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Therapist as life coach: Transforming your practice
Abstract
Review of book, Patrick Williams and Deborah Davis (Aus.) Therapist as Life Coach. New York: Norton, 2002. 216 pp. ISBN 0-393-70341-X. Reviewed by Ronald E. Fox. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... Indeed, this is the spirit of an evidence-based approach: the use of the best available knowledge integrated with the practitioner's expertise in the service of the client's experience and context (Sackett et al., 1996). TRANSLATION TO COACHING While many coaches generally note that the coaching relationship needs to be tailored to the client (e.g., Dotlich & Cairo, 1999;O'Neill, 2000;Skiffington & Zeus, 2003;Whitworth, Kimsey-House, & Sandahl, 1998;Williams & Davis, 2002), the humanistic approach points out an underlying philosophy of why. This concept of the uniqueness of each individual also plays out in coaching in recognizing that designing action plans and so on must be jointly constructed for the best chance of success. ...
... Rogers was revolutionary in his writings about the centrality of the context and relationship between practitioner and client for helping clients to tap into their own capacity for growth. Many coaching models underscore the importance of a trusting relationship based on empathy and empowering the client (e.g., Diedrich, 1996;Peterson, 1996;Sperry, 1996;Whitworth, Kimsey-House, & Sandahl, 1998;Williams & Davis, 2002). The fact that these factors are often taken as self-evident by coaches is a testament to the acceptance of Rogers' thinking by many. ...
... Likewise, the assumption that individuals have a natural bent to selfactualize and move toward growth is shared among many models of coaching, from executive and business to personal and life coaching. This assumption is demonstrated by the focus on unlocking potential or facilitating growth (e.g., Hargrove, 2003;Hudson, 1999;Whitmore, 1996;Whitworth, Kimsey-House, & Sandahl, 1998;Williams & Davis, 2002;Witherspoon, 2000). Skiffington and Zeus (2003) acknowledge the humanistic philosophical influence by noting that "coaching is humanistic in that it views the human being as the ultimate measure of all things and recognizes that every individual has a capacity, even yearning, for growth and fulfillment" (p. ...
... Rochlen and Hoyer (2005) propose that a perceived lack of fit between the culture of masculinity and that of the help-seeking process can present considerable challenges to agencies and practitioners trying to market their services more effectively to a greater range of men. To add to that challenge, many experienced therapists were taught that it was unprofessional and unethical to advertise their services (Williams & Davis, 2002), making it more difficult to reach an audience of men that may need help. In contrast, coaches typically market their services and can even solicit clients directly. ...
... Currently with less legal restrictions than mental health services, the field of coaching has long used technology to conduct sessions with clients (Richard, 1999). In fact, some coaches conduct all of their sessions by using a combination of e-mail, telephone, and videophone, allowing for an international client base (Williams & Davis, 2002). This less restrictive practice of coaching may provide an additional channel to reach men in need of some guidance in balancing the pressures of work, home, and community. ...
... Some practitioners believe that it is important to avoid becoming psychotherapeutic with coaching clients because the coaching process does not allow time for developing a therapeutic alliance, dealing with transference issues, or handling possible ambivalence if the client becomes dependent on the coach (Levinson, 1996 ). This may be particularly difficult for clinicians that transition into the practice of coaching, especially when they try to maintain an independent practice and coaching practice (Williams & Davis, 2002). Identifying issues that are better suited for a therapist is an even greater challenge for coaches that do not have formal training in delivering mental health services. ...
