The Coaching Psychology Conference: Integrating research and practice

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Key submission dates

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Registration

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Programme

Download the full conference programme

Speakers

Dr Natalie Lancer - 'Me-search': What does it mean to integrate research and practice as a coaching psychologist? 

In this talk, Dr Natalie Lancer, Chair of the BPS Division of Coaching Psychology, unpacks the messiness of what integrating research and practice might look like on a day-to-day level in which we might navigate coaching clients, reflection, CPD, writing case studies, social media posts, personal websites and blogs, formal research, reading the literature, analysing coaching transcripts, supervision, peer practice groups and belonging to a professional society.

Natalie will interrogate the concept of 'me-search' – to consider what we are really researching as coaching psychologists and what 'counts' as research beyond traditional academic definitions.  

She offers a structure to think about the symbiosis of research and practice through considering the process, content and meaning of what we do as coaching psychologists and how this gives rise to our professional identity. 

Professor Jonathan Passmore - Flipping digital: How digital technologies are transforming coaching 

In this session Prof Passmore will talk about the development of coaching over the past 10,000 years from a conversation device to a specialist identity. He will suggest coaching has entered a new phase drawing on his 5P model of industrial change. He will expire what this fourth phase of change means for coaches, and buyers of coaching now and how this may play out during the 2020's, with a focus on coaching platforms and AI technologies. What are the associated risks and benefits and how can coaching psychologists respond to the emergence of tools such as GPT and AIMY as both coaches and academics. Finally, he will offer some thoughts on how coaching may evolve in the 2030's. (Caution: This session may cause distress).

Tia Moin - Coaching with an inclusive mindset: have you looked closely at how ready you are to receive diversity in your coaching room?

Most coaches strive towards showing unconditional positive regard (UPR) towards their clients. As Carl Rogers emphasises in his approach to client-centred therapy, receiving clients without judgment from a place of love and care, no matter what they present with is key. 

Being human means that each and every one of us will have a hypothetical client that we are not quite ready to receive with open arms, have you considered what you might do if that client knocked on your door? How ready are you to receive the client into your coaching room?

Together, we will explore the challenges of achieving UPR, the complex ethical interplay with the Equality Act 2010 in the fair provision of trading services, and finally explore strategies that might move us towards a more open and inclusive mindset. This session will be interactive, we won't discuss specifics of your hypothetical client rather, we will apply meta-thinking to explore potential reactions and ethical solutions.

We will use mobile-based, interactive quiz software (menti.com) to collect and share ideas. Data shared through menti.com will be anonymous and may be retained for research purposes (if you are not comfortable you are not required to engage with the software). 

Professor David A Lane - Consuming and producing research – issues for the practitioner as researcher

Any claim that coaching is an effective and credible intervention needs to be underpinned by a robust evidence base. Yet evidence is always partial and open to interpretation. Moreover, it serves an increasingly complex range of functions for an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders. This raises concerns for us as practitioners and as professionals – our own positionality needs to be understood. These realities give rise to a variety of ethical issues.

This paper examines some of the ethical issues arising from attempting to grow the evidence- base of coaching. The paper explores what is meant by evidence, its cultural assumptions, the lack of synergy that can occur between research and practice and how any evidence sought will vary as a function of the underlying philosophical perspective adopted. The responsibilities of coaches as producers and consumers of knowledge are also considered and a framework for navigating the ethical complexities encountered in research is provided.

In exploring these issues the aim is to contribute new questions to help us consider what is needed for coaching to move confidently and ethically towards its claim of being an evidence-based profession.

Professor Sarah Corrie - What's the Story? The Contribution of Formulation to Coaching Practice in Complex Times 

The ways in which a coach understands and conceptualises the needs of a client is central to the way the coaching journey unfolds. In other forms of applied psychology interventions are designed and delivered through the aid of a formulation which is widely recognised as a core competence for professional psychologists.

Formulation can be understood as a unique form of storytelling and is a process through which a coach and client make sense of the client's aims and needs, identify the factors of influence, and use this understanding to design a way forward. Although historically, the relevance of formulation to coaching has been under explored, it is now gaining recognition as a distinct capability and one which may have particular value in contexts of complexity - the terrain that many coaches increasingly inhabit.

Exploring formulation from the perspective of different disciplines, including the performing arts, as well as recent and current work within coaching, this keynote considers how embedding formulation in our coaching might enable us to enhance our practice, co-construct more effective stories about our clients' needs and contribute in new and ever more creative ways to the needs of our clients in a rapidly changing world.  

Professor Erik de Haan - Our best evidence regarding coaching effectiveness: a modern meta-analysis

We have undertaken a detailed meta-analytic study involving all 37 randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies of workplace and executive coaching programs written in the English language between 1994 and 2021, using rigorous inclusion criteria designed to align with the robustness of statistical significance and coaching applications.

