1. therapy alliance
Reproduced with the permission of choice Magazine, www.choice-online.com
Reproduced with the permission of choice Magazine, www.choice-online.com
THE
THEORETICAL
FOUNDATIONS
OF COACHING
You mean this stuff wasn’t just made up?
By Patrick Williams, EdD, MCC
C
oaching is a new field that borrows from believe are really adaptations or evolutions of these
and builds upon theories and research four. Cognitive-Behavioral Psychology grew from a mix
from related fields that have come before of the Behavioral and Humanistic schools. Positive
it. It is a multidisciplinary, multi-theory Psychology utilizes Cognitive-Behavioral approaches
synthesis and application of applied behavioral and adds to the theories that Humanistic Psychology
change. emphasizes: a non-mechanistic view, and a view of pos-
Although coaching has a unique paradigm, much sibility as opposed to pathology as an essential
of what is useful in coaching goes back decades and approach to the client. And Ken Wilber’s Integral
even centuries. The attraction of pursuing personal approaches to psychology and life are, I believe, a new
development and exploring meaning, began with labeling of what was called Transpersonal. Along with
early Greek society. This is reflected in the famous each revolution in psychology, a changing image of
quote by Socrates, “The unexamined life is not worth human nature has also evolved.
living.” Since then we have developed many ways of Psychology began as the investigation of conscious-
examining our lives. What persists, however, is that ness and mental functions such as sensation and per-
people who are not in pursuit of basic human needs ception. Much of the early influence on psychology
such as food and shelter do begin to pay attention to came from the philosophical tradition, and early psy-
higher needs such as self-actualization, finding ful- chologists adopted the practice of introspection used
fillment, and spiritual connection. In ancient by philosophers.
Greece, as now, an intense desire to explore and find Introspectionists were an early force in psychology,
personal meaning can be observed. with Wilhelm Wundt in Germany and Edward Tichener
in America being two of the early defenders of intro-
Contributions from psychology spection as a method of understanding the workings of
There have been four major forces in psychological the human mind. But they soon realized the inadequacies
theory since the emergence of psychology in 1879 as a of introspection for the validation of the young science of
social science. These four forces are Freudian, Behav- psychology. Consciousness and mental functioning were
ioral, Humanistic, and Transpersonal. In recent years difficult to study objectively. Psychology was experienc-
there have been three other forces at work, which I ing growing pains then, much as coaching is today.
VOLUME 4 NUMBER 2 49

2. therapy alliance
Reproduced with the permission of choice Magazine, www.choice-online.com
Reproduced with the permission of choice Magazine, www.choice-online.com
Key theorists ously, Shakespeare had commented, “What a piece of
What follows is a quick tour of the growth of psychol- work is man?” The Behaviorists took this literally and
ogy and how its major thinkers set the stage for the looked upon humans in the early 20th century as
coaching revolution. Homo mechanicus, an object to be studied like any
Williams James was the father of American psychol- machine would be studied. Homo mechanicus was a
ogy. James preferred ideas to laboratory results and is machine whose mind was ignored.
best known for his view that humans can experience In the 1950s, Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers ini-
higher states of consciousness. He wrote on such tiated the third force in psychology, Humanistic Psy-
diverse topics as functions of the brain, perception of chology. It focused on the personal, ontological, and
space, psychic and paranormal faculties, religious phenomenological aspects of human experience, as
ecstasy, will, attention, and habit. Because of his ori- opposed to the reductionist and mechanistic theories
entation, he gradually drifted away from psychology of Freudianism and Behaviorism.
and in his later life emphasized philosophy. Neverthe- Maslow eventually posited the fourth force,
less, William James had a tremendous influence on the Transpersonal Psychology, which included mind, body,
growth of the psychology profession, and he is still and spirit. It delved into altered states of consciousness
widely read today. One of his most historic books, The as a way to explore the transpersonal realm. This
Varieties of Religious Experience, is a treatise that offers research began to open up our knowledge of the human
as much today as it did yesterday in the areas of spiri- mind and expand our windows of perception and
tuality and transpersonal consciousness. possibility.
Sigmund Freud influenced the first force in psychol-
ogy. While psychology in the United States was strug- Other influences
gling for an identity and striving for recognition by the A vast array of research into life-span developmental
scientific community, European psychology was being psychology has also created an understanding of devel-
reshaped by the theories of Sigmund Freud. Freud cre- opmental trajectories that can be very helpful to
coaches. Daniel Levinson’s early work on the life
development of Harvard graduates over their 50-year
Much of what is useful life span yielded great insight into men’s development
within that age cohort (Seasons of a Man’s Life, 1978).
in coaching goes back Carol Gilligan’s work on girls and women created
decades and even insight into the ways that women’s thinking and
behavior differs from men’s over the life-span. Robert
centuries. Kegan has created theories and methods for assessing
the development of levels of consciousness in human
ated quite a stir in the medical community with his ideas life span development.
and theories, but he finally gained acceptance in psy- The hallmark of coaching is its synthesis of tools
chiatry with the ‘talking cure’ breakthrough — psycho- from other fields as well as its capacity for innovation.
analysis. Freud brought us such terms as unconscious, As the profession grows, it is developing a focused,
id, ego, and superego. research base of its own of what works within the
As Freudian thought was taking shape in Europe and unique paradigm that is coaching. •
the United States, William James and others began to
focus on measurable behavior. Many American psychol- For a brief historical review of scholarly theories, see
ogists began to combat Freudian theories as another www.choice-online.com for a continuation of this arti-
non-verifiable, subjective pseudo-science of the mind. cle by Patrick Williams.
The time was ripe for the emergence of Behaviorism
as the second major force in psychology, led by B. F. Patrick Williams, EdD, MCC, is an ICF board member and CEO
Skinner and John Watson. Hundreds of years previ- of the Institute for Life Coach Training.
50 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 2