The current article examines the practice of coaching as a possible alternative to conventional therapy for men. Although overviews of coaching have been outlined, none have specifically addressed how this particular helping modality might fit with the cultural demands of men resistant to conventional sources of professional help. This article provides suggestions for how coaching may address possible conflicts and paradoxes between men's gender role socialization and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, as well as overviews some of the problems within the current practice of coaching. Suggestions for research with using coaching are also addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... aching practitioners can integrate learning into their current practices (Kauffman, 2006). Kauffman ( 2006) suggests at the " heart of positive psychology, like coaching, lies in the practitioner's choice to shift away from pathology and pain and direct it toward a clear-eyed concentration on strength, vision, and dreams " (Kauffman, 2006, p. 220). Williams and Davis (2002) argue that despite the intent to shift focus, many coaches are inculcated into the culture of therapy and find it challenging to transcend current mental models established in medicine (Williams & Davis, 2002). Kauffman and Scouler (2004) believe " coaching practitioners hold a deficit-conflict perspective of clients even when working w ...
... Kauffman ( 2006) suggests at the " heart of positive psychology, like coaching, lies in the practitioner's choice to shift away from pathology and pain and direct it toward a clear-eyed concentration on strength, vision, and dreams " (Kauffman, 2006, p. 220). Williams and Davis (2002) argue that despite the intent to shift focus, many coaches are inculcated into the culture of therapy and find it challenging to transcend current mental models established in medicine (Williams & Davis, 2002). Kauffman and Scouler (2004) believe " coaching practitioners hold a deficit-conflict perspective of clients even when working with high executives and they point to one of the challenges as the psychological language and assessment tools based on the medical model and culture of identifying pathology and problems " (as cited in Stober & Grant, 2006, p. 220). ...
In this thesis, I assert positive psychology is the science at the heart of coaching and argue it is an evidence-based coaching model. I provide a background of positive psychology and briefly discuss its history, evolution, psychological influences and current challenges. I discuss the nature of coaching, varying definitions and common themes. Critical questions surrounding Evidence Based Practice (EBP) and how can it be applied to coaching are also addressed. Examples of single, integrative and cross-disciplinary theoretical approaches to coaching are also explored. In my final chapter, I review and answer my thesis question of whether positive psychology is an evidence based approach to coaching, including an example from a recent client engagement. Coaching considerations for using positive psychology are explored as is the future of positive psychology coaching and research areas.
... Perhaps most important, after communication, knowledge of partner and life skills proved to be the next best predictors, respectively, of current relationship satisfaction, with conflict resolution not ranking as a significant predictor. The rankings were surprising given that communication and conflict resolution are often emphasized in couples education programs (Braithwaite, Lambert, Fincham, & Pasley, 2010;Burr, Hubler, Gardner, Roberts, & Patterson, 2014;Buzzella, Whitton, & Tompson, 2012), with relatively little attention paid to training knowledge of partner or life skills (Williams & Davis, 2002;cf. Burr et al., 2014). ...
In a large-scale follow-up to a recently published study, data obtained from 25,507 subjects in 58 countries (mainly the United States and Canada) were analyzed in an attempt to rank order seven important relationship competencies. In both studies, two competencies—communication and knowledge of partner—proved to be the strongest predictors of self-reported satisfaction in current relationships, a finding that might help provide some guidance for relationship education and therapy. Although both studies showed little differences overall between the relationship skills of males and females—that is, only small, nonsignificant differences in total scores obtained on the testing instrument—both studies found clear differences in the kinds of skills males and females bring to intimate relationships, a finding that is consistent with the findings of other studies. Effects were also found for race, education, and sexual orientation but not for age or country of residence.
... Most often, comprehensive and traditional methods of CBT have been applied toward life coaching as opposed to executive coaching (Grant, 2003Grant, , 2007 Grant & Greene, 2001; AU :4 Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006; Spence & Grant, 2007). The population, context of executive development, and goals associated may be quite different than those encountered in life coaching and traditional therapy (Williams & Davis, 2002). Traditional therapy is focused on diagnosing and treating dysfunctional behavior, is based on the medical model, and often focuses on the client's past (Coutu & Kauffman, 2009). ...
