Research in Coaching

Wellness Coaching Benefits Cancer Survivors
The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, “Wellness Coaching Study Finds Long Term Benefits for Cancer Survivors. “New research published in the International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences and conducted by The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, showed that wellness coaching, a relatively new type of health intervention, had significant, immediate, and lasting impact in reducing anxiety and depression, while simultaneously improving quality of life and increasing other healthy lifestyle behaviors.”

This study is of interest to oncology nurses for several reasons. With the growing number of cancer survivors, approaches to keeping them engaged in maintaining good health are needed. Use of a telephone, along with excellent listening and coaching skills, are readily employable by nurses. With appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities as wellness coaches, oncology nurses can be at the forefront of helping individuals.
http://intraweb.stockton.edu/eyos/extaffairs/content/docs/pressrel/StocktonCancerResearch2010PressRelease.pdf

Using Coaching as a Health Intervention
Article for Coaching World
By Dr Don Morrow,
Chair, ICF Research and Development Committee
Certified Professional Co-active Coach
Possibilities Life Coaching
Personal, Executive, and Life Coaching
www.possibilitieslifecoaching.com
Email: dr.morrow@possibilitieslifecoaching.com

Research Update- Coaching Guides Cancer Survivors to Better Health – Welcome to The Coaching Commons

The Impact Of Life Coaching On Goal Attainment, Metacognition And Mental Health
ANTHONY M. GRANT: University of Sydney, NSW, Australia
This study has shown that solution-focused, cognitive-behavioural life coaching can indeed be an effective approach to creating positive change, enhancing mental health and life experience and facilitating goal attainment. In addition to these therapeutic aspects, life coaching and coaching psychology provide a usefulframework from which to further develop our knowledge of the psychological processes involved in purposeful change in normal, nonclinical populations.
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2003, 31(3), 253-264
© Society for Personality Research (Inc.)

Coaching With Compassion Can ‘Light Up’ Human Thoughts: ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2010) — An internally funded research at Case Western Reserve has documented reactions in the human brain to compassionate and critical coaching methods. The results start to reveal the mechanisms by which learning can be enhanced through coaching with compassion…..Richard Boyatzis and Anthony Jack, assistant professor of cognitive science, philosophy and psychology, have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to show neural reactions based on different coaching styles…..By spending 30 minutes talking about a person’s desired, personal vision, we could light up (activate) the parts of the brain 5-7 days later that are associated with cognitive, perceptual and emotional openness and better functioning,” Boyatzis said.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101117184501.htm

Compassionate Coaching Proven Effective
A GoodTherapy.org News Headline/November 24th, 2010
Coaching is a part of many roles outside of athletics: therapists, teachers, physicians, counselors, and parents all incorporate some degree of coaching in their work. A new study has looked at two coaching methods: compassionate coaching (focusing on the possible accomplishments and an individual’s ability to achieve their goals) and problem-based coaching (focusing on what a person is doing wrong and working to “fix” those problems). Perhaps not surprisingly, the compassionate coaching had a greater positive impact on people’s well-being and sense of investment in their accomplishments. GoodTherapy.org advocates a collaborative, empowering, and non-pathologizing model of therapy—an approach not unlike the compassionate coaching in this study. This study reinforces that such an approach is both effective and good for people.

Life Coaching is Already Showing Positive Outcomes
Recent research into the practise and impact of life coaching is already showing positive outcomes. For example, in response to the question, ‘whether techniques used in Counselling / Clinical Psychology are applicable to coaching..’ Dr Grant’s study found; ‘The participants’ reported levels of depression, anxiety and stress were significantly reduced, with most reporting a significantly enhanced quality of life’.

This finding suggests that although the Life Coaching program was directed at the attainment of goals, the benefits generalised to participants’ broader life experience, and this provides preliminary evidence of the general value of Life Coaching in addition to its more specific impact on goal attainment’, (Grant, 2002)

Dr Anthony Grant’s research concluded; ‘…the study provided empirical evidence that a life coaching program can facilitate goal attainment, improve mental health, & enhance quality of life’. (Cited by Fiona Crawford on behalf of Macquarie University News, 2002).