The gravitational pull of identity: Professional growth in sport, exercise, and performance psychologists

Theories based in symbolic interactionism and narrative psychology can help us understand practitioner identity. Drawing on theories from these approaches, our purpose in this article is to distill research on sport psychologist growth, argue professional identity is a central goal in practitioner development, and offer applied implications. Professional growth includes movement from the self as an expert, who solves clients’ problems, to the self as a facilitator, who works alongside clients. Practitioners strive toward being authentic and along the way, develop self-awareness, learn to manage anxiety, and choose their preferred ways of working. A key feature of being authentic is an articulated professional identity. Practitioners can shape their professional identities by interacting with helpful people, consuming various genres of literature, and engaging in different types of writing.