Analysis of a total of 39 independent coaching RCT samples (total sample size of N = 2,528), yielded a statistically significant effect of workplace coaching across all leadership and personal outcomes. Our best estimate of a standard effect size for coaching of g = 5.6 fell well within the moderate range, although there were indications of significant publication bias, as expected. Furthermore, we developed a model that is based on the leverage from coregulation between coach and coachee.

The model was confirmed in five different predictions: moderation analyses indicated that effects are larger with self-reported outcomes, as distinct from observed outcomes; they are larger with qualified coaches in nonleadership applications; and they are somewhat larger with female coachees, while they do not depend much on the length of the overall coaching assignment. Taken together, these findings provide clear and new evidence of the efficacy of coaching interventions in a variety of applications. 

De Haan, E. & Nilsson, V. O. (2023). What Can We Know about the Effectiveness of Coaching? A Meta-Analysis Based Only on Randomized Controlled Trials. Academy of Management Learning & Education, https://journals.aom.org/doi/full/10.5465/amle.2022.0107.

Dr Rebecca Jones - Translating research into practice – navigating the science as an evidence-based coach

Dr Rebecca J Jones has built her academic career on the premise that using research to inform our practice can make us more effective coaches. However, for those who want to use research in their practice – where should they start? How can you identify what research to pay attention to and what to ignore?

What are the key insights from research that we can already use to inform our practice and what does this 'look like' in actual coaching sessions? And what are the recommendations for coaches who want to continue to stay connected to research to improve their practice? 

In this session Rebecca will address these key questions, sharing insights from her own research on the effectiveness of coaching as well as examples of how she incorporates research in her own practice as an evidence-based coach.

Dr Marie Stopforth - Case Study Research – guidance on how to plan and implement a case study research design

The use of case study research as a mode of inquiry has become increasingly recognised and valued in social science.  Case study research is a formal, quasi-experimental research method, which follows explicit research procedures. 

This methodological approach might be preferred when your research is seeking to explain the 'how' and 'why' of coaching, and might be particularly attractive to independent practitioners who wish to investigate a particular area of coaching practice.  In addition, the British Psychological Society's (BPS) Standards for Coaching Psychology highlight this as a potential research approach in fulfilment of Standard 4.

In this session, we will identify when and why you would want to consider using a case study research approach, and what type of research question might lend itself to this approach.  We will also explore how to design a case study, collect, and analyse data, and compose a case study report.  Finally, some examples will be presented and examined in the context of Standard 4 of the BPS Standards for Coaching Psychology.  Time will be allocated at the end for delegate questions.

Dr Gordon Medlock  - Targeting Needed Research to Advance the Fields of Coaching & Coaching Education

Research plays a foundational role in developing the practices of coaching and coaching education. Gordon Medlock will share the challenges and opportunities for providing evidence-based research to support best practice standards in these professions. He will present an overview of the need for more targeted research based on the thought leadership of subject matter experts, including representatives from BPS – The Division of Coaching Psychology and the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching (GSAEC). The paucity of existing coaching education research and the crucial need for high-quality research on educational methods and programs will also be addressed. 

Gordon will invite attendees to explore central questions including: 

• How can becoming a proficient researcher make me a better coach? 
• What differentiates coaching training from coaching education? 
• How can I contribute to the development and impact of the coaching profession by integrating coaching and research expertise? 

Gordon will facilitate a roundtable discussion on the intersection of research and practice. He invites seasoned and developing scholar-practitioners to engage and share their research experience and interests in support of advancing coaching education and coaching practices. Participants will have the opportunity to explore research questions arising from their practice experience as educators and coaches in their specialty areas. 

Dr Gordon Medlock and Professor Divine Charura - The Roundtable Workshop: Facilitating Integration of Coaching Practice and Research

Gordon Medlock and Divine Charura will be facilitating a conversation where participants can explore their emerging research questions and projects. We will set context about the process of becoming a coaching practitioner-researcher, acknowledging that each individual's journey is unique and that there are common factors and challenges that are useful to identify. We view collaboration among fellow practitioner-researchers as an essential facet of the developmental journey.  We welcome participants at all points in the process to share and support one another as they clarify and pursue their respective research interests.  The opportunity to contribute through your research to the advancement of the professions of coaching and coaching education will also be an important component of the workshop.

Professor Stephen Palmer

A century ago, Dr Coleman R. Griffith (1926:8) stated, 'It is becoming clearer every day, however, that the most successful coaches are psychologists of no small ability'. Fast-forward to this century, we find that psychology theories and research are now included in many coaching courses.

This paper will provide a brief overview to the remarkable development over the past two decades of the field of coaching psychology as a distinct area of professional practice and research. Early reflections and predictions about coaching psychology will be cited and the collaborative approach at the international level will be highlighted, perhaps even celebrated. Using modern technology and not a glass ball, the future of coaching psychology will be mentioned in despatches.

