ABSTRACT
Once cognitive behavioural coaching (CBC) has been explained and informed consent given to proceed, an initial and usually brief CBC assessment is carried out which focuses on the coachee's current concerns. The coachee's strengths are listed to aid goal-striving and remind them of past problem-solving successes and career achievements. Sometimes the coachee will provide a very economical case conceptualization that captures the thoughts, emotions and behaviours of their presenting problems, such as 'Trapped behind the mask'. It's important to distinguish between problems and psychological blocks: solving the former can be a relatively straightforward process through the coachee's adoption of CBC's experimental outlook, whereas the latter are usually ingrained beliefs and behaviours that can be hard to change and the coachee is ambivalent about changing them. For example, an executive was blocked from further advancement in his company until they moderated their abrasive interpersonal style.
