Confidentiality and surveillance challenges for psychologists working in men’s football academies in England

Abstract

Abstract We examine challenges to confidentiality experienced by sports psychologists in men’s English football academies. Sixteen psychologists, six women, and ten men working in English football academies participated in two semi-structured interviews. We carried out a reflexive thematic analysis after each round of interviews and developed two themes: (1) challenges to client-psychologist confidentiality; (2) a context of normalized surveillance. First, participants explained that several staff members (e.g., coaches, managers, and support staff) would use covert and subtle ways to make psychologists break confidentiality. This included trying to get the psychologist to “slip up.” Second, the football academy context was characterized by widespread surveillance of players. It was evident that it is common practice for clubs to gather objective and self-report data creating extreme transparency in the young people’s lives. We also propose two research-based solutions allowing psychologists to handle these issues.  Lay summary: Using data for talent and performance development in men’s professional football academies in England is changing the context in which psychologists work. It poses new issues for confidentiality between clients and psychologists, which practitioners, clubs, and federations must consider. We propose that psychologists should work at the organizational level with leaders and coaches to handle these issues. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Players and parents need updated information on their rights and consent. Psychologists should work at the systems level with coaches and staff to prevent issues of confidentiality breaches. The Premier League and the English Football League must consider the influence of new technologies in developing guidelines for clubs.