Traditional clinical psychological practices have often been adapted for the context of executive coaching. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in particular is the most scientifically supported psychological modality. CBT like other practices has been used in coaching as cognitive behavioral coaching but rarely discussed more explicitly for the executive population. Here, we offer a specific adaptation - cognitive behavioral executive coaching (CBEC) - and suggest that it presents a flexible structure that can meet the multiple agendas that are framed for executive coaching. Additionally, the core features of CBT and CBEC in particular satisfy the major needs of executives in coaching arrangements. We conclude by demonstrating a CBEC process model for coaching the high-performing executive.
... Most often, comprehensive and traditional methods of CBT have been applied toward life coaching as opposed to executive coaching (Grant, 2003Grant, , 2007 Grant & Greene, 2001; AU :4 Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006; Spence & Grant, 2007). The population, context of executive development, and goals associated may be quite different than those encountered in life coaching and traditional therapy (Williams & Davis, 2002). Traditional therapy is focused on diagnosing and treating dysfunctional behavior, is based on the medical model, and often focuses on the client's past (Coutu & Kauffman, 2009). ...
Traditional clinical psychological practices have often been adapted for the context of executive coaching. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in particular is the most scientifically supported psychological modality. CBT like other practices has been used in coaching as cognitive behavioral coaching but rarely discussed more explicitly for the executive population. Here, we offer a specific adaptation – cognitive behavioral executive coaching (CBEC) – and suggest that it presents a flexible structure that can meet the multiple agendas that are framed for executive coaching. Additionally, the core features of CBT and CBEC in particular satisfy the major needs of executives in coaching arrangements. We conclude by demonstrating a CBEC process model for coaching the high-performing executive.
... Just as non-medically trained therapists now routinely refer clients to physicians when medication or other medical treatment is indicated, in an effort to strengthen their clients' life skills, couple professionals may also need to refer clients on a routine basis to money managers, headhunters, life coaches, and continuing education programs. As an alternative, couple professionals might consider adding life coaching skills to their current repertoires, as Williams and Davis (2002) have suggested. ...
In an Internet-based study with 2,201 participants, the new Epstein Love Competencies Inventory (ELCI) was shown to have high internal-consistency reliability and to be a good predictor of various self-reported measures of success in romantic relationships; scores on the ELCI predicted satisfaction in current relationships especially well. A blind review of test content by licensed therapists also suggested that the test has strong content validity. The new test measured seven relationship competencies that various research suggests are important in the maintenance of long-term romantic relationships: (a) communication, (b) conflict resolution, (c) knowledge of partner, (d) life skills, (e) self management, (f) sex and romance, and (g) stress management. ELCI scores were found to improve with both age and the number of hours spent in relationship skills training. After communication, knowledge of partner and life skills were the competencies that best predicted self-reported positive outcomes in relationships—a potentially important finding given that the latter two competencies are not always assessed or taught in couple therapy or education contexts.
... The coaching process helps clients both define and achieve professional and personal goals faster and with more ease than would be possible otherwise. 1 Other professionals have defined coaching as a powerful relationship for people making important changes in their lives, designing their future, and taking committed action to realize their visions and goals (Whitworth, Kimsey-House, & Sandahl, 1998;Williams & Davis, 2002). Coaches hold their clients as naturally capable and able, as whole and complete, and as creative and resourceful in tackling life's challenges as they work together to co-create and fulfill the vision they have for their lives (Whitworth, Kimsey-House, & Sandahl, 1998). ...
