The relationships that clients form with their practitioners can influence treatment
outcomes. Researchers have shown in numerous healthcare professions including
psychology and physiotherapy that caring and collaborative relationships can lead to
positive psychological and physical treatment outcomes, and poor relationships can lead
to negative outcomes. Within sport psychology, there are fewer studies on clientpractitioner
relationships in comparison to other domains of psychology or healthcare.
Researchers and practitioners have often favoured the investigation and application of
mental skills (e.g., goal setting, imagery, self-talk) over the exploration and
development of client-practitioner relationships. In the specific context of sport injury
rehabilitation, there exist few studies or commentaries on client-practitioner
relationships as interventions that can aid athletes’ recoveries, transitions, and returns to
sport. The aim of this thesis was to explore the relationships psychologists and
physiotherapists have with injured athlete-clients and how these practitioners
collaborate in sport injury rehabilitation.