Working as a researcher in applied sport psychology at the French Institute of Sport (INSEP) brings into focus the organizational and ethical challenges of professional identity in applied sport psychology. Within INSEP, psychologists in the medical department primarily address athletes' mental health needs, while mental performance consultants in the performance department focus on psychological skills training and performance optimization. Although my dual training as a clinical health psychologist and a mental performance consultant allows me to navigate both domains, my role is formally situated in the performance department.
This institutional structure generates a fine boundary between supporting athletes in performance-related issues (e.g., pre-competition stress regulation, attentional control) and recognizing mental health concerns (e.g., generalized anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms). The challenge lies not only in deciding when to refer athletes to medical services but also in how this referral is communicated to them in ways that preserve trust and continuity of care. Furthermore, effective collaboration between psychologists in the medical department and consultants in the performance department is essential, yet often requires negotiation of professional roles, responsibilities, and shared practices.
In this presentation, I will reflect on these dilemmas through applied cases involving elite athletes and national coaches. These cases illustrate how role boundaries are experienced in practice, how interdepartmental collaboration can be fostered, and how athletes perceive transitions and complementarity between performance-oriented support and mental health care.
By situating these reflections within the broader landscape of applied sport psychology, this contribution highlights the evolving nature of professional identities and the need for context-sensitive, ethically reflective, and collaborative approaches to supporting high-performance athletes.