social inclusion in the world of sport and health psychology
Alfred Adler was one of the very well-known contributors to the development of the psychodynamic approach to therapy, but over time Adler moved mored towards a social-psychological and teleological view of human nature in which all humans have some sort of strive to go somewhere in life. Through this approach, Adler holds a basic goal in helping clients to identify and change their mistaken beliefs about self, others, and life and to fully participate more in a social community as well as a social world (Corey, 2013). In accomplishing this goal, it is important that people are knowledgable in Adler’s key concepts to be able to successfully make a change in society. Within this theory, Adler puts a main focus on reeducating individuals and reshaping society (Corey, 2013). In support of this type of approach I chose to continue my own education as a graduate student at the Adler School of Professional Psychology where I hope to gain all the learning tools needed to achieve my personal goal when I go out into the world as a sport and health psychology practitioner. The Adler School and all those who are representatives have their own goal as well to help carry on and continue to advocate for social change. Along with this goal, students are prepared to become socially responsible practitioners who are “educated to be effective personal and social change agents in the pursuit of justice” (Adler School of Professional Psychology, 2012). As I hope to become a socially responsible practitioner in the field of sport and health psychology, I specifically want to work with individuals in team sports. A team is also a community that in order to be a successful one, it must be a socially inclusive one. Each individual within a team or community plays a crucial role and it is important to be aware of each other, but also yourself.
Both social interest and community feeling are two of Adler’s most important concepts (Ansbacher, 1992). Corey (2013) defines social interest as the action line of one’s community feeling that involves being concerned about others just as much as yourself. To add on, Miller and Clemmer (2006) includes that social interest involves the capacity to cooperate and contribute. Community feeling is also defined as it involves the feeling of being connected to all of humanity and being involved in making the world a better place (Corey, 2013). Within a team, a player should be aware of oneself as well as the other teammates as each player completes the group by bringing in their own uniqueness. In defining what a team is, Weinberg and Gould (2011) lay out the four characteristics it holds: Collective sense of identity, distinctive roles, structural modes of communication, and norms. Through these characteristics, a team’s focus should be on the “we-ness”, know each teammate’s job, communication, and social rules to guide in what is right and wrong. Although I hope to pursue a career in sports, I believe that teamwork is crucial in many other situations. Most people think of sports when teamwork is brought up, but close collaboration is important to all levels of human achievement (Pilon, 2014). As individuals work very closely with each other in a team, not only should they be aware of and tolerate each other, but should grasp a better understanding of each other. The holistic concept is another term of Adlerian theory that can be used in the sport and psychology profession that implies that all aspects of ourselves must be understood in relationship rather than in parts (Corey, 2013; Carlson & Englar-Carlson, 2008). In gaining this understanding, the focus is put on a person’s social contexts of family, culture, school, and work. Even though individuals within a team may hold the same overall goal, each person comes from different backgrounds in which personal values and beliefs are created. By incorporating holism into a sports team, teammates will be able to identify similarities and differences amongst themselves. According to Weinberg and Gould (2011), the probability of developing a strong team concept is greater if more group members are aware of similarities among each other.
Along with understanding a person as a whole, it is also important to understand his or her life movement which Adler calls a lifestyle. This includes the connecting themes and rules of interaction that give meaning to an individual’s actions, as well as the individual’s characteristic way of thinking, acting, feeling, living, and striving toward long-term goals (Corey, 2013). As it was noted earlier that a team holds one specific goal together, this may not be the case if one player’s goal differs from the rest. In getting individual players to play as a team together, coaches must also understand how team members’ interactions with each other affect athletic performance (Weinberg & Gould, 2011). Through Adler’s view, humans play both roles of creator and creation of their own lives. I believe that it is important to understand a person’s life motives and why he or she chose them, especially in team sports. Although team members can hold similarities amongst themselves, they must be aware of the differences they have as well. Through the incorporation of the lifestyle concept, teammates can identify individual goals in order to develop an overall team goal.
Oftentimes, we as players and humans may get caught up in looking at our team or community as a whole and pay attention more to those surrounding us, but it is important to also pay attention to yourself. Another concept that Adler includes in his theory is being responsible for ourselves, which is involved in encouragement. Corey (2013) defines this term as showing faith in people, valuing them for who they are, and expecting them to assume responsibility for their lives. Unfortunately, we tend to gravitate our focus on other’s successes and positives as well as our own failures and negatives. But while I believe it is important to accept others, it is just as important to accept yourself.
After I graduate, I hope to be a sport and health psychology practitioner or consultant working with sports teams at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. As I reflect on how I will incorporate social inclusion in my work, I want to work with individuals of sports teams and how all the social aspects of their lives affect their performance and relationships with other teammates. Within a social inclusive society, people are aware of and respect their own values and beliefs as well as those of others. Through my own philosophy, I acknowledge that everyone has their own values and beliefs, but instead of focusing on how different we are from each other, the focus should be on how we can benefit from these differences in the effort to create a socially inclusive world. As a socially responsible professional in sport and health psychology, I hope to inspire many people to change their views by understanding and incorporating others’ diverseness.
References
Adler School of Professional Psychology (2012). The srp project.
Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Pilon, C. (2014). Together everyone achieves more. GreenMaster.
Weinberg, R.S., & Gould, D. (2011). Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.