Crossing the line? A qualitative exploration of ICF master certified: Coaches’ perception of roles, borders and boundaries

Abstract

ObjectivesCoaches have an unclear role and the industry shares a complex border with therapeutic practices. This study explored the nature of the relationship between coaching and therapeutic practices, how coaching professionals experience, navigate and manage this boundary, and sought to identify what roles they adopt.DesignSeven International Coaching Federation Master Certified Coaches self-selected to participate. Sixty-minute semi-structured interviews were conducted using an initial interview schedule comprised of 15 questions.MethodA qualitative methodology was adopted to explore the social reality and operation of coaches within their professional context. A grounded theory method of data collection and analysis was utilised to explore gaps in the profession’s current understanding of roles and boundaries.ResultsA range of borders and boundaries were identified. The nature of the relationship between coaching and therapeutic practices appears to hinge on each coach’s self-selected boundaries. Such boundaries appear to be delineated most often by a coach’s feelings of competency and their client’s ability to process and move forward within coaching.ConclusionsFindings suggest that the main difference between coaching and therapeutic practice is driven by how coaches perceive the work they do as opposed to differences in the processes, content and roles.

Creating the Conditions for Reflethical Practice: Exploring the potential for creativity and arts-based approaches to support the development and evolution of ethical awareness in coaching practice

“…Art therapy, a psychotherapeutic practice using artistic materials to support clients' personal growth in a safe environment (British Association of Art Therapists, n.d), and creative arts-based interventions (Morison, 2022), an emergent but distinct practice within the therapeutic space that incorporates specific types of art therapy (e.g., music therapy; drama therapy) alongside other creative interventions (e.g., dance; movement), can offer us some insights, but the role of the therapeutic practitioner, the general length of their client relationships, and the purpose of their work are fundamentally different to that of the coach (Passmore and Lai, 2019). Additionally, the established literature from the therapeutic space can be helpful, but does not allow for the nuance or complexity that coaches must navigate at the therapy/coaching boundary (Gebhardt, 2016;Sime and Jacob, 2018), a border which can be particularly difficult to discern where coaching has a strong psychological integration (Biswas-Diener, 2009).…”