You’ve completed the Essentials. You can recognise splitting, projection and denial when they appear.
But recognising a defence is only the beginning.
This module is designed for coaches who want to move beyond identifying defence mechanisms and begin understanding how defensive systems organise coaching relationships in real time.
Because defence isn’t simply something the client does. Often, it’s something that begins to happen between coach and client.
Module Focus: Primary Defence Mechanisms
Across three live teaching sessions, we’ll explore how primitive anxieties give rise to defensive systems, how those systems shape relationships, and how coaches can remain psychologically present when they find themselves emotionally recruited into the dynamic.
We’ll then meet again two weeks later to reflect on what you’ve noticed in your own coaching practice, integrating your learning into your everyday work.
Together we’ll explore
- Primitive anxiety and defensive organisation
- Melanie Klein’s contribution to understanding early defensive processes
- Splitting, projection and projective identification
- How defensive systems organise relationships
- The coach’s experience of recruitment and enactment
- Containment and reflective capacity
- Ambivalence, integration and psychological growth
- Rupture, repair and the mature coaching stance
How the Module Works
Each weekly session offers a blend of theory, casework and reflective practice:
Hour 1: Theory
Explore primary defence mechanisms through a psychodynamic lens. We’ll move beyond definitions to understand how defensive processes shape relationships, influence perception and affect the coaching field itself.
Hour 2: Case Study
Work through a detailed coaching case study designed to bring the theory to life. Together we’ll examine the dynamics at play and explore what they mean for both coach and client.
Hour 3: Group Supervision
Bring your own coaching experiences, reflections and questions. We’ll explore how defensive processes emerge in coaching practice and how to work with them ethically while remaining within coaching boundaries.
Follow-up Session (Two Weeks Later)
A dedicated integration session to explore what you’ve noticed since completing the teaching.
- What has shifted?
- What has surprised you?
- What new questions are emerging?
What else is included?
- Curated reading and additional resources
- A psychologically safe learning environment
- Practical application to everyday coaching
- Case discussion and reflective supervision
- Opportunities to connect theory with the ICF Core Competencies
Accreditation
This module has been accredited with 12.5 ICF CCE units (10 Core Competency and 2.5 Resource Development).
Course Requirements
To join this module, you’ll need to have completed Essential Psychodynamics for Coaches, or have equivalent psychodynamic training.
This programme is designed for practising coaches who want to deepen, not change, their coaching practice.
Investment
£250 per module
Want to learn more?
Email: Julia@dynamicsofeveryday.life