Short answer: YES, and if that surprises you, you're not alone. Sport social work is an established (and growing) field, and for a lot of athletes, a social worker is exactly the right fit.
Here’s Why.
What is sport social work?
Sport social work is a specialised area of social work practice focused on the mental health and wellbeing of athletes. It applies clinical social work training, psychological intervention (performance psychology, focused psychological strategies), mental health assessment, and crisis support to the sporting context: performance pressure, injury, coach and team dynamics, identity, and life outside sport.
What training does a sport social worker have?
A sport social worker is a qualified clinician first. In Australia, that means a social work degree, and for mental health, accreditation as an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker (AMHSW), a credential recognised by Medicare for providing therapy under a Mental Health Care Plan. Sport social work adds postgraduate training on top: athlete mental health, performance psychology frameworks, and the systems athletes live inside.
Why social work and sport?
Because athletes are humans first, and social workers are trained to see the whole human. Social work looks at the person and their environment, so your anxiety isn't treated in isolation from your coach relationship, your selection pressure, your family, or the culture of your club. That system's lens matters in sport, where the environment is often half the story.
Is a sport social worker the same as a sport psychologist?
No, but there's overlap. Both can work on performance anxiety, confidence, and the mental side of sport. An AMHSW is a mental health clinician, so alongside performance, we work with the deeper stuff: anxiety, low mood, burnout, injury grief, ADHD, Autism, disordered eating, and everything that doesn't fit neatly into a "performance" box. Medicare rebates apply with a GP referral, same as seeing a psychologist.
How do I find one?
You're allowed to choose who you want to see. When your GP writes a Mental Health Care Plan, you can request a specific clinician, including a Mental Health Social Worker with training in sport and performance.
💌 I'm Emma, an Accredited Mental Health Social Worker with postgraduate training in sport social work. I work with high-achieving athletes in-person in Melbourne and online Australia-wide at RYSE Wellbeing . Book your free 15-minute intro call here.
References
Alliance of Social Workers in Sports. (n.d.). About ASWIS. https://www.aswis.org
Australian Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). Accredited Mental Health Social Workers. https://www.aasw.asn.au
Magier, E., Newman, T. J., Kimiecik, C., Okamoto, K., Beasley, L., Shute, L., & Tucker, A. R. (2022). Understanding the needs of social workers in sport settings: Opportunities for specialized education and training. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(2), 331–345.
Moore, M. A., & Gummelt, G. (2019). Sport social work: Promoting the functioning and well-being of college and professional athletes. Cognella.
Moore, M. A., Ballesteros, J., & Hansen, C. (2018). The role of social work values in promoting the functioning and well-being of athletes. Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics, 15(2), 48–61.
Newman, T., Okamoto, K., Kimiecik, C., Sohns, E., Burns, M., & Magier, E. (2019). The role of social workers in sport: Shared values and opportunities for interprofessional collaborations. Journal of Sport Psychology in Action, 10(3), 137–150.
Purcell, R., Gwyther, K., & Rice, S. M. (2019). Mental health in elite athletes: Increased awareness requires an early intervention framework to respond to athlete needs. Sports Medicine – Open, 5, Article 46.