Coaching Psychology and Business and Executive Coaching

Coaching Psychology -A definition:
"Coaching Psychology" is a discipline that has been long taught in many universities around the world. Today, the term is frequently misused and confused with other forms of coaching such as, "behavioral coaching". Coaching Psychology (usually taught to psychology students) is a discipline that has a theoretical base stemming from facilitating life skills training, social work and professional counseling. Coaching psychology includes the services of academic and career counselors in high school and college settings as well as workshops and life skills training provided to mentally retarded and socially deviant individuals (domestic violence offenders). In the minds of many, it also includes stress management and wellness workshops and most aspects of addictions recovery and pain management.

Coaching Psychology
-Coaching Psychology is not to be confused with coaches using psychologically based change tools in the workplace:
Coaching psychology is a practice that focuses on the individual rather than the goals of a corporation and involves detailed assessment.

As professional coaches we are well aware that only validated behavioral change models, tools and techniques can achieve genuine, sustainable, measurable results. However, changing behaviors can strike at the core of personality and therefore identity. It is imperative as responsible coaches that we understand how to professionally use the appropriate psychologically based, industry-proven, behavioral change tools and techniques (behavioral-based coaching) that relate to our specific niche area of business practice. Understanding the psychological foundations of techniques and knowing how, when and why the technique works also allows the business and executive coach to give a clear rationale for its use to the client.

Coaching Psychology
-Coaching Psychology is not to be confused with behavior-based coaching in the workplace:
Coaching psychology is a discipline traditionally designed to be accepted in the following areas: vocational rehabilitation, rehabilitation counseling, social work, counselor education, occupational therapy, physical therapy, addictions counseling, health education, adult education and human services.

Coaching Psychology
-Behavior-based coaching integrates research from many disciplines into a validated, user-friendly model of practice. It incorporates knowledge from psychology (behavioral, clinical, social, developmental, industrial and organizational), systems theories, philosophy, adult education and the management and leadership fields. Behavioral-based coaching focuses on knowledge, skills, abilities, experiences and behaviors (values, emotions, attitude, feelings etc) that are work related. Simply put: Behavior = an action or reaction in a given situation with a known result. The basic premise behind behavior-based coaching is that it is the most accurate predictor of future behavior and following work performance.

Coaching Psychology
-Behavior-based Coaching compared to Coaching Psychology:
Coaching psychology is theoretically based and is typically used in a social counselling setting. Whereas Behavior-based coaching, with its emphasis on research and evidence, provides individuals and organizations a validated and proven system that greatly increases their chances of effecting lasting behavioral change in a workplace setting. One of the reasons why behavioral coaching techniques are employed by professional (full-time) business coaching practitioners is that they allow for data to be gathered on specific, targeted behaviors impacting the application of a professional skill. By using appropriate validated, behavioral change instruments, these targeted behaviors can easily be measured and evaluated in a rigorous manner.

Coaching Psychology
-Coaching with a Psychological foundation:
Coaches today must have an understanding of the nature and extent to which unconscious forces shape behavior for individuals, groups and organizations. Professional coach training must therefore include the cognitive and social-emotional development of adult learners. Opening and changing minds is a precondition of bringing about lasting behavioral change in others, and thereby improving performance, learning acquisition and change. Coach training is presently split into three schools of practice. The very few that are teaching the use of proven psychological-based coaching practices, those in a transition to adopting more research-based foundations mixed with quassia scientific practices and thirdly, the great majority of coach training organizations and "coaching associations" vying for membership fees and survival, who still continue to re-package out-dated coaching processes and aggressively market them to 'uneducated' persons.
Coaching and Psychology
Behavior-based coaching utilizes psychological proven methodology which is used in the non-directive facilitation towards the achievement of change and learning that acknowledges the influence of an unconscious dynamic structure from which consciousness and different modes of thought can emerge. Identifying and operationalizing individual psychological strengths and talents toward optimum learning and performance is also critical for the coach. A coach must also be able to manage their own emotional and psychodynamic responses to clients, and change initiatives, and to assist their clients in doing the same. Such insights and capacities are invaluable to the success of any coaching initiative.