the program can help tailor you to get an MFT after graduation if you desire.

Anyway, go for Counseling Psych or Clinical Psych... It doesn't really matter. My old advisor use to say "Freud is Freud." The reason you should do this is because you would be hard-pressed to find a doctoral program that would accept you with a GPA of 2.5. I'm not sure how your GPA could be overlooked if you rocked your GREs, but it seems possible. Anyway, just based on your application picture at this moment, your best way of getting into any grad program is through the Masters route. Once you get into a Masters program, use that opportunity to get a stellar GPA (@ least 3.5, 3.7 preferred). This will prove to admissions committees that you can handle doctoral graduate work and that your work/study ethic has changed since being in undergrad. Then after that, apply to APA Accredited PhD/PsyD programs in Counseling Psych or Clinical Psych... and if at at all possible, apply to counseling and clinical programs that have specialization tracks in sports psych (ex: University of Washington Clinical PhD, University of North Texas Counseling PhD, LaSalle University Clinical PsyD). Nevertheless, it is still possible to develop a specialization for Sport Psych even if you are not in a program that has a direct specialization track. You can do so through practicum opportunities and predoc/postdoc internships. However, this would be a more difficult route and you would have to go out on your own initiative to find such opportunities.

As stated before, Sport Psych is a difficult job niche to get into, especially at the professional or Olympic level. Heck, you may not even be able to get full-time work at the community level. Thus, it is valuable to have a broad-based education in Counseling or Clinical Psych so that you can fall back on that if you can't find Sport Psych work.

I know this road may seem a little long, but if Sport Psych is what you really want to do, then this may be the best route. Hope this helps!

 

[sportpsychcop]

Not sure if the person originally posting made a decision or got into any program.

Some decent information on here. Sports psych is still sort of a "new field" but honestly my exposure to it as a former two sport D1 athlete, D1 coach at two brand name schools, SWAT cop and police trainer at a very respected agency (lets call it tactical athlete performing under high pressure), is that most sports psychologists or consultants I would not let near any athletes, coaches, or police officers I know. There are good and bad with both backgrounds, folks with PhDs from kinesiology based programs and those with clinical based backgrounds. I think more often the clinical based background folks see things from a much different lens, and are more disconnected from the mindset or culture of athletes unless they were once one themselves at a high level. Many of the sport psych consultants are also disconnected from the mindset of a high performing athlete or coach as well. Often times it is a joke meeting or reading sports psych stuff from people with either background.

Sport psych has many things lumped under its title....they are actually tying to push to have a new title "performance psychology" to get rid of some of the confusion. Sport psychology can be "exercise psychology" which might be more like "why do obese people not adhere to exercise programs", and sports psych can often be clinical folks who have little to no training in sport psychology/kinesiology/exercise science who do clinical work with anyone who is an "athlete" (and I use that term loosely since they do), or sport psychology can be folks working with athletes who do not have mental health issues and its about performance enhancement/taking it to the next level.

My advice though would be if you are still out there and working on getting your GPA up by taking additional classes, set yourself up to do a counseling program at a school that might also have some sport psychology courses. Line yourself up to get a license whether it be MFT/LPC whatever that might be in your state that allows you to do therapy. While you are in the program or after, take some sport psychology coursework, as well if you are not an athlete please go do some interns with sports med staff, strength and conditioning staffs, or with a college team being a manger or something. Both clinical folks who think they "do sport psych" as well as sport psych consultants (those with masters or PhDs in something related to sport psych but do not have a license) often are goofballs that literally have a very limited chance to ever improve an athlete's performance because they are so out of touch...maybe their neighbors kid they can help improve or an average high school athlete, or a weekend warrior wanting to run a 5k....

At some point to be a "performance psych" if it goes as some plan in AASP, you will need training in both counseling with a license as well training in sport psych/kinesiology with supervised experiences/internships in both. The very very very few places that hire full time sports psych folks often want a clinical person, even if many of the clinical folks are goobers with little rapport building skills to athletes, because they cannot afford to hire two people to do psych...if college athletes have an eating disorder, or are hooked on vicadin, or their parents get divorced and they are experiencing depression, the sport psych consultant without a license needs to refer them somewhere else...where as the clinical person with a license can handle that, although might not be good at the performance enhancement stuff or athletes wont care to see a clinical person about performance issues. Make sense? Clear as mud?

Regardless if you are interested in any sort of grad school and got a 2.5 GPA (not sure the caliber of school you were at), even if it was due to life circumstances...seems like you need to regroup and get things squared away....

All the schools mentioned do have what the folks say they offer, but even if you got into any of those PhDPsyD programs by a miracle with your GPA in undergrad, you might be in for a hell of a stressful ride.

Cal State Fullerton has a counseling/MFT program and a sports psych program with well known professors. Although the most "famous" one retired, there are still professors who are active consultants to olympic athletes and teams. The entrance requirements for any program at Fullerton are rock bottom. And the school is cheap compared to private school education. Get into the counseling program, do your coursework there, and take any class that might still be offered by Dr. Ken Ravizza when you get there even if its just undergrad stress mngt that he is still teaching I think. Then take 4-5 electives during or after your counseling coursework with Dr. Traci Statler. That will get you a license as well exposure to some good sports psych stuff and you can see what options are open.

Sports psych is a weak field, not tons of jobs, not high paying jobs, and tons and tons of people who want the few jobs there are. And as someone mentioned, it seems to me that many of the people getting into the field want to because it feels "sexy" to them in some weird way, even if they have never been a competitor, performer, or athlete at any significant level. Which is a huge problem for the field....

You can learn so much on your own in sport psych, mindfulness, positive psychology, and spirituality by reading on your own and seeking out experiences and mentors in those fields. My experience has been that many people who are NOT in sport psychology or clinical psych, are far better at the mental skills training stuff...coaches, clergy, good parents, and yoga/martial arts instructors just to name a few groups! Most of the "tools" of the mental toolbox are stolen from age old spirituality practices, philosophy, meditation, and the mindfulness and positive psychology crowds!

These are you main options in the field of sport psych:
-Get your masters in sport psych, and after not finding a job you go into coaching or another random job
-Get your PhD in sport psych, become a professor/researcher and do limited sport psych consulting, and lots of your research ends up being more "exercise psychology" about obesity or lack of youth participation in sports etc because that is where the funding is NOT cool high performance gigs with big time college or pro athletes
-Get your masters or PhD in sport psych, and try to hustle and get consulting gigs, with maybe only a handful of people in the country making a living doing that
-Be a clinical person (licensed therapist or psychologist) who has a full time gig doing therapy in whatever setting, and on the side see one or two "athletes" a month, most likely weekend warrior middle aged folks or little Johnny since his parents think he can go Division One, but call yourself a sport psychologist on your business card and website to maybe feel like you are somebody special
-Call yourself a "life coach" and do whatever the hell that is using your clinical and/or sports psych training as your selling point, hope to become the next Anthony Robbins I guess