ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with an exploration of what underpins a person-centred approach to coaching supervision. The approach is based on Carl Rogers’ philosophy that people are unique, intrinsically resourceful, capable of insight, and motivated to fulfil their potential. As the name infers, he put the person right at the centre of his work. It looks at the role of the coach supervisor in this context, and how the practitioner might prepare themselves to work congruently with the approach. The person-centred supervisor allows the supervisee to be in charge of the session, while the supervisor provides those conditions which allow the supervisee to access their own innate knowledge and to grow. Rogers’s own style was relatively conversational in line with his desire to be real; rather than analysing or offering hypotheses, he reflected back to the client what he heard, or asked a question that invoked insight. The person-centred approach is a way of being, or a set of attitudes, not a set of techniques. In keeping with this stance, there are only two ‘enquiries’ written by two different contributors.
