Letter from the new Chair of the SGCP

IN DECEMBER 2012, at the Annual Conference in Aston, I took over from Mary Watts as Chair of the SGCP. It is a real honour to have been appointed to this position, to have the opportunity to play such a key role in the SGCP, and to be so closely involved with a discipline that has so much to offer.

Having been Chair Elect for just under a year, I have been able to work closely with my colleagues on the Committee and have benefited enormously from the energy, commitment, knowledge and experience that they bring to the work of the SGCP. I would like to thank all of them for welcoming me to my new role and for the privilege of working with them over the last few months - a privilege which I am very much looking forward to continuing in the year ahead. Not least amongst these colleagues is Mary Watts whom I would like to thank for her leadership over the last year and whom, on a personal level, I would like to thank for sharing so generously her experience and knowledge on many different levels.

For those of you who don’t yet know me, my first Chair’s Letter also gives me an opportunity to introduce myself. I am a Visiting Professor at Middlesex University and currently work as a coaching psychologist, trainer, supervisor and consultant. Much of my career has been concerned with, and driven by, a fascination for how individuals learn and how, as coaches, we can best facilitate the learning of others.

I come to coaching psychology from a clinical and counselling psychology background and my work as a coaching psychologist reflects this diversity, with a particular interest in health and well-being, and performance coaching, and the interface between coaching, adult education and the psychotherapies. And, perhaps also important to state, is the fact that I am a beneficiary of coaching myself, being the client of a skilled, thoughtful and empowering coach. So I have first-hand experience of how transformational coaching can be.

Full article: International Coaching Psychology Review Vol. 8 No. 1 March 2013 Page 109-110