What Coaching is Really About: A Psychological View

1
What Coaching is Really About A Psychological
View

• Dianne R. Stober, Ph.D.
• Fielding Graduate University

2
Psychologys View of Coaching

• Coaching as a human change process
• Focus on
• Positive growth/self-actualization
• Enhanced performance/behavior
• Self-directed learning by the client
• Collaboration and facilitation

3
Psychologys Contributions

• Many theories, models, and techniques that are
  applicable to coaching
• A model of a profession that values evidence,
  theory, and practice
• Training and education that stresses critical
  thinking and evaluation applied to practice

4
Psychologys Dark Side

• Science wannabe resulting in applying a medical
  model metaphor that doesnt really fit
• Positivist tradition that often overlooks other
  streams of inquiry/knowledge
• Some hold view of coaching as rightly belonging
  within psychology rather than cross-disciplinary/i
  ntegrative

5
The Medical Model Antidote The Contextual Model

• A meaningful relationship
• A process embedded in a helpful context
• A sensible explanatory framework or rationale
• An active procedure
• Adapted from Wampold, 2001
• Frank Frank, 1991

6
Evidence-Based Coaching as a Contextual Approach

• The Contextual Model is an effective meta-model
  for approaches across related disciplines
• Allows for many streams of inquiry and an
  evidence-based approach to growth and change
  through coaching

7
Big Questions

• To utilize the good stuff from psychology,
  other social sciences, and business to build a
  cross-disciplinary field,
• What challenges need to be overcome?
• Whats the next step?