This paper examines the key role that professional coaching can plan in ensuring the success of international assignments. A professional coach who has experience working in an international context can powerfully and effectively assist expatriates and their families in dealing with the myriad of challenges that can present themselves over the cycle of an expatriate assignment. Assessing the employee-assignment match, choosing the assignment, understanding potential cultural challenges, preparing for the move, adjusting to life in a new culture, living with fulfillment and balance, preparing for repatriation and reflecting on lessons learned are all rich areas of an expatriate experience in which a coach can make a substantive difference in the ultimate success of an international assignment. This is a win-win proposition for the expatriate and their family and their international company that has put much at stake in having their assignment be successful. In today's international marketplace, multinational companies are relying on expatriate assignments to fulfill their global business strategies (Corporate Leadership Council, April, 2002). The financial commitment to training, compensating, and relocating expatriate employees and their families is significant. The cost of a single three-year overseas assignment has been estimated to be over a million dollars (Corporate Leadership Council, June, 2002). When an expatriate assignment fails, the costs, both direct and indirect, can also be substantial, ranging from $200,000 to $1.2 million or more (Swaak, 1995; McNulty, 2001). There is growing research in different global sectors, e.g., corporate, military, education, foreign service, international development, etc., that the successful adjustment of expatriates' spouses and families is highly correlated with the success of international assignments. The inability to adapt to the new culture, cope with the challenges associated with an expatriate assignment and deal with limited spousal employment opportunities have all been cited as contributing factors to failed expatriate assignments (Ely & McCormick, 1993). In developing and providing expatriate services, multinational companies have found that they cannot afford to ignore the expatriate executive's spouse and family.
... Such factors include accessing resources and supports, overcoming internal and external barriers to change, and generating alternatives, workarounds, and back-up plans for planned action steps. 13,16,20 Process IHC is an intensive intervention (eg, minimum 6-8 sessions of 30 min-40 min duration) that embodies core aspects of a supportive and creative relationship to elicit change. Well-trained (minimum 100 hours) professional health coaches support the competence of the client by (1) eliciting internal motivation and sense of purpose, connecting health goals to life purpose and personal values 9,14,21 ; (2) building the capacity to change by increasing autonomy, positivity, self-efficacy, resilience, and social and environmental support 21 ; ...
As rates of preventable chronic diseases and associated costs continue to rise, there has been increasing focus on strategies to support behavior change in healthcare. Health coaching and motivational interviewing are synergistic but distinct approaches that can be effectively employed to achieve this end. However, there is some confusion in the literature about the relationship between these two approaches. The purpose of this review is to describe a specific style of health coaching-integrative health coaching-and motivational interviewing, including their origins, the processes and strategies employed, and the ways in which they are similar and different. We also provide a case example of how integrative health coaching and motivational interviewing might be employed to demonstrate how these approaches are synergistic but distinct from each other in practice. This information may be useful for both researchers and clinicians interested in investigating or using behavior change interventions to improve health and cost outcomes in chronic disease.
... Specifically, developmental psychology theory holds that individuals use goals and planning to create their futures through continued learning and through moving toward self-individuation by living "on purpose." [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] Humanistic psychology emphasizes this sense of purpose and interpersonal connectedness in understanding motivation. 37 More recent work further articulates the underpinnings of IHC through selfdetermination theory and the subsequent self-concordance theory. ...
To describe the evolution, training, and results of an emerging allied health profession skilled in eliciting sustainable health-related behavior change and charged with improving patient engagement.
Through techniques sourced from humanistic and positive psychology, solution-focused and mindfulness-based therapies, and leadership coaching, Integrative Health Coaching (IHC) provides a mechanism to empower patients through various stages of learning and change. IHC also provides a method for the creation and implementation of forward-focused personalized health plans.
Clinical studies employing Duke University Integrative Medicine's model of IHC have demonstrated improvements in measures of diabetes and diabetes risk, weight management, and risk for cardiovascular disease and stroke. By supporting and enabling individuals in making major lifestyle changes for the improvement of their health, IHC carries the potential to reduce rates and morbidity of chronic disease and impact myriad aspects of healthcare.
As a model of educational and clinical innovation aimed at patient empowerment and lifestyle modification, IHC is aligned well with the tenets and goals of recently sanctioned federal healthcare reform, specifically the creation of the first National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy.
IHC may allow greater patient-centricity while targeting the lifestyle-related chronic disease that lies at the heart of the current healthcare crisis.
