Professional Ethics

The competent and responsible work guided by the aims and tasks of the asp functioning as an expert association (see asp-charter 2015, § 2(1)) obliges those working in a sport psychological context to act independently from their occupational focus, relationship or title and to engage in professional acting that is comprehensibly guided by the highest scientific and ethical standards and reflected self-critically in this context.

Framework guidelines for professional ethics

Therefore, the framework guidelines for professional ethics that have been decided by the asp’s general assembly on May 14th , 2015 and have been included in the charter (§2(6)), provide a framework for professional ethics in sport psychological research, teaching and application. Particularly, the framework guidelines serve to point out the personal duties and responsibilities and the assurance of decisions and actions in cases of conflicts regarding different interests. Furthermore, they serve to enhance expectations, requirements and trust in proficiency on the field of sport psychology.

The guidelines propose a multilevel procedure for complaints and questions stated by the asp’s members: In cases of violation regarding the framework guidelines, the asp’s chair, the dvs’s ethics committee, the DGPs’s court of honor, and/or the BDP’s court of honor can be invocated, depending on situation and membership, and independent from a potential legal judgement or punishment.

To ensure a coordinated procedure of advice (see a) below), and independent of the possibilities b) and c) below, the asp’s presidium members Babett Lobinger (applied sport psychology) and Nadja Schott (university and research affairs) were named as responsible and direct contact persons in duty of professional ethics during asp chair conference on September 7th, 2015.

Coordinated advisory process

The asp can be invocated in cases of problems regarding professional ethics in context of the following purposes (see professional ethics framework guidelines):

(a) Advice: For informal advice in issues regarding professional ethics, a member of the asp’s chair can be informally contacted at any time. Alternatively, another asp member can be contacted when he or she has been selected by the asp’s chair for this purpose.

(b) Mediation: In cases of conflicts regarding professional ethics, the asp’s chair can be invocated by presentation of the case via a letter to the asp’s president.

(c) Complaints: Formal complaints about misbehavior regarding professional ethics that has been made by or against asp’s members should be directed to the asp’s president in a written form and include a comprehensive explanation.

In all cases, the asp’s chair can decide in individual cases. Agents of other institutions or other persons may be included in a reasonable context of the single case. Here, the insurance of confidentiality and personal rights, as well as the exclusion of bias has to be regarded.