Coaching Psychology

A change in editorship for Coaching–off to new horizons!

by Almuth McDowall

Co-authored with Emma Short

Personal construct coaching: "New/old" tool for personal and professional development.

by Jelena Pavlovic

In Stojnov et al. (Eds.),  Personal construct psychology in an accelerating world. Belgrade: EPCA Publishing.

The phrase “learning society” has been used in the recent decades to denote a shift towards a new type of society... more The phrase “learning society” has been used in the recent decades to denote a shift towards a new type of society which demands from its citizens to continuously update their personal and professional selves. One of the technologies of the learning society has been found in coaching. In this paper we elaborate a framework of coaching based on the principles of constructivist psychology. We argue that constructivist psychology has incorporated principles of coaching even before the term “coaching” gained wider attention. Moreover, we point to differences and similarities between constructivist coaching and constructivist counselling and psychotherapy. We propose a model of constructivist coaching and outline its main principles and stages. In conslusion, we point out that constructivist coaching is a successful merger of change and learning theories, which makes it suitable for facilitating sustainable personal and professional development in the learning society.

Positive psychology and coaching psychology: Perspectives on integration

by Ricardo Guillem Guillem

Cultural Orientations Framework (COF) Assessment Questionnaire in Cross-Cultural Coaching: A Cross-Validation with Wave Focus Styles

by Céline Rojon

Co-authored with Dr Almuth McDowall, University of Surrey, Guildford (UK)
Published in International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring, 2010, 8(2)

This paper outlines a cross-validation of the Cultural Orientations Framework assessment questionnaire (COF, Rosinski,... more This paper outlines a cross-validation of the Cultural Orientations Framework assessment questionnaire (COF, Rosinski, 2007; a new tool designed for cross-cultural coaching) with the Saville Consulting Wave Focus Styles questionnaire (Saville Consulting, 2006; an existing validated measure of occupational personality), using data from UK and German participants (N = 222). The convergent and divergent validity of the questionnaire was adequate. Contrary to previous findings which used different measures (Ronen & Shenkar, 1985; Schwartz, 1999; House et al., 2004; Bartram et al., 2006), the results from this particular study indicated few national differences between UK and Germany, however differences by gender were observed. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the development and use of the COF in practice. This may allow for a more finely grained understanding of culture than previous models such as Hofstede’s cultural values framework (1980; 2001), if further evidence for its validity is obtained and published.

Director of Soccer (sport) Operations for College Athletics

by Benjamin (BJ) Pheasant

The Director of Soccer Operations assists the Head Coach in the administration of all aspects of the sport program... more The Director of Soccer Operations assists the Head Coach in the administration of all aspects of the sport program primarily gathered in five main areas, recruiting, scheduling, budgeting, media, and camps.The DSO position allows the coach to coach.

Budget planning and scheduling are listed together as the two go hand-in-hand. The definition of scheduling is used in its most broad sense and covers all forms of travel, securing practice and facility times, community outreach, speaking engagements, meals and more. The budget must mesh with scheduling, especially for road trips, as team travel is usually the largest expense a team faces. Similarly, recruiting and media are inextricably tied together and are main duties. The camps operations relate to both budgeting/scheduling and recruiting/media since it is integral for recruiting and as a money maker, which retains assistant coaches enhancing stability in the program.

Fluir con el diálogo: la técnica de la terapia relacional y el arte marcial de la armonía

by Esteban Laso

Conversaciones Sistémicas, ARSISCO, DIciembre 2010.

Desde hace algunos años, la enseñanza, la investigación y la práctica de la terapia sistémica e individual se han... more Desde hace algunos años, la enseñanza, la investigación y la práctica de la terapia sistémica e individual se han centrado cada vez más en la técnica. Esta orientación ha traído consigo dos desventajas: el menoscabo de la autonomía de los terapeutas (convertidos en meros practicantes de las técnicas ideadas por los investigadores) y los consultantes (cuyo cambio se atribuye a la técnica y no a sus capacidades intrínsecas), y el descuido del aspecto “interno” de la terapia, la experiencia del terapeuta, en la acertada conducción del proceso.
Para resolver este dilema sin abdicar de la técnica, indispensable para el aprendizaje y la ejecución de la terapia sistémica, propongo en este texto una filosofía relacional de la misma inspirada en el arte marcial de la armonía, el aikido. Primero, describo las características de las intervenciones eficaces y su aplicación mediante un ejemplo. Segundo, expongo los paralelismos entre las artes marciales y la psicoterapia (en tanto que ambas estudian la forma más eficiente de organizar la acción) y analizo sus implicaciones para la filosofía de la terapia. Tercero, presento un “mapa” de las cuatro posibles respuestas relacionales ante las demandas de los consultantes, tres de las cuales conducen a puntos muertos mientras que la cuarta a “fluir” con el diálogo. Finalmente, sugiero algunas pautas para manejar dichos puntos muertos en base a la contemplación de la experiencia del terapeuta y describo la postura más idónea para facilitar el cambio.