... Do these characteristics-uniqueness, uncertainty and instability-apply to the field of coaching? With respect to uniqueness, the field of coaching has taken great pains to distinguish its practice from psychotherapy and counseling (Williams and Davis, 2002) and related fields. Coaching is further characterized by uncertainty and instability in being an evolving field with multidisciplinary roots (Brock-this issue), and a field in which the pace of growth in practice far exceeds the development of coaching specific scholarship on theory and practice (Grant, 2003;Stober, 2004). ...
... The heart of positive psychology, like coaching, lies in the practitioner's choice to shift attention away from pathology and pain and direct it toward a clear-eyed concentration on strength, vision, and dreams. Despite this intent, many coaches are still steeped in the culture of therapy and can find it difficult to transcend the medical model (Williams & Davis, 2002). A review of the executive coaching literature by Kauffman and Scouler (2004) suggests that practitioners still carry a deficit-conflict perspective of clients even when working with highlevel executives. ...
... Wynne, McDaniel, and Weber (1986) address a number of environments where MFTs can provide systems consultation including military (e.g., Kaslow, 1986), church (e.g., Friedman, 1985;Weber & Wynn, 1986), school (e.g., Fisher, 1986), medical (e.g., Brucker et al., 2005), courtroom , and business settings (e.g., Flemons & Cole, 1992). In addition, over the past 20 years, MFTs have begun to apply theoretical concepts and clinical skills to non-traditional areas of application including chronic illness (Sauber, 2006), obesity (Doherty & Harkaway, 1990), alternative medicine (Caldwell, Winek, & Becvar, 2006), veterinary/medical school training (Hafen, White, Rush, Reisbig, & McDaniel, in review), social justice (McDowell & Shelton, 2002), anthropology (Krause, 1993), mediation (Southworth, 2005), life coaching (Williams & Davis, 2002), executive coaching (Borwick, 1986), etc. ...
Marriage and family therapists (MFTs) over the past twenty years have increased their visibility by using their clinical skills and a systemic framework in other areas outside of therapy (i.e., business, school, medicine). Many of these individuals have pioneered roads of systems theory application through a creative process. Traditional creativity research has focused mainly on individual factors. However, Csikszentmihalyi’s theories of flow and creativity have offered important insight on the systemic nature of the creative process. Recently, research regarding intrinsic motivation and group creativity has provided more insight on how Csikszentmihalyi’s theory could be further developed. Furthermore, applying an ecological systems theory framework to his current model provides additional levels of influence to be examined in regards to maximizing creative potential in individuals and groups. Using deductive and inductive methodologies, an ecological systems theory of creativity is presented providing a framework for studying how MFTs that have successfully entered into non-traditional realms of systemic application go through the creative process of entering into their endeavors. Interviews with successful MFTs applying skills in non-traditional areas of applications were conducted using a modified phenomenological approach. Creative processes were outlined based on themes and patterns that emerged during the analysis. Implications of these findings are made regarding how to improve creativity in MFTs at the individual, academic, and professional field levels. In addition, implications are made regarding how to improve student recruitment and maximize potential in MFT trainees. Finally, implications regarding the maximization of productivity in university settings and applying systemic creativity to business, school, government, and education settings are presented. Poresky Research Scholarship Doctor of Philosophy Doctoral Department of Family Studies and Human Services Candyce S. Russell
Relationship skills coaching is a kind of psychotherapy that helps people to communicate in a healthier way. It helps with personal problems and issues such as, for example: trust, lying, respect, anger-management, communication, conflict, power struggles, abuse, jealousy, romance, intimacy, parenting, in-laws, divorce, loneliness, stress, fear, anxiety, depression, and so on. Currently, relationship skills coaching is becoming a trendy profession in Egypt and many coaches are becoming famous. Many of these coaches communicate with people using their Facebook pages. This paper focuses mainly on a selection of the Facebook posts of two coaches, namely, Howayda Aldemerdash and Waleed Khairy. The study provides a positive discourse analysis (PDA) (Martin, 1995, 2004, 2006) of the selected posts. PDA emphasises the function of discourse construction in motivating change into a better world. The theoretical basis of PDA is Appraisal theory, which focuses on the evaluative resources in discourse and is comprised of three sub-systems: Attitude (people’s feelings and evaluations), Engagement (the voices of the author and texts) and the Graduation system (the different levels and gradability of evaluation). The study provides a significant application of PDA to Arabic discourse and sheds light on the nature of relationship skills coaching in Egypt. The analysis shows that Waleed Khairy deals with issues related to love and trust; whereas Howayda Aldemerdash focuses on the relationship between couples and marital problems. However, both coaches employ the three sub-systems of Appraisal theory to reach out to their followers and construct themselves as authoritative, expert, engaged, and emotional. Received: 19 November 2022 / Accepted: 15 February 2023 / Published: 5 March 2023
