The SEPAR Journey 1
Over the next 3 years, I will be completing my sport and exercise psychology accreditation to become a professional, accredited, and HCPC registered Sport and Exercise Psychologist. During this upcoming 3-year period, I will be using this Porus blog to reflect on the ups and downs along the way and highlight any interesting things that may come up. My goal with this is to provide some personal reflection for me but also for any aspiring sport and exercise psychologists who are considering SEPAR as the route for their accreditation. This blog will outline the thought process behind starting the SEPAR journey and how that was been to date.
What is Accreditation?
In the UK, the term “sport and exercise psychologist” is a protected term meaning only those who have been registered with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) can use it. Across Ireland and the UK, some people have been operating as psychologists without the unnecessary training, which can cause serious harm to those they are working with, especially around the topics of mental health. This is where accreditation comes in. For sports and exercise psychology, two possible routes for accreditation in the UK are available, BPS QSEP and BASES SEPAR. BPS QSEP is a programme run by the British Psychological Society and entails covered 460 days total of supervised work encompassing applied and planning hours, along with either a research investigation or case study, or a literature review and research investigation or case study. QSEP also involves a viva examination at the end but results in you becoming a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist. The British Association for Sport and Exercise Science SEPAR is slightly different in that it entails 3200 hours of supervised hours (400 days), split into 2700 hours of applied work, 275 hours of CPD and supervision, and 225 hours of dissemination (blog posts like this) and citizenship. Working towards developing your level within the different competencies is a main part of SEPAR, aiming to reach a 4 out of 5 minimum in all competencies. SEPAR also includes 3 case studies and 3 client references, along with core CPD workshops. Both routes can last 2-4 years and have 3 submission points for evidence portfolios. Both also require getting and working with a supervisor for the course of the programme. The BASES SEPAR is the less expensive of the two options( with that honestly being one of the reasons I choose to do it), along with the broader understanding of other areas of sport science that are added within it. My PhD would have helped for the QSEP research investigation, but the extra cost and workload made it less feasible for me at this time.
What’s Next?
Now that I have registered for the SEPAR programme, I will start to log all work, planning and reflections I will be doing as a SEPiT, Sport and Exercise Psychologist in Training. This will involve working with my supervisor to plan different ways to address the competencies I need to work on over the next 3 years of the accreditation programme. One of the main areas will be working with a wide range of contexts (sports, levels, genders, settings) and diversifying my clientele. We will be advertising for this in the coming months so stay tuned on our social media pages. With this accreditation being for exercise psychology also, we will be exploring different avenues within this field including some applied work, and some research and dissemination work using Porus as the outlet for it. This will require engagement from gyms, physios, therapists, and any other practitioners/businesses who are looking to promote exercising behaviours in their clients or staff. Again, stay tuned on our socials for updates on this.
There are lots of things planned for the next while on this SEPAR journey. I am working with the GPA to formalise OMAC Performance as an official business which will allow for more opportunities. We will also be increasing our presence on social media posting new content monthly to engage our followers and offer some tips to help them perform at their best in whatever space they are operating in. We have been quiet about this for a while, but all that time we have been #busygettingbetter.
I hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you did, please share it on your social media platforms and tag @omacperformance. If you would like support for yourself or your team/group/school/business, please reach out via the Contact section.
Thanks, Oisin