Life Coaching

kdb14

I just wanted to throw this out there and see what people think of life coaching. What do you know about it? Would you see coaching as a form of therapy or something different? Has anyone been to a life coach or executive coach?

hotspur

It's not therapy as that is ordinarily understood. I'll paste at the end some of a post from a clinical psychologist and coach written a couple of days ago on a positive psychology list I'm on to illustrate an example of how one such person sees the difference between therapy and coaching.

It has certainly been increasing in popularity over the past few years and gone from BS executive coaching to attracting psychologists and psychotherapists to it. The BPS and PSI now have coaching psychology groups, and one can train as a postgrad in coaching psychology in England.

Having said that it straddles the serious professional and very poorly trained paraprofessional divide. Given that it's a strengths based approach then I suppose there's less chance of harm from people who do a week's worth of training, but they are not likely to be all that helpful either.

Here is the post:

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I sat back and paused to appreciate and ponder your thread. At Mentor Coach, as almost all of us are/were in some other helping profession, we were made keenly aware of our responsibility to keep two careers separate. But, and here's a big but, I realize I am still a grateful clinical psychologist who puts on a colorfully upbeat coach's coat.

I DO use some cognitive techniques like thought stopping, reframing, and other cognitive skills. You are correct, Bill, there is overlap, of course, and how could there not be? I will blurt as a coach, and ask permission. I have actually kindly said to a client, "I am not your psychologist, but...", just to remind us both of my role. To me techniques are tools, not therapy.

Therapy in my brain, anyway, meant it was/is my responsibility to assist folks in finding out the etiology. (I was dynamically trained as well as CBT) if they were stuck and wanted to know. To assist them to identify the corn in their little toe and then help them pluck it out. Many times I directed traffic, finding resources for them, and was often more of a consultant. Of course I empowered them as in coaching, but I still felt I was the captain, not the co-pilot as in coaching. That took a learning curve. With coaching, I am delightfully able to know they are creative, resourceful, whole and way more than enough. Great words for all therapists to consider, too

You are right, Bill. Tools can be used by different people in creatively ways. To clarify my too broad statement, I mean as a coach I help the client with what they want to accomplish on their terms. I am not their therapist, who if I were, in my infinite wisdom, might notice 5 other issues a client might want to consider if they wanted to grow even more. I had to give them their money's worth! I'd dig in their dirt and we'd play with their mud pies. In coaching I stay mindful to deal with only what they want to, not that a powerful question might not open a curious Pandora's Box. But it is their choice. For me, coaching is like a breath of fresh air. No more suicidal clients in the middle of a psychologist's night.

When I look at my coaching career, I know one thing. I am a far more efficient coach knowing many clinical "why's" ahead of time. I thank God for my clinical training and for 33 years as a clinical psychologist Experience with folks with a myriad of mental illness from all walks of life was a blessing. As a coach, I recognize pathology if it's there, so my decision-making is far easier than say, for my attorney coach friends. They often consult me to help them with a challenging client. Usually a personality disorder is lurking, not the coaches skill base. I empathize with any coach who has not had clinical training.

edit: I see from your posts that you are a life coach who is looking for business. *sigh*

The_Scary_Man

I finished a BA in Counselling & Psychotherapy in CIT last year and I'm just finishing first year of a HDip in Coaching Psychology in UCC. There is a lot of overlap in the theory but obviously coaching doesn't go as deep.

Coaching needs more stringent regulation if it is to be taken more seriously as a profession. In my opinion a coach should have a grounding in psychology or counselling. A coach needs to be able to tell when a client's issue is beyond their capability and when they should be referred on to a therapist.

Working on a one to one basis with someone in a helping relationship can generate powerful transferential dynamics and anyone who sets out to do this kind of work should be sufficiently trained.

Chuck11

Life coach is like a close friend. He will guide you for few days so that you build a good relationship with yourself.Life coaching is all about understanding you and being happy.There are many ways of life coaching techniques.It is better to make use of the opportunities available through online.

Odysseus

This is looking like a schill thread, if posters have issues about it PM me. It has been reported by other posters and I locking it for the moment.