Sports Psychologist

Company Overview

Shriners Children’s is an organization that respects, supports, and values each other. Named as the 2025 best mid-sized employer by Forbes, we are engaged in providing excellence in patient care, embracing multi-disciplinary education, and research with global impact. We foster a learning environment that values evidenced based practice, experience, innovation, and critical thinking. Our compassion, integrity, accountability, and resilience define us as leaders in pediatric specialty care for our children and their families.

With 20+ hospitals, outpatient clinics, ambulatory care centers and outreach locations across the globe, we provide excellent care to children up to age 18 regardless of their family’s ability to pay or insurance status. Please click here to learn more about our locations.

Job Description

The Sports Psychologist assesses, monitors and provides treatment for the psychosocial needs of patients and families that are referred by physicians or other patient care staff. S/He may be asked to assist staff in coping with difficult patient scenarios. Although the job description is broad, every effort has been made to make this outline as complete as possible. However, the Pediatric Psychologist may be required to perform other related duties and activities. These standards ensure that the Pediatric Psychologist is able to assist health care workers in care of patients treated at Shriners Hospitals for Children. Competence is assured through initial assessment of credentials and qualifications, and is ensured through completion of an initial orientation and on-going periodic evaluations based on performance standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as a liaison or mediator between departments.  Or actively participates as a member of the team.

• Comfortable working within a medical setting.

• Attentive to the impact of medical conditions and treatment on the psychological, social and developmental functioning of patients.

• Comfortable working within a multidisciplinary setting, communicating with providers of multiple disciplines.

• Able to provide feedback and recommendations to providers in other disciplines in a clear and accessible manner.

• Able to work collaboratively with other disciplines, taking into account the treatment needs of other providers.

• Comfortable working with a culturally diverse population.

• Attentive to the impact of culture on interactions within a medical setting

• Performs age appropriate assessments and monitors psychology needs of referred patients and families in a timely manner as specified by policy standards.

• Provides individual, group, parental and/or family counseling to select persons on a consistent basis. All counseling considers the age and developmental level of the child.

• Demonstrates leadership in developing and maintaining counseling support groups for selected patient populations on an on-going basis.

• Provides consultation regarding the development of interventions for behavioral and pain management.

• Provides appropriate clinical referrals for patients upon discharge as needed.

• Assist patient/athlete coping with injury/acute traumatic event and helping them to manage fear of surgery.

• Support patients/athletes through a postoperative recovery or nonoperative recovery as they are detached from their sports/social network connected to their sport. 

• Helping patients/athletes prepare for return to sport with focus on overcoming fear or reinjury, performance stressors 

Required Qualifications

• Doctor in Psychology

• COVID-19 vaccination and booster

• Pediatric Clinical or Rehabilitation Psychology experience

• License to practice in CA

Preferred Qualifications

• Postdoctoral Fellowship in Pediatric Clinical or Rehabilitation Psychology

• 2 years of Clinical Psychology experience