In this article we present a theoretically founded psychometric personality inventory (dialog Personlichkeitsinventar, dpi) that can be used to support coaches and their clients in reflecting upon both the goals of the clients and the strategies for dealing with these goals. Specifically, the dpi measures six approach goals and four avoidance goals. Furthermore, the dispositional characteristics of two constructs, namely, tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment, are assessed. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of N = 671 adults. The reliabilities of the 12 scales (Cronbach's alpha between.73 and.90) were satisfactory to very good. According to our hypotheses, both constructs (i.e., tenacious goal pursuit and flexible goal adjustment) correlated positively with life satisfaction, work satisfaction, work-life balance, and perceived self-efficacy.
The compensating construct of resiliency, itself, has not been compared to the Problem of loss of relevancy. Therefore, there is an open corridor for the enlightened therapist, career coach, or mentor to appropriately guide a troubled person with targeted challenges to transform themselves into a newly thriving being. This book explores the topic in detail with references to the literature where prior theory can be applied to advance this topic further. Anecdotal evidence supporting the authors' perspective is presented, including several brief case studies of individuals who have thrived following cessation of their prior careers.
Human Relationship Skills: Coaching and Self-Coaching presents a practical 'how to' guide to relationship skills, showing how readers can improve and, where necessary, repair relationships. This thoroughly revised and updated fourth edition reflects the increased interest in coaching, showing how it can be applied to everyday life. In this essential book, Richard Nelson-Jones takes a cognitive-behavioural approach to coaching people in relationship skills. These skills are viewed as sequences of choices that people can make well or poorly; covering a range of skill areas the book assists readers to make affirming rather than destructive choices in their relationships. It begins by addressing the questions of "what are relationship skills?" and "what are coaching skills?", and follows with a series of chapters which thoroughly detail and illuminate various relationship skills including: listening and showing understanding. managing shyness. intimacy and companionship. assertiveness and managing anger. managing relationship problems and ending relationships. The book concludes with a chapter on how users can maintain and improve their skills by coaching themselves. Accessibly written and using activities, the book will be appropriate for those involved in 'life coaching' as well as general counselling and therapy. It will be essential reading for lecturers, coaches and trainers as well as students and anyone who wishes to improve their relationship skills.
This chapter reviews studies on solution-focused life coaching. Solutionfocused life coaching is an increasingly popular approach aimed at assisting individuals to make desired changes in their personal or work life or to enhance their overall level of happiness and well-being. Research is currently embryonic; however; the studies conducted so far are encouraging and suggest that this is a promising approach for mental health professionals to consider. It offers an evidence-based methodology for those practitioners already providing coaching services and also for those working within a traditional counseling model who may wish to expand their practices and offer life coaching as an additional service. Early research suggests that evidence-based life coaching may have the potential to be a useful change methodology.
Psychotherapy is not a “one size fits all approach.” As author John Miller describes in Changing Roles for a New Psychotherapy, all theoretical orientations have their uses and merits in different situations and with different clients. Through a varied personal life and professional career, in which he developed a creative psychotherapeutic approach that allows the adaptation of diverse roles with clients, Dr. Miller has gained insights through working in academia, the sciences, management consulting, and a state hospital. He applies these insights, along with those he gained working various summer jobs, to take readers beyond the standard medical model of diagnosis and treatment by drawing on the roles of other professionals. He examines 11 different occupations and explores how the insights gained in each field can enhance therapeutic possibilities. How does cooking relate to psychotherapy? Can accounting change the way psychotherapy is performed? Read on to find out!
