Mental health recovery coaching

Freedive Ireland

Hi All,

Recently back at college studying health and wellness coaching via St.Angelas and NUIG. Inaugural students this year. I wasn't gone on the title of the course as coaching unfortunately conjured up ideas of overnight coaching diplomas. The course was recommended to me by a NOSP resource officer as a possible missing link in the recovery chain.
I'm really enjoying the course content wise and the challenge of academic writing after a 20 year hiatus.

What struck me most so far is the work of Seligman and PERMA, that after x amount of therapy he wasn't left with a happy client but an empty one and this is where I see the coaching role. Ideally incorporating it with some outdoor activity as per the Solas model in Donegal.

Has anyone any opinions/first hand experience on coaching for mental health recovery?

JuliusCaesar

A link to Seligman's Positive Psychology and explanation of the PERMA model.

after x amount of therapy he wasn't left with a happy client but an empty one

What do you mean, "an empty one"?

I'm afraid I don't know much about coaching, could you tell us what the differences between coaching and counselling/psychotherapy are? Thanks!

Freedive Ireland

Hi JC, thanks for the interest.

"an empty one is from his"Ted talk. I think he is saying that after successful therapy the client was "fixed" and could go out and lead a healthy life. In reality this wasn't the case, as the client had potentially fallen out of social circles, out of work, sometimes separated from family so that due to their illness many other areas of their life had been impacted in a negative way.


The main differences I have seen so far, (but only one module in) a coach is non directive. Moving away from I'm the expert, to I'm here to help you on the road to recovery.

The idea is through reflective listening and motivational interviewing that we help the client to their ideal self or towards a particular health (mental health) goal. A coach would try and use the ideas behind Deci and Ryan on self-determination theory. That the goal is more likely to be obtained by the client deciding it than the goal being prescribed by the coach or counsellor. E.G no smoker needs to be told cigarettes are bad for them. Once the goal is decided, the plan formulated, you are holding their feet to the fire a little bit, to get a small win or action and building from there.

The coach provides a safe secure and confidential place but focuses on the future rather than solving the past. From the little I have seen so far a coach has little or no place in a crisis. The client would be stable from addiction or medication.
The coach may be helping in the area of rebuilding their life from jobs and training to social integration. I'd see it as also beneficial to some one that may be on the edge of a slippery slope but hasn't gone down it yet. If that makes sense.

The other massive difference is that a coach may, if they think it beneficial, self disclose. But never to move focus from the client to the coach and always in the knowledge that however similar the experience, the resulting feelings may well be different. And that the disclosure may be thrown back at them down the road.

Coaching may be in a peer group or one to one.

Please bear in mind I'm still finding out myself.

dar100

Freedive Ireland wrote: »

Hi JC, thanks for the interest.

"an empty one is from his"Ted talk. I think he is saying that after successful therapy the client was "fixed" and could go out and lead a healthy life. In reality this wasn't the case, as the client had potentially fallen out of social circles, out of work, sometimes separated from family so that due to their illness many other areas of their life had been impacted in a negative way.


The main differences I have seen so far, (but only one module in) a coach is non directive. Moving away from I'm the expert, to I'm here to help you on the road to recovery.

The idea is through reflective listening and motivational interviewing that we help the client to their ideal self or towards a particular health (mental health) goal. A coach would try and use the ideas behind Deci and Ryan on self-determination theory. That the goal is more likely to be obtained by the client deciding it than the goal being prescribed by the coach or counsellor. E.G no smoker needs to be told cigarettes are bad for them. Once the goal is decided, the plan formulated, you are holding their feet to the fire a little bit, to get a small win or action and building from there.

The coach provides a safe secure and confidential place but focuses on the future rather than solving the past. From the little I have seen so far a coach has little or no place in a crisis. The client would be stable from addiction or medication.
The coach may be helping in the area of rebuilding their life from jobs and training to social integration. I'd see it as also beneficial to some one that may be on the edge of a slippery slope but hasn't gone down it yet. If that makes sense.

The other massive difference is that a coach may, if they think it beneficial, self disclose. But never to move focus from the client to the coach and always in the knowledge that however similar the experience, the resulting feelings may well be different. And that the disclosure may be thrown back at them down the road.

Coaching may be in a peer group or one to one.

Please bear in mind I'm still finding out myself.

sounds like therapy tbh. Depending on your school of thought of course.

Interesting there is movement towards coaching in other sub sections of mental health.

The addiction sector has been training peer coaches up, with a level 9 cert run in DCU.

power to the peer

Freedive Ireland

Yeah I can see why but it's really not therapy so far as I can tell. While the being skills skills of empathy and compassion may be similar the biggest difference is that the coach will always be focusing on the future rather than the past. A client may well be seeing both counsellor/psychchologist and a coach at the same time.
There seems to be a bit of a push for peer support workers in mental health too.

dar100

Motivational interviewing is a therapy

It's the gold standard in addiction counselling