Reflections on a quarter-century of research in sports medicine psychology

The three purposes of this paper are to provide reflections on (a) defining a new field of sports medicine psychology, (b) our research examining the genesis and testing of the integrated model of psychological response to the sport injury and rehabilitation process (Wiese-Bjornstal and Smith, 1993), and, (c) future directions for evaluating the model and advancing the field of sports medicine psychology. Illustrations visually summarize components of sports medicine psychology and show the integrated model, while a summary table highlights key findings from over 25 years of research about the integrated model components. Historical perspectives, philosophical dilemmas, conceptual frameworks, research findings, and professional issues interweave in addressing reflections in these three areas.