This volume explores new ground in the area of personal transformation, achieved partly through a person's volition with a guide or catalyst. The authors research and define the dynamics of paradigmatic-thinking, incorporating a series of case vignettes of personal transitions. They describe impediments to such change, as well as the post-transformation state of mind where vulnerabilities may persist. The resultant need for on going commitment may include guidance or coaching in order to sustain the positive effect of a change in paradigm. An important feature of the book is a case study written by "Rex," a participant in Dr. Kreuter's earlier work. Rex has achieved significant change in his thought process, both in how he sees the world (less sinister) and his self-perspective (worthy and connected). An in-depth view of the "new" Rex shows the extent to which change has been possible in one human being. Combined with other evidence of shifting paradigms drawn from a cross-section of therapeutic practice, the authors connect the clinical data with their own developed philosophy on the subject of human behavior and the ability to change with the assistance of a therapist guide to effectuate and sustain such change. © 2014 Springer International Publishing Switzerland. All rights are reserved.
This article is a plea to therapists, especially those who work with gifted, dysfunctional, and disenfranchised adolescents, to add advocacy to their armamentarium. These adolescents resist forming a therapeutic alliance, but they know they have compromised their educational and professional options. The most effective way to connect with them is to offer to be an advocate for them. This involves becoming a power broker to plead for a favorable outcome with authorities who have the power to grant or refuse the adolescent's access to upward mobility. The population described in this chapter remains immune to traditional psychotherapy, and indeed must be engaged quickly in therapy for success to occur. If the therapist fails to discuss his or her intention to work for the adolescent's best interests at the outset, the adolescent probably will not return for a second session. The actual advocacy efforts are made after the adolescent fulfills his or her part of the contract. Although this chapter will focus on advocacy in the college admissions process, advocacy can encompass other proactive activities: to convince an employer to hire, to persuade a family member or a friend to reconcile, to intervene in criminal proceedings by suggesting alternatives to incarceration, to secure housing, and so on.
Mental health services are increasingly expected to engage in a process of cultural change to fulfil guiding values and hopes for choice, personalisation, self-determination, social inclusion and personal recovery. It is unclear how this will be achieved. This transformational agenda also engages with an ambition for progressive change in practice across mental health professions to support people in self-care and self-management, based on a new relationship between practitioners and users of mental health services. There is little consistent guidance on the content of recovery-oriented and socially inclusive practice and what may be the new competencies and skills that would most effectively support recovery outcomes. Life coaching to support recovery for people with mental health needs is emerging as a creative possibility with considerable potential to support this ambition. This is an exploratory article which offers an overview of experience so far, suggests further routes for development and, in line with the College's Fair Deal campaign, underlines the need for evaluation.
The emergence of sex coaching as a phenomenon within the landscape of treatment of sexual concerns is a growing force today. This “inside look” illustrates the client–sex coach relationship, discusses the origins of sex coaching, the scope of practices, use of the MEBES© model, distinctions between sex coaching and traditional sex therapies, and provides examples from among the “extraordinary” ways in which sex coaching can transform sexual wounding and limitations into healing for clients. Sex coaching is a broad-spectrum approach, allowing for the creativity and dynamic freedom that clients deserve.
Health coaches and psychotherapists both work with the art and science of facilitating change in their patients and clients. While the evolving field of health coaching and the established disciplines of clinical or counseling psychology share major areas of overlap, there are also significant distinctions between the two fields. This article outlines those similarities and dissimilarities with the intention of fostering a cooperative and mutually enriching stance between the two helping professions for the benefit of the respective professionals and the countless clients and patients they serve.
