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Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1401-6680

Date Available

4-29-2026

Year of Publication

2026

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College

Education

Department/School/Program

Kinesiology and Health Promotion

Faculty

Marc Cormier

Faculty

Haley Bergstrom

Abstract

As the field of sport psychology grows, services and training programs must evolve to properly serve the evolution of athletes seeking care. This could mean discovering new measures, testing different types of interventions, or developing programs that can better accommodate specific populations that are looking for sport psychology services. One such population is para athletes, and although they have expressed interest in learning more about the field of sport psychology and how to implement mental skills efficiently, athletes have reported a lack of access to sport psychology services and sport psychology consultants (SPCs) (Dieffenbach et al., 2009). The purpose of this study is to understand the current perceptions and opinions of athletes with disabilities pertaining to sport psychology services and access to SPCs within the world of para sport. This study specifically addresses semi-structured interviews with five Team USA Women's Wheelchair Basketball players' to better understand their experiences and perceptions of sport psychology access at various divisions, skill levels, and organizations within wheelchair basketball. Findings from this study also report the participant’s opinions on ideal practitioner traits and what SPCs working with para athletes should prioritize and emphasize in their work. Thematic analysis and interview coding revealed major themes concerning issues with practitioner inconsistency, unequal resources and access to resources at both the collegiate and the national team level, and perceptions of funding allocations creating majority of resource disparities. This study hopes to help SPCs better understand the needs of para athletes and to further illustrate the need for more training and interventions focused on non-traditional athlete populations, making sports more inclusive for all.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2026.164

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