The Advantages Of Going Through A Coaching Process From Psychology
Coaching is a very versatile field of work that is increasingly present in contexts such as team management, training for companies, psychological support for students and candidates, training in emotional management techniques and self-motivation for athletes, etc.
Now, while coaching offers versatility, the fact that this type of tasks are relatively unregulated means that within this category it is possible to find professionals with all kinds of background in terms of training and areas of specialization. And because of this, many people and entities that offer coaching services do not offer the guarantees that those who have training in Psychology can provide.
But… What does all this translate into in practice? Here we will explain the different advantages that come with resorting to coaching offered by psychologists
Not all coaches are psychologists, but practically all psychologists can offer coaching services if they have already had the opportunity to develop professionally. Let’s see what the implications of this are and why it implies that resorting to coaching that comes from Psychology is, in general, better than resorting to coaching from someone who is not a psychologist.
1. Psychology offers a guarantee of minimum knowledge
First of all, having the services of a coach who is also accredited as a psychologist is a guarantee that that person understands and masters the fundamentals of behavioral science
This means that this type of professionals do not practice based on theories and models that are widely outdated or that were never considered scientifically valid, which not only makes the services offered more effective, but also prevents the appearance of problems that may arise if They use harmful procedures, such as those based on emotional manipulation.
2. Psychology is always informed by the latest research
Psychologists, by virtue of being psychologists, know the sources to turn to to stay up to date on the latest research in psychotherapy, mental health, neuroscience, educational models, etc.
It is part of their scientific training not to settle for what they already know, but maintain a critical spirit and be aware that every year advances are made in what we know about the human mind, behavioral patterns, etc. Likewise, a psychologist has more resources to avoid misinterpreting studies or simply believing false information about scientific discoveries that affect his or her field of work.
3. Comprehensive coverage is offered for people’s well-being
Since psychologists have knowledge in very diverse areas and know the principles of Basic Psychology, what they know how to do are not simple ramifications of techniques learned separately and that they do not know how to use at the same time (or that they do not know if they should be used in combination).
And in the same way, by having a global perspective of the psychological processes and the possible problems and needs of people or teams of people, will not assume that the solution necessarily involves the application of a technique that has been learned In their day-to-day life, both in therapy and outside of it, psychologists only use a part of the resources at their disposal, not all, because they are committed to efficiency and the maximum brevity of the intervention, so that they do not You try things until one works.
4. We work using strategies that emerged in psychotherapy developments
Although the problems and needs in which coaching intervenes do not arise from the world of mental health (that is what psychiatry and clinical psychology are already there for), psychologists also They can adapt some of the techniques they use with patients to help their clients/coachees For example, although lack of motivation is not a psychopathology, the technologies and techniques used in some people with mood disorders can also be useful in teaching a person to connect with their values and interests and “get their life back on track.” through new routines and ways of seeing things.
5. It intervenes on psychological processes, not on abstract ideas
Finally, it should be noted that since psychology is fundamentally a science, its objective is always to focus on obtaining objective results, something that is achieved by modifying behavior patterns and ways of processing emotions and thoughts. But coaching unrelated to Psychology does not have to have resources to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of what it proposes to clients, because it is much more exposed to reification: confusing objective psychological processes with the words and concepts we use to describe them..
Reification means that instead of trying to change our behaviors, we limit ourselves to manipulating words in our minds, although the fact of doing this has no practical implications because these kinds of exercises are not “connected” to real psychological processes But psychology has ways to avoid this kind of circular reasoning such as “to feel better about yourself you must improve your self-esteem,” and its resources point directly to the modification of cognitive schemes, associations between ideas and behaviors, etc.
Related article: “5 behavior modification techniques”
Do you want to have coaching services offered by experienced psychologists?
If you are thinking about starting a coaching process to achieve your goals in your personal and/or professional life, we invite you to contact us.
In UPAD Psychology and Coaching We have been working together for years in the areas of psychotherapy, coaching, training and Sports Psychology, and we offer our services in person and online through video call sessions.