While a growing number of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are making use of coaching, little is known about the impact such coaching has within this sector. This study sought to identify the factors that influence managers' decision to engage with coaching, their perceptions of the coaching ‘journey’ and the kinds of benefits accruing from coaching: organisational, personal or both. As part of a mixed methods approach, a survey tool was developed based upon a range of relevant management competencies from the UK's Management Occupational Standards and responses analysed using importance-performance analysis, an approach first used in the marketing sector to evaluate customer satisfaction. Results indicate that coaching had a significant impact on personal attributes such as ‘Managing Self-Cognition’ and ‘Managing Self-Emotional’, whereas the impact on business-oriented attributes was weaker. Managers' choice of coaches with psychotherapeutic rather than non-psychotherapeutic backgrounds was also statistically significant. We conclude that even in the competitive business environment of SMEs, coaching was used as a largely personal, therapeutic intervention rather than to build business-oriented competencies.
Reviews the book, Life Coaching: A Manual for Helping Professionals by David Ellis (see record 2006-03359-000 ). This book is presented as a manual on life coaching. The author, as is common in life coaching, attempts to provide a clear distinction between coaching and therapy. Nevertheless, it is less important to discuss what psychotherapists could also do (for that, see Williams & Davis, 2002) than to acknowledge what life coaching took over by means of a flexible conceptualization rooted in everyday-life interpersonal understanding. The consequent orientation of empowering, goal systems, planning, generating joint goals, and developing a goal hierarchy on the one hand and specifying it in plans and actions on the other gives life coaching a potential many psychotherapies lack. It could be argued that life coaching is rooted in an action-theoretical conceptualization. This is strongly stated in this manual dealing with the person image on which life coaching is based. The clients are seen as goal-directed agents capable of taking responsibility. The action-theoretical conceptualization can also be found in the care the author promotes taking in regard to establishing a relationship with the client. This book offers easy and interesting reading for professionals and students of life coaching as well as of any other professional activity, which relies on interpersonal encounters. This revised paperback edition of the 1998 book would benefit not only helping professionals as indicated by the author and the publisher but also any shop assistant or businessperson dealing with customers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Research is in its infancy in the newly emerging field of coaching psychology. This study examined the effects of a 10-week cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused life coaching group programme. Participants were randomly allocated to a life coaching group programme (n = 28) or a waitlist control group (n = 28). Participation in the life coaching group programme was associated with significant increases in goal striving, well-being and hope, with gains maintained up to 30 weeks later on some variables. Hope theory may explain such positive outcomes. Life coaching programmes that utilize evidence-based techniques may provide a framework for further research on psychological processes that occur in non-clinical populations who wish to make purposeful change and enhance their positive psychological functioning.
This article focuses on how the principles and practice of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) can be adapted to the field of
coaching to become cognitive behaviour coaching (CBC) and the current empirical status of CBC is discussed. The centrepiece
of CBC practice is the ABCDE model of identifying psychological blocks and their removal. Typical tools and techniques used
in CBC are outlined and ten key questions to ask in coaching are advanced. What CBC can offer coaches is discussed and, finally,
suggestions are made to point out when coaching should really be counselling.
The similarities and differences between life coaching and counselling are vigorously debated in the literature and amongst practitioners. However, to date there has been insufficient empirical evidence with extensive focus on the distinctions and significantly less acknowledgement of the similarities. This paper presents findings from in depth interviews in Australia of five internationally trained life coaches and nine of their clients in various countries. It reviews the distinctions between coaching and counselling presented in the literature and provides qualitative evidence to support, clarify and challenge current claims that the distinction is principally definitional. In so doing, it demonstrates substantive similarities between coaching and counselling and recommends collaboration rather than competition between the two disciplines.
Review of book, Patrick Williams and Deborah Davis (Aus.) Therapist as Life Coach. New York: Norton, 2002. 216 pp. ISBN 0-393-70341-X. Reviewed by Ronald E. Fox.