Role of coaching psychology in defining boundaries between counselling and coaching

The fields of coaching and coaching psychology are rapidly changing. Issues that used to be prominent some time ago and indicating pressing needs for practitioners and clients alike are now projects in progress. For example the established professional coaching bodies are raising awareness of important issues in coaching practice and creating guidelines for practice and supervision of coaching practitioners. There are other more noticeable and successful efforts for collaboration between these professional bodies. The growing body of research indicates that the focus of attention is shifting from the efforts of individual practitioners to prove that coaching ‘works’ to careful and in-depth investigation of the nature and complexity of coaching processes. These include the nuances and dynamics of the coaching relationship, the interaction of specific influencing factors in clients, coaches and coaching contexts and the wider consideration of the role of coaching for organisations and societies (Whitney, 2001; Palmer and Whybrow, 2006).