Speakers

Professor Sarah Corrie

 Professor Sarah Corrie is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist and Founder and Director of Inspiring Transformation Ltd, a company dedicated to creating bespoke services for clients that enable lasting, transformational change. She has extensive experience in coaching, as well as clinical and psychotherapeutic practice in a range of settings and has a national and international profile relating to training and supervision in the fields of applied psychology. She has a particular interest in how coaching might contribute to some of the most challenging issues of our time, including mental health, the developmental opportunities and challenges that arise from periods of crisis and transition, and better understanding the learning and development needs of the workforce. 

Sarah is a former Chair of the British Psychological Society's Special Group, now Division of Coaching Psychology. Amongst her other roles, Sarah is a faculty member of the Professional Development Foundation and a Visiting Professor at Middlesex University. In 2016, she was the recipient of the British Psychological Society's Achievement Award for Distinguished Contributions to Coaching Psychology and in 2017 was awarded a Fellowship of the British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies. In addition to her work as a coach, she is a Professor of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Counselling at the University of Suffolk where she is also joint head of department for Counselling, Psychology and Social Work. 

Dr Rebecca J Jones

Dr Rebecca J Jones PhD Psyche is an Associate Professor in Coaching and Behavioural Change at Henley Business School, a Chartered Psychologist and a Co-Founder of The Inclusive Leadership Company. Her research interests lie in examining the factors that influence coaching effectiveness and her consultancy practice focuses on working with organisations to create diverse and inclusive workplaces using coaching and psychological theory and research to achieve sustained behaviour change. Rebecca is the author of the book 'Coaching with Research in Mind', host of 'Coaching Henley' and 'The Coaching Academic' podcasts and has published her research in globally renowned journals.

Dr Natalie Lancer

Dr Natalie Lancer is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist and supervisor. She is the Chair of the British Psychological Society's Division of Coaching Psychology and the host of their podcast 'The Coaching Psychology Pod'. She is also Chair of the BPS Senate and a BPS Trustee. She is an Honorary Researcher at Birkbeck, University of London and her research focusses on the impact of coaching programmes on Doctoral students. Natalie is a Master's and PhD supervisor at the New School of Psychotherapy and Counselling. In 2016, she co-authored Techniques for Coaching and Mentoring with David Clutterbuck. She is an accredited member of the Association for Coaching, and is a regular keynote speaker.

Professor David A Lane

As well as contributing to research and the professional development of coaching Professor Lane has coached in a wide range of organisations including major consultancies, multinationals, and public sector and government bodies.  He also pioneered the international development of work based masters degrees for experienced coaches. 

He was Chair of the British Psychological Society Register of Psychologists Specialising in Psychotherapy and convened the European Federation of Psychologists Associations group on Psychotherapy. He has served on committees of the BPS, CIPD, WABC and EMCC, as well as being a founder member of the Global Coaching Community.   He is currently Chair of Association of Professional Executive Coaches and Supervisors. His contributions to counselling psychology led to the senior award of the BPS for "Outstanding Scientific Contribution". In 2009 he was honoured by the British Psychological Society for his Distinguished Contribution to Professional Psychology. In 2016 the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons conferred an Honorary Associateship for his work developing general practice.

Dr Gordon Medlock

Gordon Medlock, Ph.D., MA, PCC, is Co-Chair of the Research Committee of the Graduate School Alliance for Education in Coaching (GSAEC).  Gordon reviews coaching research needed to support the GSAEC standards for graduate level coach education. 

He is the Director of Doctoral Research at the Wright Graduate University program in Transformational Coaching and Leadership. He specializes in supervising students in completing dissertation projects that expand their influence as scholar practitioners and leaders in their chosen fields. 

Gordon earned his PhD degree from Yale university with a research focus on the theoretical foundations of existential and humanistic psychology. He received an MA degree in clinical social work from the University of Chicago and has over 30 years of experience in a wide variety of practice modalities.

He looks forward to exploring research opportunities with developing and seasoned scholar practitioners with an interest in expanding their impact on the emerging field of coaching psychology.

Professor Stephen Palmer

Professor Stephen Palmer PhD is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist, ISCP Accredited Coaching Psychologist and Supervisor, and APECS Accredited Master Executive Coach and Supervisor. In 2002 he set up the Coaching Psychology Forum whose members later petitioned for the British Psychological Society (BPS) to set up a group that supported psychologists who were involved in coaching practice. With Dr Alison Whybrow, he was the co-proposer of the BPS Special Group in Coaching Psychology (SGCP) and became the first chair in 2004. His other SGCP roles included being treasurer and conference chair. In 2008, he received from the SGCP a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of distinguished contribution to coaching psychology. Stephen is President and Fellow of the International Society for Coaching Psychology, and former President and now Honorary Fellow of the Association for Coaching. He is former founding Co-Editor of the International Coaching Psychology Review. He has written/edited 60 books including Handbook of Coaching Psychology (with Whybrow). He is Professor of Practice at the Wales Academy for Professional Practice and Research, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, Adjunct Professor of Coaching Psychology at Aalborg University, Denmark, and Director of the National Academy of Coaching Psychology. He set up the UK's first Coaching Psychology Unit at City University and was Honorary Director of the Coaching Psychology Unit at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil.

