View source for Coaching

{{short description|Method of development}}
{{For|theories of coaching|Coaching psychology}}
{{Other uses|Coach (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}}
'''Coaching''' is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance.<ref name="Passmore">{{cite book |editor-first=Jonathan |editor-last=Passmore |title=Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide |location=London; Philadelphia |publisher= [[Kogan Page]] |year= 2016 |orig-year= 2006 |edition=3rd |isbn=9780749474461 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-_ADCwAAQBAJ |oclc=927192333 }}</ref> The learner is sometimes called a ''coachee''. Occasionally, ''coaching'' may mean an informal relationship between two people, of whom one has more experience and expertise than the other and offers advice and guidance as the latter learns; but coaching differs from [[Mentorship|mentoring]] by focusing on specific tasks or objectives, as opposed to more general goals or overall development.<ref name="Passmore"/><ref name="Renton">{{cite book |first=Jane |last=Renton |title=Coaching and Mentoring: What They are and How to Make the Most of Them |location=New York |publisher=[[Bloomberg Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=9781576603307 |oclc=263978214}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/infosys/2011/12/20/business-leadership-for-smarter-org-2/ |title=The Difference Between Coaching And Mentoring |last=Chakravarthy |first=Pradeep |date=20 December 2011 |magazine=[[Forbes]] |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref>

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==Origins==

The word "coaching" originated in the 16th century and initially referred to a method of transportation, specifically a horse-drawn carriage. It derived from the Hungarian word {{lang|hu|kocsi}} which meant a carriage from the village of [[Kocs]], known for producing high-quality carriages. Over time, the term "coaching" transitioned from its literal transportation context to metaphorically represent the process of guiding and supporting individuals in their personal and professional development.

The first use of the term "coach" in connection with an instructor or trainer arose around 1830 in [[Oxford University]] slang for a tutor who "carried" a student through an exam.<ref name="etymonline">{{Citation | title = coach| url = http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=coach| publisher = Online Etymology Dictionary | access-date = 4 July 2015}}.</ref> The word "coaching" thus identified a process used to transport people from where they are to where they want to be. The first use of the term in relation to [[sport]]s came in 1861.<ref name="etymonline"/>

== History ==
Mathematical coaches at Cambridge University became famous for preparing [[wrangler (University of Cambridge)|wrangler]]s competing in the [[Mathematical Tripos]] (1780 to 1909).<ref name=Warwick /> This contest over several days tested for well-scripted solutions to [[mathematical problem]]s.<ref name=Warwick>{{cite book|last1=Warwick|first1=Andrew|title=Masters of Theory: Cambridge and the Rise of Mathematical Physics|date=2003|location=Chicago|publisher=University of Chicago Press|page=89|isbn=978-0226873749|oclc=51059283}}</ref>

