NeuroCoaching

Coaching is sometimes viewed as a rather new activity and profession, however the core activity of coaching was evident in the Socratic dialogues in which the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates, would pose thought-provoking questions to passers-by.

Styles of coaching differ widely, but the overarching aim is to enable the coachee (receiving the coaching) to increase their level of success in one of more aspects of their life. For sports coaching, this may be to find ways to increase speed or technique. In a business setting, a leader my receive coaching to improve interpersonal skills or become clearer on their goals and how they may achieve them. Much coaching is designed to be non-directive but this is not always the case. Coaching now pulls strongly from psychological principles and research with Cognitive Behavioural Coaching being particularly focused on the strong evidence-base of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Research studies have found that Cognitive Behavioural Coaching can reduce chronic stress levels including those caused by high work demands and chronic worrying. Reduction of stress was mediated by a change in participants’ chronic stress appraisal[1].

Cognitive reappraisal is one of the most well-evidenced interventions currently recommended for both clinical and non-clinical populations. Initial research has suggested multiple mechanisms for its efficacy.

[1] S. Junker, M. Pömmer, and E. Traut-Mattausch, “The impact of cognitive-behavioural stress management coaching on changes in cognitive appraisal and the stress response: a field experiment,” Coaching, vol. 0, no. 0, pp. 1–18, 2020, doi: 10.1080/17521882.2020.1831563.