Michael Cavanagh & Stephen Palmer

Welcome to the fifth issue of the International Coaching PsychologyReview (ICPR). Once again, we have a rich array of articles for your enjoyment and enlightenment. The ICPR is increasing in popularity for many practitioners and researchers. In addition to the UK and Australasia, we are now regularly receiving articles on coaching psychology and coaching from Europe and the US. We have a growing circulation with hard copy version being sent to over 2000 BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology members and online versions are available to APS Interest Group in Coaching Psychology members. Key people working in the field now regularly quote work previously published in the ICPR.

The issue starts with an extensive review of the coaching literature by Professor Siegfried Greif. Professor Greif’s paper takes the wide body of coaching outcome research and attempts to identify key outcome measures which may be applicable to multiple types of coaching interventions and contexts. This is an important undertaking as it helps to bring some comparability to the coaching literature. Following on from this, Greif considers eight important experimental coaching outcome studies and reviews their findings. The final section of this article presents a research model the author hopes will both assist researchers in choosing measures and designing studies, and in building a coherent body of coaching research.

Tony Grant has contributed a very interesting paper examining the dimensions of mental health, mental illness and goal striving. Building on the work of Keyes (2003), Grant argues that coaches need a sophisticated understanding of the interaction between mental health issues and the coaching process. Where intentional goal striving is undertaken in the context of mental health, coaching clients are likely to flourish. However, where significant psychopathology is present, coaches may find their clients languishing despite considerable effort. Grant explores some of the consequences this model has for ethical conduct, coaching practice and future research.

Jonathan Passmore’s paper focuses on using motivational interviewing (MI) for performance improvement at work. Traditionally MI has been used successfully in clinical and health-related settings. For example, it has been applied to stop smoking and weight control programmes. Passmore applies MI to assist coachees who lack motivation for change. The Transtheoretical fivestage model for behaviour change underpins the approach. In this paper, three short case studies of middle managers are used to highlight the theory and practice of MI. Currently MI has been used within the field of health coaching probably more than the field of coaching psychology. Although MI can be easily adapted to a range of different areas of coaching, more research is required.

In the next paper, John Sparrow’s research looks at life coaching in the workplace. A cross-sectional survey of organizations was undertaken in which practices and reported outcomes were explored within small- and medium-sized organizations together with large organisations. Not surprisingly, within an organizational context, life coaching is found to be less well understood than performance coaching and there are significant differences in procurement criteria for performance and life coaching. Coaching was not reported to have as large an impact upon entrepreneurship and social purpose outcomes as other aspects of work life. This research study raises more questions and a larger scale study may provide more insight.

The last paper by Almuth McDowall and Rainer Kurtz is based on a skills session delivered last year at the First International Coaching Psychology Conference sponsored by the British Psychological Society Special Group in Coaching Psychology and held in London. It discusses the use of psychometrics, outlines some of the advantages and potential limitations of psychometrics and then considers a specific instrument, the Saville Consulting Wave© and its application to coaching and performance coaching context at work.

We have a special editor for the next issue of the ICPR - Dr Anthony Grant. He has agreed to co-ordinate a special edition with the theme of ‘Coaching in Organisations’.

Should you wish to discuss an idea for this edition, please contact Tony Grant (e-mail: anthonyg@psych.usyd.edu.au.)

We are looking forward to your contributions and hope you find this issue as stimulating as we have.

Michael Cavanagh
Coaching Psychology Unit,
Department of Psychology,
Sydney University,
Sydney, Australia.
E-mail: michaelc@psych.usyd.edu.au

Stephen Palmer
Coaching Psychology Unit,
Department of Psychology,
City University,
Northampton Square,
London, UK.
E-mail: dr.palmer@btinternet.com

Reference

Keyes, C.L.M. (2003). Complete mental health:
An agenda for the 21st century. In C.L.M. Keyes
& J. Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology
and the life well-lived (pp.293-290). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association.