Does coach training change only the professional knowledge and skills of participants, or does it also change their personality and the way they think and behave? Do individuals who come from therapeutic backgrounds benefit differently from coach training compared with individuals without therapeutic experience? And which personal and interpersonal capabilities develop during an extended Coaching Psychology training programme?
Research Purpose
The purpose of the study was to identify which personal and interpersonal characteristics develop during a nine-month evidence-based coach training program. In addition, the researchers sought to examine whether differences exist in the impact of the training between participants with previous experience in therapy, counselling, or helping professions and participants without a therapeutic background. The study focused on variables such as life satisfaction, mindfulness, self-efficacy, empathy, self-insight, self-reflection, and solution-focused thinking.
Methodology: Pre–Post Design Study
The study was conducted at an academic institution in Israel and included 149 coach training students. The average age of participants was 36.8 years and approximately 70% of the participants were women. Of the participants, 61 had previous experience in therapy or helping professions and 88 had no prior therapeutic background.
In this study participants were measured at the beginning and at the end of the training program. The training program lasted nine months and included 168 hours of lectures and workshops and 30 hours of supervised coaching practicum. The program combined theoretical learning in areas such as goal setting, motivation, self-regulation, positive psychology, motivational interviewing, ethics, and change processes, together with peer coaching based on the Solution Focused Cognitive Behavioral Coaching approach.
Participants completed validated and reliable questionnaires measuring life satisfaction, mindfulness, self-efficacy, empathy, self-insight, self-reflection, emotional regulation, and solution-focused thinking.
Key Findings
When all participants were examined together, significant improvements were found across several key measures at the end of the training program. Increases were observed in life satisfaction (d=0.41), self-efficacy (d=0.39), mindfulness (d=0.34), empathy (d=0.44), self-insight (d=0.27), and solution-focused thinking (d=0.34). In addition, participants showed reduced emotional inhibition and an increased ability to disengage from problem-focused thinking and move toward solution-focused thinking.
The comparison between participants with therapeutic backgrounds and those without therapeutic backgrounds revealed differences. Already at the beginning of the program, participants with therapeutic backgrounds demonstrated higher levels of mindfulness, empathy, self-insight, and self-reflection.
Among participants without therapeutic backgrounds, more improvements and larger effect sizes were observed. The most prominent improvement was in empathy (d=0.88), which is considered a large effect size in psychological research. In addition, significant improvements were found in mindfulness, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, and self-insight.
In contrast, among participants with therapeutic backgrounds, the primary improvement was in the ability to disengage from analyzing problems and move toward a focus on solutions and goals (Problem Disengagement, d=0.46). This finding indicates that experienced therapists also gain value from coach training, but in different areas than participants without therapeutic backgrounds.
Conclusions and Recommendations
The researchers conclude that coach training influences not only the acquisition of professional skills but also leads to meaningful personal changes. Participants in the program reported increases in personal well-being, empathy, self-awareness, self-efficacy, and solution-focused thinking. The findings suggest that the coach training process itself constitutes a process of deep personal development.
In addition, participants with therapeutic backgrounds and participants without therapeutic backgrounds appear to benefit differently from the training. Whereas participants without therapeutic backgrounds primarily develop interpersonal skills and self-awareness, participants with therapeutic backgrounds expand their ability to work using a solution-focused and goal-oriented approach.
Importance for Coaches
This study is particularly important because it draws attention to the impact of coach training on the coaches themselves. Whereas most coaching research examines the effects of coaching on clients, this study shows that the training process also changes future coaches. In addition, the study provides important insights regarding differences between participants from therapeutic backgrounds and participants from business, managerial, educational, or other backgrounds, highlighting that each group may require different emphases during the training process.
Atad, O. I., & Grant, A. M. (2021). How does coach training change coaches-in-training? Differential effects for novice vs. experienced “skilled helpers”. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 14(1), 3–19.