Carving out an unknown specialism: Sports and Exercise Psychology with Paula Watson

Welcome to the Business of Psychology podcast. I'm really pleased to be welcoming my guest today, Dr Paula Watson, who is an applied sports and exercise psychologist specialising in health behavior change relating to eating, exercise, and weight. Paula spent 18 years in academia including working at Liverpool John Moores University as a reader in exercise and health psychology, before dedicating herself fully to her private practice, Made Up To Move. The concept of an exercise psychologist in private practice is one that might feel quite new, and I know that exercise psychologists qualifying now often feel unsure about how to introduce a less known about psychological service to the market. Paula's story is one that's all about forging a new path, embracing the unknown, and defining her own value when the public didn't even know that she existed. We're going to explore today how she built her practice when the public wasn't even aware of what exercise psychology was, and there's so much that we can all learn about really solid business and marketing skills from Paula's journey.

Full show notes and a transcript of this episode are available at The Business of Psychology

Links:

Episode 41: How to set your fees in your psychology private practice with “pricing queen” Sally Farrant

Links for Paula:

Website: madeuptomove.co.uk

YouTube: www.youtube.com/@DrPaulaWatson

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/paula-watson-weight-loss-therapy

Links for Rosie:

Substack: substack.com/@drrosie

Rosie on Instagram:

@rosiegilderthorp

@thepregnancypsychologist

The highlights

• Paula tells us what drew her to sports and exercise psychology 01:34
• Paula talks about her academic career 06:59
• We discuss imposter syndrome 14:30
• Paula tells us about her decision to move from academia to the applied space 20:10
• I ask Paula about choosing private practice versus a job 24:35
• Paula tells us what a week in her practice looks like 36:14
• I ask Paula about her YouTube channel 45:20
• Paula speaks about the learning curves and mindset shifts required when setting up in private practice 51:06
• Paula tells us how we can connect with her 56:38

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