One of the most common reactions I hear when coaches first encounter psychodynamic ideas is “This is fascinating… but aren’t we in therapy territory?” Psychodynamics… it’s a long word and often puts people off learning more about what it actually means. ‘Surely it must be just for academics/ therapists/ clever people* (*delete as appropriate) and not for the likes of me?’. Have a look at the course outlines for most coach training programmes and you won’t find it there, which leads to the assumption that it isn’t relevant to our work as coaches. Following on from that, it’s easy to assume that if people aren’t teaching about it, then it must not be relevant to coaching.
This simply isn’t true.
If we go back in time to the very earliest days of psychoanalytic thought (from which psychodynamics originates) you’ll find Sigmund Freud, father of psychoanalysis, creating works such as The Psychopathology of Everyday Life and The Interpretation of Dreams (amongst many others). These titles were aimed at the general population, and the ideas that Freud was writing about were originally intended to help ordinary people understand themselves.
So, what happened?
Quite a lot. It turns out that people can get remarkably territorial over theories, concepts and ideas. Without going into a history lesson around the infighting of the psychodynamic world, many different factions grew up, varying rules and regulations over who could practice, when and how, were designed. And amongst all this, psychodynamic theories and concepts were gathered in to these schools, almost as a way of keeping them safe from any outsiders.
That’s not good news for us coaches. A whole wealth of knowledge gets swept away behind the exclusivity of the world of therapy. And we end up with the idea that it’s “not for the likes of us”. Because surely, if we are kept away from something it’s because we shouldn’t be using it?
What if that’s not the case though? Whether or not we know about them, there’s all kinds of unconscious processes are already present in the coaching room, so wouldn’t it make sense for us to learn what they are?
And here is one of the key differences in how therapy and coaching approach the use of psychodynamic theory. When therapists use psychodynamics they are treating their clients. There’s a diagnostic process involved. For coaches though, it’s more about understanding what is happening in the room to support the coaching process. It’s awareness, not treatment. What do I mean by this? Let’s say a coach notices that a client is repeating a pattern or is feeling stuck. Instead of trying the GROW model (nothing wrong with the GROW model by the way, you just can’t GROW model your way out of the repetition compulsion) the coach considers where the client is at and, if appropriate, uses the idea of what drives repetition to inform their next question. Now it might be that the coach doesn’t quite hit the mark with that question, but it gives them an area to explore with the client that goes deeper than superficial questions that really aren’t going to change much for any length of time. We aren’t just staying on the surface. And I think our clients deserve that level of attention. Having the knowledge about terms and concepts does not change the modality in which you are working. It enriches your practice.
One of the questions I get asked most frequently is ‘when should I refer my client on to therapy?’ Ironically, understanding psychodynamics often makes coaches better at recognising the limits of coaching. It often makes them more aware of when therapy is appropriate.
Psychodynamic language isn’t necessarily the easiest to understand at first glance. And it’s definitely bandied around enough by people who don’t really understand the terms. But whether you know about them or not you are already encountering them in your coaching practice. Think about it. How many clients have come to you because they are stuck or repeating patterns? How many have described situations where they don’t feel like themselves? I’d bet more than several. Which means that you are working with them right now.
The question for me isn’t whether psychodynamic thinking belongs in the world of coaching. It’s whether coaching can afford not to look at something that’s already in the room.
