New directions in the psychology of coaching: The integration of mindfulness training into evidence-based coaching practice

Abstract

Although the field of coaching psychology has witnessed some theoretical and empirical advances in recent years, this has yet to translate into a commonly accepted theoretical and empirical foundation for coaching practice. Rather, coaching practice has run well ahead of related theory and research, and resulted in the establishment of an industry that lacks firm foundations. This doctoral dissertation reports on a series of reviews and empirical studies designed to further the development of evidence-based coaching practice (EBCP). A review of the relevant literature revealed that the development of solid evidence-based foundations is critical if coaching is to realise its promise and potential. As events surrounding the decline of the human potential movement (HPM) in the 1960s and 1970s indicate, the absence of theoretically-based rationales and solid research support may be a reliable predictor of decline for particular treatment modalities. Whilst the development of EBCP has important implications for the formal preparation of coaches, pedagogical recommendations to industry educators are difficult whilst the characteristics of the coaching industry remain hidden. In order to develop the profile of the Australian coaching industry, a survey was conducted of 148 practicing coaches. The results of this study revealed the presence of a diverse local industry. Despite the existence of a small core of highly experienced practitioners, the majority of coaches appeared to have little coaching experience and greatly varied skills and experience. Interestingly, only 20% of respondents reported any formal training in psychology or the other helping professions. Given recent data that suggests mental health issues may sometimes be encountered in coaching (Green, Oades, & Grant, 2006; Spence & Grant, in press), it is concluded that the majority of coaches lack the skills and knowledge to identify and deal effectively with such eventualities. As the development of an informed strategy for dealing with mental health issues would move the practice of coaching onto a more professional footing, it is recommended that coaches receive basic training in the identification and appropriate referral of such issues. Much of the work presented in this dissertation is based on the presupposition that client outcomes can be optimised through the use of EBCP. However, as this assumption has yet to be empirically tested, a total of 63 participants took part in a 10-week life coaching program. The results showed that when life coaching was conducted by coaches trained in cognitive-behavioural solution-focused (CB-SF) coaching methods (i.e. professional coaching), as opposed to untrained peers (i.e. peer coaching), participants were more engaged in coaching and reported significantly greater goal attainment, goal commitment and environmental mastery. Effective goal-directed self-regulation requires that individuals remain focused on their goals overtime, whilst managing a steady stream of disturbances that can destabilise goal directed effort. In this regard, the construct of mindfulness has much conceptual relevance. Mindfulness reflects the unique human capacity for directing conscious awareness via the controlled deployment of attention. After an extensive review of the scholarly literature, three alternative conceptualisations are presented (i.e. Eastern religious, socio-cognitive and cognitive-attentional perspectives), accompanied by a description of the mindfulness skills training practices associated with each. A total of 72 participants then took part in a study to assess the impact of three mindfulness training (MT) programs on mindfulness, goal-directed self-regulation, mental health and wellbeing. The results revealed that all the MT programs were effective in significantly increasing mindfulness and a variety of mental health and wellbeing indicators. Importantly, MT was also found to significantly increase goal attainment; suggesting that MT may be a valuable addition to EBCP. Goal attainment is a key dependent variable in coaching research. However, the measurement of goal attainment has yet to receive much attention in the coaching literature. As most empirical coaching studies have reported findings based on measures that rely exclusively on subjective measures of performance (measures that are susceptible to several forms of distortion and bias), some key issues relating to the measurement of goal attainment are reviewed and explored in detail. From this review, goal attainment scaling (GAS) is identified as a potentially useful methodology with which both researchers and practitioners can document and evaluate coaching outcomes. The final study pulls together the threads from work presented to that point, and integrates them into a practice framework for coaching. A total of 42 participants took part in this study, which investigated the efficacy of using MT and CB-SF coaching to facilitate the attainment of health goals. The results showed that the delivery of MT prior to (rather than after) CB-SF coaching was more effective in facilitating these outcomes. This suggests MT may be important in coaching for helping people prepare for change.

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