Dr Marie Stopforth

Marie is a British Psychological Society Chartered Coaching Psychologist, Health & Care Professions Council registered sport and exercise psychologist.  She spent 5 years on the committee of the Special Group in Coaching Psychology, and led the work that saw the establishment of the Division of Coaching Psychology and routes to Chartered Membership in Coaching Psychology.   She is now the Chief Assessor for the BPS professional recognition routes in Coaching Psychology.

Marie spent 15 years working in Higher Education, including as programme leader of an MSc Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology programme at the University of East London.  In 2016, she founded her own coaching business where she provides coaching to individuals and training to organisations, as well as offering training and supervision to coaches.  Her School of Coaching Psychology provides training for coaches who want to understand more about how psychology can underpin their coaching practice, and for psychologists who want to coach.  

Marie holds a PhD in Sport Psychology from the University of Chichester. 

Professor (Dr.) Divine Charura

Professor (Dr.) Divine Charura is a practitioner psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council in England. Divine is also an Honorary Fellow of the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and an adult psychotherapist. Furthermore, his work as an Executive leadership Coach, has included working with members of senior leadership teams, within corporate organizations, and private institutions in the UK and abroad.  Divine is also passionate about coach education and how the coaching profession can support the development of coaching practitioners as researchers. He believes that this will enable them to continue to contribute to the coaching evidence base and enhance the development of the coaching profession. 

As a practitioner psychologist, psychotherapist, coach and researcher, Divine's work and interests are on the multidisciplinary application of coaching. This for example includes within psychological health, wellbeing in the workplace, developing people, their potential and talent.  Divine has co-authored and edited numerous books in counselling, psychology, and psychotherapy. 

Professor Erik de Haan

Erik de Haan works as an OD consultant, leadership (team) coach, supervisor and psychotherapist. He first studied Theoretical Physics and undertook his PhD in Psychophysics at the University of Utrecht, and MA in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with the Tavistock Clinic.

He is Director of the Ashridge Centre for Coaching at Hult International Business School (UK), and Professor of Organisation Development at the VU University in Amsterdam. He is the programme leader of Ashridge's MSc in Executive Coaching and PG Diploma in Organisational Supervision.

He has published more than 200 professional and research articles and 16 books, covering his expertise as an organisational consultant, therapist, and executive coach. His latest book is The gift of coaching: love over fear in helping conversations (McGraw-Hill, 2022).

Professor Jonathan Passmore

Jonathan Passmore is a chartered occupational psychologist, was involved in the formation of the Coaching Psychology Forum (which predated the Special Group) and having been involved for most of the Group's 20-year history became the Inaugural Chair of the BPS Division of Coaching Psychology in 2021-2022.  In addition, top serving on various BPS committees over this period he has also served as editor International Coaching Psychology Review. He has worked in consulting for much of his career with consulting firms including PWC, IBM and OPM, and has led his own consulting psychology company with a team of 17 consultants specialising in safety critical environments. He is now professor of coaching at Henley Business School and also SVP for a global digital coaching business. He has published widely with over 200 scientific papers and book chapters and 40 books, which include the 2 million word, 8-volume Wiley Blackwell Series of titles on Occupational and Organisational Psychology. His most recent book : The Ethical Coaches' Handbook was published last month, and he has five new titles in progress including The Digital Coaches' Handbook and The Health and Wellbeing Coaches' Handbook. Jonathan is also listed as one of the Top 20 Global Coaching Gurus and continues to deliver coaching and supervision.

Tia Moin

Ms. Tia Moin CPsychol – BPS Division of Coaching Psychology Committee Member (EDI Lead) and PhD Researcher. Tia has served on the committee for DoCP since 2019 and is researching coaching for EDI as a PhD student at the University of Reading. She builds on a 20+ year career in Organisational Psychology.

Location

Friends House

173-177 Euston Road

London

NW1 2BJ

www.friendshouse.co.uk

Accommodation

Ambassadors Hotel which is located in Bloomsbury 2 roads away from our venue – please follow https://www.ambassadors.co.uk/en/ and mention Friends House

Imperial London Hotel located in Tavistock (closest to Russel Square) - https://www.imperialhotels.co.uk/hotels/tavistock-hotel and mention Friends House

Have a query?

Contact us at [email protected]