1. consulting todayPersonal Coachings Evolution from TherapyBy Patrick Williams, Ed. DCoaching and Mentoring have been common in themany of the life issues of our later years. corporate environment for decades. Executive coachingJung often coached clients through a life review has long been accepted as a perk for high level man- and encouraged them to consciously live their lives via agement. In addition, people outside the corporate envi- expressing their natural gifts and talents and moving to- ronment have found it possible, and desirableward self-individuation by living life on pur- to have a coach. pose.People today hire a coach to help with ca- Unfortunately, psychotherapy somewhere reer transitions, with the challenges of self- along the way adopted or was co-opted by the employment (such as isolation, and increased medical model that sees clients as patients distractibility) for entrepreneurial ventures, for having illnesses and needing a diagnosis in parenting, relationships, and even retirement. treatment. Life coaching has become available privatelyOf course there clearly are serious mental and through agencies, schools, churches andillnesses which can benefit from clinical psy- other community resources. chology or psychotherapy, however manyPersonal coaching developed from threepeople in the past were treated and labeled for streams: 1. The helping professions such aswhat really were problems in living. These psychotherapy and counseling, 2. Consultingsituations or circumstances did not need a di- and organizational development, and 3. Personal devel- agnosis or assumption of pathology. opment training, such as EST, LifeSpring, LandMark Fo- Influences of the humanistic psychology and hu- rum, Tony Robbins,man potential movement and others, whose In 1951, Carl Rogers wrote his one-on-one Freud, Jung, Adler, Rogers and Maslow allmonumental book, Client Centered coaching was part of the delivery of contributed to what is today called Life Coaching. Therapy, which shifted counseling and therapy to a relationship in which the these training inten- client was assumed to have the ability sives. to change and grow by the clinician creating a therapeu- Psychological roots of coachingtic alliance.Many psychological theorists and practitioners from This alliance evolved from a safe, confidential the turn of the century onward have influenced the de- space, granting the client (patient) what Rogers called velopment and evolution of the field of business coach-Unconditional Positive Regard. We believe this shift in ing. The symbolic thinking that Freud emphasized has perspective was a significant precursor to what today is great usefulness to coaches. Coaches often help clientscalled Life Coaching. discover their brilliance, which may lie masked or buriedAbraham Maslow researched, questioned, and ob- in their unconscious and can be experienced when one served people who were living with a sense of vitality begins to design ones life consciously and purposely. and purpose and who were constantly seeking to growMany of the theories of Carl Jung and Alfred Adlerpsychologically and achieve more of their human poten- are antecedents to modern day coaching. Adler saw him- tial. In 1968 he wrote his seminal treatise, Toward a Psy- self as a personal educator. He saw each person as the chology of Being. It is this key point in history that I be- creator and artist of his/her life and frequently involved lieve set the framework for the field of Life Coaching to his clients in goal setting, life planning, and inventingemerge in the 1990s. their future, all tenets and approaches in coaching today. Maslow spoke of needs and motivations, as did ear-In a similar fashion, Jung believed in a future orien- lier psychologists, but with the view that man is natu- tation or teleological belief that we can create our fu-rally a health-seeking creature who, if obstacles to per- tures through visioning and purposeful living. His writ- sonal growth are removed, will naturally pursue self- ings focused on life after age 40 and he concentrated on actualization, playfulness, curiosity, and creativity. Continued on next page 2000, consulting today .Reprinted with permission of the publisher. Web: www.consultingtoday.com PO Box 293 Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY 10503 Phone: (914) 591-5522 Fax: (914) 591-5237 E-mail: editor@consultingtoday.com

2. consulting todayEvolution from Therapy, continued. Continued from previous pageHe referred to this as a being or abundancy mo- Coaching will permeate society in the coming years tivation meaning that needs at this level are primarily and be available to everyonenot just executives or for nourishment and development of our Being or high powered professionals. I expect to see coaches in Higher Self.churches, schools, community agencies, and a variety of The distinction between therapy and coachingspecialties like Relationship Coaches, Parenting andIt is important to recognize the major distinctionsFamily Coaches, Wellness and Health Coaches, Spiritual between therapy and coaching. Therapy deals more pre- Development Coaches, and others. dominately with a persons past and painful eventsTwo specializations will develop as the profession (trauma) which brought them to seek therapy (healing).gains recognition: 1. Relationship Coaching, for singles Coaching deals more w ith a persons present and seeksand couples wanting to have the best possible relation- to guide them to a more desired future. With coaching ship and 2. Protirement Coaching (a term coined by little time is spent in the past, except for brief visits Frederic Hudson, author of The Joy of Old) for those en- and the focus is on developing the person's future. tering the later years and wanting to redefine the last fewThis philosophical shift has taken root in a genera- decades of their life avoiding the traditional expectations tion that rejects the idea of sickness and seeks insteadof aging. wellness, wholeness and purposeful living. Hence theThe entire profession, as I see it, will foster the emergence of Life Coaching! Coaching is a special formidea of Life Coaching as the umbrella under which all of consulting that is a co-creative partnership wherein coaching rests. Whether a clients seeks specific coach- the main focus is the clients agenda and his/her desireing for business or job challenges, coaching for a life for creating a fulfilling life, personally and profession-transition, (such as career, relationship, loss, health) or ally. The coaching relationship allows the client to ex-for pure life design coaching. A coach may also serve as plore their blocks to greater success or to unlock theira referral source for specialty coaching as needed or re- biggest dreams and desires with the possibility of living quested by their client. their life more on purpose and at a higher level of satis-Coaching is a profession experiencing dynamic faction and expression. growth and change. It will no doubt continue to inter-The shift from seeing clients as ill or having a act developmentally with social, economic, and political pathology toward viewing them as well and whole and processes; draw on the knowledge base of diverse disci- seeking a richer life is paramount to understanding the plines; enhance its intellectual and professional maturity, evolution of life coaching. Life coaches help clients un- and proceed to establish itself internationally and in cover their intentions and to live them, not just dream mainstream America. If these actions represent the fu- about them. ture of coaching, then the profession will change in ways that support viability and growth. Life coaching What the future holds exists because it is helpful, and it will prosper because itWe are on the verge of a fundamental shift in howcan be transformational. a people seek helpers and why they seek them. People today need connection with a mentor/coach/guidePatrick Williams, Ed.D, MCC, is head of The Institute more than ever before, due to the rapid pace of change, for Life Coach Training, a program of Therapist University, difficulty of sustainable relationships, desire to live ones and is coauthor, (with Deb Davis, Ed.D) of Therapist as life purpose and many other reasons.Personal Life Coach: Reclaiming Your Passion (dueI believe that the profession of coaching will beout in 2001 from Norton Publishing). Pat is based in Fort bigger than psychotherapy in a very few years. The gen- Collins, Colo. And can be reached at doccoach@aol.com or eral public will know the distinction between therapy 970.224.9830. and coaching and will be clear on when to seek a thera- pist and when to seek a coach. 2000, consulting today .Reprinted with permission of the publisher. Web: www.consultingtoday.com PO Box 293 Ardsley-on-Hudson, NY 10503 Phone: (914) 591-5522 Fax: (914) 591-5237 E-mail: editor@consultingtoday.com