Dear Colleagues of the International Society of Sport Psychology,
We continue to make tremendous strides, together, toward the further development and reach of this organization. Nearing one year ago, a newly appointed ISSP Managing Council began its task of strategic execution, meaning that we have opted to move forward and bring to fruition objectives that were among our wish list, many of these found within our current strategic plan.
The strides we have made this past three months have been exciting. The Fellows recognition is now a reality. Each of the Past Presidents of the ISSP, including Robert Singer, Keith Henschen, Gershon Tenenbaum, Dieter Hackfort, and Sidonio Serpa have been conferred this prestigious title. Soon, Dr. Gangyan Si, upon the completion of his term as Past President, will be added to this list. These people are well deserving of the title “Fellow”, but so too, are further members, who also have enriched this society through research, practice, and leadership. At this point, we invite our long standing members who feel deserving of this title, to apply, in fact we await these applications with excitement.
This Autumn, in September, The ISSP will be partnering with Team Denmark on its first inaugural international think tank. This year’s think tank will be focused on elite athlete mental health. A small group of people representing the ISSP, FEPSAC, ASPASP, and AASP, with a few further contributors will come together at the University of Southern Denmark and work through pressing issues and consequent solutions related to athlete depression, concussion and broader injury, substance misuse, career transitions, and identity challenges, so as to provide a shared consensus statement on this topic to inform theorists and practitioners. This think tank is only the first of its kind, but it affirms the importance of pulling together a breadth of major societies, that we know will expand with our next think tank to come. The International Journal of Sport and exercise Psychology will make this consensus statement available open access, upon its completion later in 2018.
The ISSP has also led a project, in collaboration with ASPASP, FEPSAC, and AASP focusing on an multi-societal accreditation position stand. United, these societies believe it is time to compare and understand our credentialing processes. Our collective long term goal is to create unity and a global standard, that in turn could be parlayed into education and the augmentation of standards in countries and regions that are presently with little to no access to professional credentialing and high level services in a standardized format. This position stand was generously supported by Bernd Strauss and Nikos Ntoumanis of Psychology of Sport and Exercise, and it is presently under review in PSE.
Following from the credentialing news above, the ISSP continues to forge ahead with our registry, and we promise to bring it to fruition by the end of this year. Manuals and procedures are currently being drawn up relating to qualifications and supervision, led by Dr. Chris Harwood, our ISSP Accreditation Chair. In the interim, this Summer, the ISSP will be holding a continuing education workshop at the ASPASP Conference, this July, in South Korea, focused on culture and professional conduct. There will also be a joint accreditation panel at ASPASP, with our two societies seeking to converge on standards that can possibly match up with regional needs and barriers. The ISSP’s engagement with ASPASP is longstanding, and this year it continues with our entire Managing Council being hosted, and in attendance for the conference.
The International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology also continues to gain credence, as it quickly approaches first quartile status and an impact factor. We are excited by the journal, and hope that it will become, or continue to be your journal of choice. As members of the ISSP, should you not be receiving this membership benefit, please notify Hiroshi Sekiya, our Treasurer, and we will have this omission remedied.
These are but a few exciting initiatives, that we believe are making ISSP a progressively more valuable society to be part of. For the interim, please do explore our new website, offer to join open committees that match with your interests, and of course, should you have any questions, please correspond with the appropriate executive board member. We welcome your dialog.
Warmest wishes,
Robert Schinke, EdD, CRC, President of the ISSP