Paperback isbn: 9781914110504
£24.99
Pages: 270
Publication Date: October 23rd 2026

1 Demystifying Philosophy of Practice in Sport and Exercise Psychology

Aura Goldman and Misia Gervis

2 “CBT Ignores or Minimises”: Myths of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Jonathan Katz

3 Not in My Sport! Misconceptions Around Safeguarding from Interpersonal Violence and the Role of the Sport Psychology Practitioner in the Realisation of Safe(r) Sport

Emma Kavanagh and Stiliani “Ani” Chroni

4 Daring to Go Where No-One Has Been—Is It Really True “No-One Will Pay for Exercise Psychology”?

Paula Watson, Clara Swedlund, Gabriella (Ella) Whitcomb -Khan, Hannah Prince-Llewellyn, Bernice Sant, Emma Slade, Cedric Arijs, Stacey Fensome, and Isabella (Izzie) Cacciatore

5 Rethinking Stress and Coping in Sport

Oliver Leis and Benjamin T. Sharpe

6 Cohesion: The Holy Grail of Group Dynamics?

Rune Høigaard and Tommy Haugen

7 Weight Loss Is Merely a Matter of Willpower

Leon Popplewell, Clara Swedlund, Amanda Pitkethly, and Isabella Cacciatore

8 Psychological Myths of Talent Development in Elite Sport 

Stig Arve Sæther, Rune Høigaard, and Kristoffer Henriksen

9 Who Would Want to Be a Referee? Exploring Myths of Sport Officiating 

Noel E. Brick, Ben Parr, Dermot Barnes-Holmes, Clare Campbell, and Patricia C. Jackman

10 Demystifying Cultural Competence in Applied Practice: Discussions on Conceptualisation, Operationalisation, and Training Development 

Dawn-Marie Armstrong

11 Exercise Psychology Isn’t Just About Exercise

Hannah Prince-Llewellyn and Aura Goldman

12 Becoming an Expert Requires Relentless Commitment: A Myth 

David W. Eccles and Brian J. Foster

13 From Firefighting to Future-Proofing: Developing the Role of Sport Psychology and Psychological Safety in High Performance 

Ciara Losty and Kevin McManamon

14 More Than Skin Deep: Dispelling the Myth That Bodybuilding Is Psychologically Harmful 

Clara Swedlund

15 I Can’t Stand Myths: A Rational-Emotive Antidote to False Beliefs in Sport 

Betsy Tuffrey and Martin J. Turner

16 All Sport and Exercise Psychologists Only Work in Sport and Exercise: A Myth

Sarah Murray and Jenny Smith

17 Myths of Exercise Dependency 

Jenny Devonshire, Hannah Prince-Llewellyn, Becky Penty, and Stacey Fensome

Myths of Sport and Exercise Psychology challenges the assumptions, half-truths and enduring misconceptions that shape how sport and exercise psychology is understood and practised.

Across elite sport, exercise, coaching, officiating, safeguarding and applied practice, this collection brings together leading perspectives to question what we think we know about psychological practice. From the belief that weight loss is simply a matter of willpower and that becoming an expert requires relentless commitment, to the myths surrounding CBT, stress and coping, group cohesion, talent development and exercise dependency, each chapter looks beyond conventional wisdom to ask what the evidence—and professional experience—actually tells us.

The book also tackles important and sometimes uncomfortable questions: Is cohesion really the holy grail of group dynamics? Can sport psychology practitioners contribute to safer sport and safeguarding? Is psychological safety being treated as a future priority or merely a response to crisis? Who would actually want to be a referee? And is sport psychology really only about sport?

Thought-provoking, critical and accessible, Myths of Sport and Exercise Psychology invites practitioners, researchers, students and anyone interested in human performance to reconsider the stories we tell about psychology in sport and exercise. By challenging myths rather than simply replacing them with new certainties, this collection encourages a more nuanced, evidence-informed and reflective approach to practice.

Because sometimes the most important question in sport and exercise psychology is not “Is this true?”—but “Why do we believe it?”