Coaching: Complementary Training For Psychologists
Being a fairly young science, Psychology is in the process of expansion and diversification. What a few decades ago was seen as a profession for people who dedicated themselves to “fixing” what apparently does not work in the behavior of others, today is seen in a way that is much richer in nuances; It is a psychologist who offers therapy to patients suffering from psychopathologies, yes, but so is the sports psychologist who works for a football club or the psychologist who is dedicated to the design of work spaces in companies.
In this sense, It is not surprising that more and more psychologists are deciding to specialize in the field of coaching ; This has become a complementary training that offers many tools to intervene beyond the clinical and health context: leadership processes, personal development, assistance to people preparing for competitive exams, public speaking training, etc.
What makes coaching interesting in the eyes of a psychologist?
Although, as we have anticipated, psychology is in the midst of a diversification process, it has not started from a situation in which psychologists have initially dedicated themselves to working on “a little bit of everything.” At the birth of this discipline, almost all efforts were applied to two areas: psychotherapeutic intervention, on the one hand, and the study of individual differences, on the other. The first aimed to develop strategies to improve the quality of life of patients with problems generated by psychopathologies, and the second was applied above all to detect problematic cases of learning problems, very low level of intelligence, antisocial personality traits, etc.
As we can see, this way of understanding Psychology was biased towards the negative; From a somewhat pessimistic perspective, it was assumed that the purpose of the psychologist’s work is to help people who suffer “deficits” in various aspects of life.
In recent years, however, A more global conception of psychology has been gaining strength, and that is why today it is increasingly taken into account to what extent psychologists can help improve what in principle is already functional and is not fundamentally damaged by psychological disorders, neurological disorders, etc. This implies that the knowledge arising from behavioral sciences can be applied to a very wide variety of situations and needs, and the concept of coaching helps to encompass many of these intervention processes towards the positive, towards the optimization of the skills and talents that They already exist in latent form.
Main areas of coaching training
These are some of the areas of specialization in coaching currently most in demand among psychologists who decide to train in this field:
1. Leadership
Training in leadership skills It is among the most important functions of psychologists who work for companies or for CEOs and senior executives specifically; We must not forget that the simple fact of holding a position does not imply knowing how to lead, since the latter implies having the necessary skills to inspire and mobilize entire teams, and in a coordinated manner.
2. Self-knowledge
Although self-knowledge processes are of great importance in areas of psychology such as psychotherapy, in the world of coaching it is usually associated with analysis of the values and ideals that guide people when proposing significant life projects for themselves, such as a certain professional career different from the present one, the creation of a family based on a certain model of upbringing and coexistence, the search for their own style when creating art, etc. This is a function closely linked to personal coaching, very focused on personal development.
The process of self-knowledge allows you to find the right keys to motivation and self-motivation, since There are no universal incentive systems that work effectively in 100% of cases ; It is necessary to know the particularities of people, their values and their expectations.
But that is not enough; You also have to know the routines and time management models that are effective to constantly face objectives that make up a long-term project: training for entrance tests, writing a novel, creating a company, etc. For example, there are those who know perfectly well what they want, but they are unable to move from desires to actions and procrastinate for days or weeks.
4. Team management
Processes such as teambuilding or training in communication skills and conflict management are grouped here, elements necessary to prevent the appearance of communication and interpersonal problems within organizations.
5. Sports coaching
Supporting athletes through coaching services It groups together several of the functions that we have seen so far, but due to the particularities of the problems and the specific needs of athletes, it is usually classified as a separate category.
6. Family coaching
In the context of the family, it is of particular interest not to focus so much on the individual problems of the family members, but to have a global perspective of the existing relationships between them This allows us to help resolve conflicts that have been perpetuated for months or years, improve the family’s ability to coexist, strengthen existing ties, avoid the tendency to constantly fall into misunderstandings, etc.
Mediterranean School of Psychology is a 100% online training center by and for psychologists, with more than 60 courses, postgraduate courses and master’s degrees that cover all facets of behavioral science.
Here you will find options to train in the world of coaching with the level of depth that you desire; Some of the most interesting proposals are the EMP Master in Professional Coaching, the Postgraduate in Family Coaching, the Higher Course in Coaching and Mentoring, or the Higher Course in Leadership and Motivation in the Company, among others. To learn about everything that the Mediterranean School of Psychology offers you, visit its page.
