Systemic issues involved in working with professional sports teams.

Sport psychiatrists face a number of systemic and intra-psychic issues when treating professional athletes. Although only a modicum of literature exists to aid sport psychiatrists, there are several steps they may take to become an integral part of an athletic organization and to be successful in the treatment of the athletes themselves. The ability to delineate their role within the sports club is crucial to mental health professionals' organizational success. Equally important, it is incumbent upon sport psychiatrists to recognize and transcend intra-psychic issues that occur between athlete and physician.