Person-centred coaching psychology: A meta-theoretical perspective

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Stephen Josephto say that person-centred practitionersdon’t work with distressed and dysfunctionalpeople. They do, but their focus, no matterwhere the client lies on the spectrum ofpsychological functioning is to facilitate theself-determination of the client so that theycan move toward more optimal functioning.The person-centred approach is a metatheoreticalapproach to working withpeople, be they in one to one settings, insmall groups, in community settings, or asapplied to social policy. It is not a set of therapeutictechniques but an attitude based onthe theoretical stance that people are theirown best experts (Joseph, 2003).In brief, Carl Rogers proposed the metatheoreticalperspective that human beingshave an inherent tendency toward growth,development, and optimal functioning,which he termed the actualising tendency (see,Rogers, 1959, 1963). But these do nothappen automatically. For people to selfactualisetheir inherent optimal nature theyrequire the right social environment. Rogersproposed that the right social environmentwas one in which the person feels understood,valued, and accepted for who they are.In such an environment, Rogers reasoned,people are inclined to self-actualise in a waythat is congruent with their intrinsic actualisingtendency, resulting in well-being andoptimal functioning. But when people don’tfeel understood, valued, or accepted for whothey are, but only feel valued for being theperson they perceive someone else wantsthem to be, then they self-actualise in a waythat is incongruent with their intrinsic actualisingtendency, resulting in distress anddysfunction.The person-centred meta-theoreticalperspective is an established psychologicaltradition supported by over 50 years ofresearch and theory (see, Barrett-Lennard,1998), as well as recent developments inpositive psychology (see, e.g. Joseph &Linley, 2004, 2005, in press). This assumptionthat human beings have an inherenttendency toward growth, development, andoptimal functioning provides the theoreticalfoundation that it is the client and not thetherapist who knows best. This serves as theguiding principle for client-centred practice,which in essence, is simply the principledstance of respecting the self-determinationof others (B. Grant, 2004).Applications of the person-centredapproach have been not only to therapy, butto education, parenting, group learning,conflict resolution, and peace processes (see,Barrett-Lennard, 1998), all based on the samephilosophical stance that people are theirown best experts, and have within themselvesthe potential to develop, and to grow. Whenthis inner potential is released the personmoves toward becoming more autonomousand socially constructive. These ideas havetaken root in many contexts, but often thework of Carl Rogers goes unrecognised andunacknowledged. But they are ideas whichwill be easily recognisable to coachingpsychologists (e.g. Whitmore, 1996).What might be less familiar is that theperson-centred way of working does notmake a distinction between people in termsof their level of psychological functioning,because the process of alleviating distressand dysfunction is the same as that for facilitatingwell-being and optimal functioning.Both ends of the spectrum of functioningare defined in relation to the extent to whichself-actualisation is congruent with the actualisingtendency (Ford, 1991). When there isgreater congruence, greater well-being andmore optimal functioning results. But whenthere is less congruence, greater distress anddysfunction results (see Wilkins, 2005).Thus, the person-centred approachoffers a genuinely positive psychologicalperspective on mental health because of itsunified and holistic focus on both the negativeand the positive aspects of human functioning(Joseph & Worsley, 2005). Coachingpsychology would be the same activityrequiring the same theoretical base, and thesame practical skills, as required for workingwith people who are distressed and dysfunctional.A person-centred coachingpsychology, in contrast to one underpinned48 International Coaching Psychology Review ● Vol. 1 No. 1 April 2006
Person-centred coaching psychologyby the medical model, would view understandingand enhancing optimal functioningand the alleviation of maladaptivefunctioning as a unitary task, as opposed totwo separate tasks as is the case when viewedthrough the lens of the medical model.The medical modelMaddux, Snyder and Lopez (2004) haveargued that the adoption of the medicalmodel in psychology can be traced back to theorigins of the discipline and the influence ofpsychoanalytic theory, and the fact that practitionertraining typically occurred in psychiatrichospitals and clinics, where clinicalpsychologists worked primarily as psychodiagnosticiansunder the direction of psychiatriststrained in medicine and psychoanalysis.This led clinical psychologists to adopt themethods and assumptions of their psychiatristcounterparts, who were themselves trainedspecifically in the medical model.There were three implication of this.First, psychologists began to think in termsof dichotomies between normal andabnormal behaviours, between clinical andnon-clinical problems, and between clinicalpopulations and non-clinical populations.Second, it locates human maladjustmentinside the person, rather than in theperson’s interactions with the environmentand their encounters with socioculturalvalues and social institutions. Third, itportrays people who seek help as victims ofintrapsychic and biological forces beyondtheir control, and thus leaves them as passiverecipients of an expert’s care. These threeimplications stand in contrast to the personcentredmodel which views well-being ascontinuous, emphasises the role of the socialenvironment, and the self-determination ofthe person.Thus, the medical model refers to thepremise that there is discontinuity betweenpsychopathological functioning and optimalfunctioning so that understanding and alleviatingdistress and dysfunction is a separatetask from facilitating well-being and optimalfunctioning. Thus, a medical modelcoaching psychology would be a differentactivity requiring a different knowledge baseand different skills than required forworking with people who are distressed anddysfunctional.Person-centred versus the medicalmodelIt should be clear from the above, that theperson-centred model and the medicalmodel are mutually exclusive. The formerviews understanding and enhancing optimalfunctioning and the alleviation of maladaptivefunctioning as a unitary task. The latterviews understanding and enhancing optimalfunctioning as two separate tasks. Insofar ascoaching psychologists have viewed the alleviationof distress and dysfunction and thefacilitation of well-being and optimal functioningas two separate tasks, therefore, theyhave implicitly adopted the medical model.It will be argued that coaching psychologyshould take a stance of opposition to themedical model.The alternative is the person-centredmodel. Terms like coaching, counselling,and psychotherapy are interchangeable inperson-centred practice because they allrefer to the practice of respecting the selfdeterminationof others. Thus it would bepossible to talk of any arena of professionalpsychology as person-centred, if it adoptedthe meta-theoretical perspective that humanbeings have an inherent tendency towardgrowth, development, and optimal functioning.We could equally well talk of personcentredcounselling psychology orperson-centred clinical psychology. However,these arenas of professional psychology havenot adopted the person-centred model, butrather the medical model. If clinical andcounselling psychology had adopted theperson-centred meta-theory as opposed tothe medical model, there would now be noneed for coaching psychology, because clinicaland counselling psychology wouldalready be concerned with the full spectrumof human functioning!International Coaching Psychology Review ● Vol. 1 No. 1 April 2006 49
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Person-centred coaching psychology: A meta-theoretical perspective

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