The development of coaching has been influenced by many fields of activity, including [[adult education]],<ref>{{cite book |chapter=A Meta-Analysis of Coaching: Re-tracing the Roots and Re-analysing the Coaching Story |editor1-last=Lines |editor1-first=David |editor2-last=Evans |editor2-first=Christina |title=The Global Business of Coaching: A Meta-Analytical Perspective |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nOreDwAAQBAJ |series=Routledge Studies in Human Resource Development |location=New York |publisher=Routledge |date=2020 |isbn=9780429884917 |access-date=26 July 2020 |quote=... Brock (2014: 116–119) identifies that coaching draws on the knowledge bases of adult education. ... Neither Brock (2014) nor Grant (2005) establishes a causal link between adult education and the emergence of coaching. However, they both acknowledge the importance and relationship of different theories and knowledge bases to the work of a coach. This surfaces the practice of adopting established knowledge bases from the professions that existed prior to coaching. }}</ref> the [[Human Potential Movement]] in the 1960s,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stelter |first1=Reinhard |year=2012 |title=A Guide to Third Generation Coaching: Narrative-Collaborative Theory and Practice |trans-title=Tredje generations coaching - En guide til narrativ-samskabende teori og praksis |location=Dordrecht |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |publication-date=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QT0nAQAAQBAJ |page=2 |isbn=9789400771864 |access-date=26 July 2020 |quote=The history of coaching and coaching psychology can be traced back to two key roots: Sport psychology and the Human Potential Movement. }}</ref> [[large-group awareness training]] (LGAT) groups<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brock |first1=Vikki G. |chapter=The Roots and Evolution of Coaching |editor1-last=English |editor1-first=Susan |editor2-last=Sabatine |editor2-first=Janice Manzi |editor3-last=Brownell |editor3-first=Philip |title=Professional Coaching: Principles and Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72RhDwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |date=2018 |pages=13–14 |isbn=9780826180094 |access-date=26 July 2020 |quote=Several sources of connections that set the stage for coaching are: ... Large Group Awareness training (LGAT) was the culmination of the shift to an awareness and responsibility perspective. Participants left meetings with limited support structures to change, though they had declarations, commitments, and enthusiasm. }}</ref> (such as [[Erhard Seminars Training]], founded in 1971), [[leadership studies]], [[personal development]], and various subfields of [[psychology]].<ref name="CompleteHandbook">{{cite book |editor1-last= Cox |editor1-first= Elaine |editor2-last= Bachkirova |editor2-first= Tatiana |editor3-last= Clutterbuck |editor3-first= David |year= 2018 |orig-year= 2010 |edition= 3rd |title= The Complete Handbook of Coaching |place= Los Angeles; London |publisher= [[SAGE Publications]] |isbn= 9781473973046 |oclc= 1023783439}}</ref>{{qn|date=July 2020}} The [[University of Sydney]] offered the world's first [[coaching psychology]] unit of study in January 2000,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.icfaustralasia.com/Program/Speakers/Anthony-Grant|title=Anthony Grant|website=www.icfaustralasia.com|access-date=2019-05-05|archive-date=5 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505130939/https://www.icfaustralasia.com/Program/Speakers/Anthony-Grant|url-status=dead}}</ref> and various [[academic association]]s and [[academic journal]]s for coaching psychology were established in subsequent years (see {{slink|Coaching psychology#History}}).

==Applications==
Coaching is applied in fields such as sports, performing arts (singers get [[vocal coach]]es), acting ([[drama coach]]es and [[dialect coach]]es), business, education, health care, relationships (for example, [[dating coach]]es), trauma healing ([[mind, body, soul coach]]es), and mindset (for example, [[positive thinking coach]]es).

Coaches use a range of communication skills (such as targeted restatements, listening, questioning, clarifying, etc.) to help clients shift their perspectives and thereby discover different approaches to achieve their goals.<ref>{{Citation |last=Cox |first=Elaine |year=2013 |title=Coaching Understood: a Pragmatic Inquiry into the Coaching Process |place=Los Angeles; London |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |isbn=9780857028259 |oclc=805014954}}.</ref> These skills can be used in almost all types of coaching. In this sense, coaching is a form of "meta-profession" that can apply to supporting clients in any human endeavor, ranging from their concerns in health, personal, professional, sport, social, family, political, spiritual dimensions, etc. There may be some overlap between certain types of coaching activities.<ref name="CompleteHandbook"/> Coaching approaches are also influenced by cultural differences.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rosinski |first=Philippe |date=2003 |title=Coaching Across Cultures: New Tools for Leveraging National, Corporate, and Professional Differences |location=London; Yarmouth, Maine |publisher=[[Nicholas Brealey Publishing]] |isbn=1857883012 |oclc=51020293}}</ref>

=== {{anchor|ADHD coaching}}Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ===
{{See also|Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder management}}
The concept of [[attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder|ADHD]] coaching was introduced in 1994 by [[psychiatrist]]s [[Edward M. Hallowell]] and [[John J. Ratey]] in their book ''[[Driven to Distraction (ADHD)|Driven to Distraction]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hallowell |first1=Edward M. |last2=Ratey |first2=John J. |title=Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood |date=2011 |orig-year=1984 |edition=Revised |location=New York |publisher=[[Anchor Books]] |isbn=9780307743152 |oclc=699763760 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780307743152 }}</ref> ADHD coaching is a specialized type of [[#Life|life coaching]] that uses techniques designed to assist individuals with [[attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder]] by mitigating the effects of [[Executive dysfunction|executive function deficit]], which is a common impairment for people with ADHD.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Barkley |first1=Russell A. |title=Executive Functions: What They Are, How They Work, and Why They Evolved |date=2012 |location=New York |publisher=[[Guilford Press]] |isbn=9781462505357 |oclc=773666263}}</ref> Coaches work with clients to help them better [[Time management|manage time]], organize, set goals, and complete projects.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hamilton |first=Jeff |url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/pills-dont-teach-skills/201101/26-benefits-adult-adhd-coaching |title=26 Benefits of Adult ADHD Coaching |website=[[Psychology Today]] blogs |date=6 January 2011 |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> In addition to assisting clients understand the impact of ADHD on their lives, coaches can help them develop "[[Coping skill|workaround]]" strategies to deal with specific challenges and determine and use individual strengths. Coaches also help clients get a better grasp of what reasonable expectations are for them as individuals since people with ADHD "brain wiring" often seem to need external "mirrors" for self-awareness about their potential despite their impairment.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Knouse |first1=Laura E. |last2=Bagwell |first2=Catherine L. |last3=Barkley |first3=Russell A. |last4=Murphy |first4=Kevin R. |date=May 2005 |title=Accuracy of Self-Evaluation in Adults with ADHD: Evidence from a Driving Study |journal=Journal of Attention Disorders |volume=8 |issue=4 |pages=221–234 |doi=10.1177/1087054705280159 |pmid=16110052|s2cid=40724893 }}</ref>

