Call +61 403 600 248

International Coach Academy

Coach Training School

  • Regions
    • USA & Latin America
    • Canada
    • Asia
    • Australia & NZ
    • Europe
    • Africa
    • India
    • Middle East
  • Language
    • English
    • Italiano
    • 课程选择
  • Contact
  • OUR SCHOOL
    • Training Methodology
    • Our Story
    • Faculty
  • PROGRAMS
    • Short Courses (FlipIt)
    • Professional Coach Certification
      • Advanced (150hrs)
      • Professional (125 hrs)
      • Vocational (76 hrs)
    • Bridging Programs (BYO prior training)
  • STUDENT LIFE
    • Study Schedule
    • Classes & Theory
    • ICA Power Tools
    • Labs & Practicum
    • Your Coaching Model
    • Your Coaching Niche
    • Your Coaching Business
    • Student Support
  • COMMUNITY
    • ICA Alumni
    • Graduate Yearbooks
  • RESOURCES
    • FlipIt Framework
    • Certification & Credential Pathways
    • Coaching Models
    • Coaching Power Tools
    • Coaching Research
    • Library
    • ICA Blog
  • Join Login

Articles, Case Studies & Interviews

You are here: Home » COACH PORTFOLIOS » Research Papers » Research Paper: Is Chemistry Between Coach And Client Natural Or Can It Be Developed?

Research Paper: Is Chemistry Between Coach And Client Natural Or Can It Be Developed?

2013/12/04

Research paper_post_Donna Barnes_600x250 v2 copy

Research Paper By Donna Barnes
(Loss and Healing Coaching, UNITED STATES)

Introduction:

As someone who works in the field of mental health (not as a clinician) as a trainer on how to recognize the signs when an individual needs help, it has come to my attention that clients and counselors are not always on the same page and lack connection.  This bothers me because the lack of connection can sometimes mean to the person seeking help, may feel that therapy is useless.  I always respond with – think of the therapist as a pair of shoes – if they do not fit find another therapist because there was obviously no chemistry. Now that I am a coaching student, I don’t think it is that simple. The purpose of this paper is to examine the research question in the above title.

Can we do a good job as a coach if there is no chemistry, no connection, no rapport…and how do we know it is due to chemistry that it is not working out?  What is this chemistry thing? Is there something intangible that creates good chemistry that goes beyond tools and techniques?

For instance, I sometimes think that in order to develop good chemistry, we should start with ethnic matching.  So if someone called me about their son needing a therapist or psychiatrist, I would try to find one that was male of the same ethnicity. To me the more common ground the better.  If the person was young, I would search for a young therapist.  When I started ICA and needed a coach, I wanted one that was around my age, black, female, and American.  I felt the more common ground, the less explaining I would have to do and there would be a better understanding of me as a client.

And it would increase the chances of having good chemistry. Then, I began to think – wait a minute – I could really benefit if I had a coach who was from another country, different ethnicity, and so on because I would learn new ways of thinking.  And we could learn from one another. So I chose a white female from New Zealand.  Not too much of a difference since English was her first language and she was female, 10 years younger than me. However, the culture and ethnicity were different.  We have become very good friends and when she finished coaching me I turned around and coached her.

Studies have shown that the more similarities, the better the compliance from patients when in therapy and the less similarities had a higher dropout rate (Hermain, SH., 1998). But are similarities and chemistry the same.  I think not – but it is a start in wanting a client where there is chemistry. I would imagine that based on various studies and personal stories that chemistry is easily developed when there is more commonality.

What does not having chemistry mean?

We go into the coaching business with the thought that we can pick and choose our clients.  We see no reason in trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and work with clients in which we have no chemistry.

Not having chemistry means many things to many coaches.  Perhaps it means that a relationship between the client and coach is not developing well.  There could be miscommunication, lack of understanding or no interest at all in the sessions by either party.  Coaches and clients are human.  One might not like the sound of someone voice – perhaps it is annoying to them. Have you ever heard someone’s voice that was irritating to you?  Or who spoke too fast or too slow? Perhaps the person is too serious when you are lighthearted and humorous.  Everyone sees the world differently and we generally have relationships with those who have like minds.  If someone does not act, think or feel the way we do – we do not spend a lot of time with them.

We all know of those we cannot work with smoothly – either they demand too much, are too controlling,  don’t like how you communicate with them, or are just plain irritating to the point where you want to avoid their phone calls, texts or emails. Some suggest cutting them loose and save everyone involved the hassle.

In coaching it is our job to develop and work on a relationship with our client. Make a change so that the client does not feel that we are not of like minds (Jutkins, 2010). If we want our clients to make a change – we need to step up to the plate and disarm a difficult client, move lightly into making the client feel at ease.

Pages: 1 2

Filed Under: Research Papers Tagged With: chemistry between coach, client natural coaching, donna barnes, loss and healing coaching

Search

Categories

International Office

PO Box 3190 Mentone East,
Melbourne AUSTRALIA, 3194ABN: 83 094 039 577

Contact Us Online

Ask Us A Question

Click HERE

Terms

Terms and condition
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · International Coach Academy ·

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT