ABSTRACT
Professionals in the field of psychology have been cognizant of the needs of psychologists with regard to their work with rural populations since the 1980s (Murray & Keller, 1991), as evidenced by increased writing and the existence of journals dedicated to this topic (e.g., the Australian Journal of Rural Health, and the Journal of Rural Community Psychology). Sport and exercise psychologists, however, have been slow to address this area of concern. The only references we could identify in current sport and exercise psychology literature that pertained to working with rural populations were specific to populations in Australia. Because of the paucity of research and writing in this area, we aim in this chapter to present sport psychology consultants with useful information related to working in rural settings and with rural athletes, using material gathered primarily from the parent field of psychology.
