Practitioner insights from creating thriving environments in sport organizations

Sport psychology practitioners are increasingly working across organizations and at a systems-level. Within this article, we draw on two examples from our applied practice to describe how we have used relational and systems-led approaches to promote environments for thriving in sport. Specifically, we detail and reflect on our experiences from (i) the Promoting Mental Health through Thriving Environments project and (ii) sport psychology consultancy in high-performance sport in Wales. In drawing together the key insights from this work, to be effective working at a systems-level, we highlight the need for practitioners to: identify, understand, and, when necessary, be prepared to sensitivity deconstruct dominant narratives embedded within the system; have a clear understanding of the organization’s capacity and readiness for change; work with the system to understand how best to provide impactful and practical support; and remain patient and accept that now may not always be the best time for the work. For us, establishing a common understanding of language and terminology across organizations, developing shared resources, and ensuring a clear national messaging enabled system-wide impact.