The work of a psychologist as part of request for psychological assistance in sport

The article is about "Psychological assistance in sport". For decades, psychologists have been advising athletes and coaches, helping them at training camps, during competitions and even in the recovery period. The qualification of specialists grows from year to year, new directions, methods and ways of help appear; the work is carried out in multifaceted directions. The first thing a sports psychologist starts his work with is to find out the reasons and reasons for seeking psychological help from an athlete or a coach. The author takes the view that the important aspects of the process of contacting a psychologist are not only taking into account the athlete's complaints voiced, but also identifying the hidden content of his expectations and perceptions, as well as discovering the meaningful subtext of the treatment. Whereas in the traditional approach, these aspects are often not taken into account by the psychologist and the opportunity to specify, i.e. identify the expected help from the sports psychologist and apply it productively in counselling is not always fully realized. The author relies on the concept of a request for psychological help, developed by Stolin V.V., Loseva V. K., Lunkov A. I. and substantiates the types of requests for psychological help in sports, formulated as a model. The paper presents the results of the experimental work, which prove the existence of typological groups of requests for psychological help of athletes and coaches. The study has shown the necessity of developing this issue and extending the process of further conceptualization, as well as facilitating empirical research in this field and its practical application in sports psychology.