The co-created boundary: Negotiating the limits of coaching

Abstract

This paper explores how business coaches experience the boundary between coaching and therapy in their practice. Using a phenomenological approach, four therapeutically trained and four non-therapeutically trained coaches were asked to describe instances when they felt they were working near the ‘boundary’. Findings suggest that issues of a psychological nature are brought into coaching, and that the ‘boundary’ is largely a function of the willingness and ability of both coach and client to work with personal/psychological material. Differences in working practice were noted between and within the two groups. Findings also give impetus for more rigorous coach training as well as suggesting a potentially fruitful tool for use in coach supervision.

Keywords

coaching therapy counselling boundary ethics training supervision

References

Alves Marques

(2006), The experience of the Counsellor as an Executive Coach, poster presented at the BPS SGCP 1st International Coaching Psychology Conference, London, United Kingdom.

Association for Coaching (2005), Code of Ethics and good practice, http://www.associationforcoaching.com/about/about02.htm (accessed 23/6/08)

Bachkirova

and Cox

(2005), ‘A bridge over troubled water - bringing together coaching and counselling’, Counselling at Work, Spring 2005, pp 2–9.

Bachkirova

(2007), ‘Role of coaching psychology in defining boundaries between counselling and coaching’, in: Palmer

and Whybrow

(Eds.), Handbook of Coaching Psychology, London: Routledge.

Berglas

(2002), ‘The very real dangers of executive coaching’, Harvard Business Review, June 2002, pp 3–8.

Berman

W.H.

and Bradt

(2006), ‘Executive coaching and consulting: different strokes for different folks’, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Vol. 37(3), pp244–253.

Bluckert

(2004), "The state of play in corporate coaching: current and future trends’, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 36, Issue 2, p53–56.

Bluckert

(2005a), ‘The similarities and differences between coaching and therapy’, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 37, Issue 2, p91–96.

Bluckert

(2005b), ‘The foundations of a psychological approach to executive coaching’, Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 37, No. 4, 2005, pp 171–178.

10.

Buckley

(2007a), ‘Working on the boundary; when psychological and mental health issues impact on coaching’, The Bulletin of the Association for Coaching, New Year 2007, pp 2–5.

11.

Buckley

(2007b), ‘The mental health boundary in relationship to coaching and other activities’, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Special Issue, Summer 2007, pp11–23.

12.

Carroll

(2003), ‘The new kid on the block’, Counselling Psychology Journal, 14 (10), pp28–31.

13.

Channer

(2003), ‘I'm getting counselling from my coach’, Counselling Psychology Journal, 14 (10), pp24–28.

14.

Dawdy

G.N.

(2003), Ethics in Executive Coaching, http://peakstrategies.net/Ethics%20in%20executive%20coaching.pdf, (accessed 30/1/08)

15.

de Rivera

(Ed.) (1981), Conceptual encounter: a method for the exploration of human experience, Washington, DC: University Press of America.

16.

European Mentoring & Coaching Council (2007), EMCC Code of Ethics, http://www.oscm.co.uk/pdf/EMCC%20Code%20of%20Ethics.pdf, (accessed 23/6/08)

17.

Garvey

(2004), ‘The mentoring/counseling/coaching debate’, Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp6–8.

18.

Grant

A.M.

(2001), Towards a Psychology of Coaching, http://www.psych.usyd.edu.au/psychcoach/Coaching_review_AMG2001.pdf (accessed 30/1/08)

19.

Grant

A.M.

(2006), ‘A personal perspective on professional coaching and the development of coaching psychology’, International Coaching Psychology Review, Vo.1, No. 1, April 2006.

20.

Grant

A.M.

and Cavanagh

M.J.

(2004), ‘Towards a profession of coaching: Sixty five years of progress and challenges for the future’, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Vol.2, No. 1, Spring 2004, pp1–16.

21.

Grant

A.M.

and Zackon

(2004), Executive, workplace, and life coaching: findings from a large scale survey of international coach federation members, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Vol. 2, No 2, Autumn 2004, pp 1–15

22.

Green

, Oades

L.G.

, and Grant

A.M.

(2005), ‘An evaluation of a life-coaching group program: initial findings from a waitlist control group’, in: Cavanagh

et al (Eds.) Evidence Based coaching (Vol. 1): Contributions from the behavioural sciences, Queensland: Australian Academic Press (pp 127–141).

23.

Griffiths

K.E.

and Campbell

M.A.

(2008), ‘Semantics or substance? Preliminary evidence in the debate between life coaching and counselling’, Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, Issue 2.

24.

Hart

, Blattner

, and Leipsic

(2001), ‘Coaching vs. Therapy: a perspective’, Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Issue 53, pp 229–237.

25.

Martinez

(2004), Coaching: is this considered the practice of psychotherapy?, http://www.dora.state.co.us/mental-health/trends.htm, (accessed 23/5/08)

26.

McLeod

(2001), Qualitative research in counselling and psychotherapy, London: Sage Publications Ltd.

27.

Pointon

(2003), ‘A life coach in 2 days’, Counselling Psychology Journal, 14 (10), pp20–24.

28.

Popovic

, and Boniwell

(2007), ‘Personal Consultancy: an integrative approach to one-to-one talking practices’, International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, Special Issue, Summer 2007, pp24–29.

29.

Rotenberg

C.T.

(2000), ‘Psychodynamic psychotherapy and executive coaching - overlapping paradigms’, Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 28(4), pp653–663.

30.

Simons

(2006), ‘Should there be a counselling element within coaching?’, The Coaching Psychologist, Vol. 2, No. 2, September 2006.

31.

Smith

J.A.

and Eatough

(2007), ‘Interpretative phenomenological analysis’, in: Lyons

and Coyle

(Eds.), Analysing Qualitative Data in Psychology, London: Sage Publications Ltd, (pp 35–50).

32.

Smith

J.A.

and Osborn

, (2008, 2nd Ed) ‘Interpretative phenomenological analysis’ in Smith

J.A.

(Ed.) Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods, London: Sage Publications Ltd.

33.

Spence

G.B.

and Grant

A.M.

(2004), ‘Individual and group life coaching: initial findings from a randomised controlled trial’, in Cavanagh

et al (Eds.) Evidence Based coaching (Vol. 1): Contributions from the behavioural sciences, Queensland: Australian Academic Press (pp 143–158).

34.

Sperry

(1993), ‘Working with executives: consulting, counseling and coaching’, Individual Psychology, Vol. 49, No. 2, June 1993, pp257–266.

35.

Tobias

L.L.

(1996), ‘Coaching Executives’, Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, Vol. 48, No.2, pp 87–95.

36.

Williams

(2003), ‘The potential perils of personal issues in coaching. The continuing debate: Therapy or Coaching? What every coach should know’, International Journal of Coaching in Organizations, 2003, (2, 2), pp 21–30.

37.

Zeus

and Skiffington

(2000), The complete guide to coaching at work, Roseville, NSW: McGraw Hill Book Company.