Sport Psychology Practicum

Texas Tech Athletics offers a two-year paid graduate assistantship in sport psychology. This opportunity is in collaboration with Texas Tech University Psychological Sciences Department’s American Psychological Association-Accredited clinical and counseling psychology doctoral programs. Each year, doctoral students work with Texas Tech Athletics Sport Psychology staff and gain experiencing providing mental and behavioral health and performance psychology interventions. Completion of this practicum affords students invaluable training in both health-service and applied psychology, setting them up to be very competitive in pursuing a career in sport psychology.

Requirements

At this time, this practicum opportunity is only available to doctoral students completing their PhD in clinical or counseling psychology at Texas Tech University in the Psychological Sciences Department. For more information about the clinical and counseling psychology training programs at Texas Tech, click here.

Preference will be given to doctoral students in their 3rd year or above, or those with previous clinical experience. Doctoral students will fit better in this practicum that have more flexible schedules, given the unique dynamic of college sports and the role that Sport Psychology plays within an athletic organization.

Preferred skills include:

Past experience working in a treatment team; knowledge of evidence- and measurement-based care
Strong communication skills; ability to work with diverse patient populations and presentations
Knowledge of sports and intercollegiate athletics system; responsibilities of student-athletes
Knowledge of athlete-specific clinical issues; past experience with performance psychology

Responsibilities

As a graduate assistant, the primary responsibility is to provide mental and behavioral health assessment and treatment to student-athletes, in both individual and group format. Graduate assistants also provide performance psychology interventions in individual, group, and team formats. Each semester, graduate assistants conduct entrance and returner mental and behavioral health examinations, as well as with academic screenings to incoming student-athletes. Graduate assistants provide mandated substance use treatment and other risk assessments to student-athletes. Each semester, graduate assistants offer education via presentations and workshops to student-athletes, coaches, teams, and other Athletics staff.

About Sport Psychology

Sport Psychology is housed within Texas Tech Health and Wellness, which takes a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to healthcare. Sport Psychology offers primary care mental health services to student-athletes. Beyond healthcare, sport psychology is a foundational component of each sport program’s player development model at Texas Tech.

For More Information

If you have questions about the practicum, e-mail us at athletics.sportpsychology@ttu.edu. However, please note that Texas Tech Athletics does not make admission decisions for the clinical or counseling psychology programs at Texas Tech. Direct related questions to their faculty and staff by clicking here.

Texas Tech University Athletics