Tag: Sean O'Connor. Carly Dober

Listened Should we be wary of so-called coaches? from abc.net.au

Gone are the days when coaches were only found in sporting clubs. Now, there are coaches for almost every aspect of our lives.

Divorce, retirement, career, intimacy, leadership, weight loss, finance, you name it, someone says they can coach you through it.

But as a completely unregulated field, it’s hard to know exactly what a coach offers and what makes them qualified to offer it.

Hilary Harper speaks with Dr Sean O’Connor and Carly Dober about the different iterations of coaching. With very few regulations and uniform training, there are quite a few approaches when it comes to coaching, such as cheerleading, advice, solution-focused and cognitive behaviour therapy. O’Connor touches on the history stemming from John Whitmore and the GROW approach. They discuss the limits of coaching and how it differs from working with a psychologist.

For me this reminds me of the discussions around the rise of mindfulness.

Ultimately, in different contexts and communities, mindfulness will be defined differently, practised differently, and used toward different goals. But, while these divergent definitions and purposes remain unexamined, and until there is open, clear conversation about this, there is the risk of confusion and misunderstanding as programs are implemented and evaluated.

In both cases it feels like it is important to examine the purpose of the practice so that everyone is clear.