===Business and executive===
Business coaching is a type of [[human resource development]] for executives, members of management, teams, and leadership.<ref name="Blackman">{{Cite journal|last1=Blackman|first1=Anna|last2=Moscardo|first2=Gianna|last3=Gray|first3=David E.|date=2016|title=Challenges for the theory and practice of business coaching: a systematic review of empirical evidence|journal=[[Human Resource Development Review]]|language=en|volume=15|issue=4|pages=459–486|doi=10.1177/1534484316673177|s2cid=152097437|issn=1534-4843|url=http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/16329/3/16329%20GRAY_Business_Coaching_2016.pdf}}</ref> It provides positive support, feedback, and advice on an individual or group basis to improve personal effectiveness in the business setting, many a time focusing on behavioral changes through [[psychometrics]] or [[360-degree feedback]] for example. Business coaching is also called executive coaching,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Stern |first=Lewis R. |date=2004 |title=Executive coaching: a working definition |journal=[[Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research]] |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=154–162 |doi=10.1037/1065-9293.56.3.154 |url=http://opm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Executive-coaching-definition-Stern043.pdf |access-date=4 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706123259/http://opm.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Executive-coaching-definition-Stern043.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> corporate coaching or leadership coaching. Coaches help their clients advance toward specific professional goals. These include career transition, interpersonal and professional communication, [[performance management]], organizational effectiveness, managing career and personal changes, developing executive presence, building credibility, enhancing strategic thinking, dealing effectively with conflict, facing work challenges, and making swift and sound decisions, leading a change and building an effective team within an organization. An [[Industrial and organizational psychology|industrial-organizational psychologist]] may work as an executive coach.

Business coaching is not restricted to external experts or providers. Many organizations expect senior leaders and middle managers to coach their team members to reach higher performance levels, job satisfaction, personal growth, and career development. Research studies suggest that executive coaching has positive effects both within workplace performance and personal areas outside the workplace, with some differences in the impact of internal and external coaches.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Rebecca J. |last2=Woods |first2=Stephen A. |last3=Guillaume |first3=Yves R. F. |date=June 2016 |title=The effectiveness of workplace coaching: a meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching |journal=[[Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology]] |volume=89 |issue=2 |pages=249–277 |doi=10.1111/joop.12119|url=http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/74522/1/Jones%20et%20al%202016_JOOP.pdf }}</ref>

In some countries, no licensing is required to be a business or executive coach, and membership in a coaching organization is optional. Further, standards and methods of training coaches can vary widely between coaching organizations. Many business coaches refer to themselves as [[consultant]]s, a broader business relationship than one that exclusively involves coaching.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2008/04/10/executive-coaching-worth-the-money/ |last=Lorber |first=Laura |title=Executive Coaching – Worth the Money? |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=10 April 2008 |access-date=12 November 2008}}</ref> Research findings from a systematic review indicate that effective coaches are known for having integrity, support for those they coach, communication skills, and credibility.<ref name="Blackman"/>

In the workplace, leadership coaching has been shown to be effective in increasing employee confidence in expressing their own ideas.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=Yanfei|last2=Yuan|first2=Chuqin|date=2017|title=Coaching leadership and employee voice behavior: a multilevel study|doi=10.2224/sbp.6593|journal=[[Social Behavior and Personality]]|volume=45|issue=10|pages=1655–1664}}</ref> Research findings in a systematic review demonstrate that coaching can help reduce stress in the workplace.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Gyllensten|first1=Kristina|last2=Palmer|first2=Stephen|date=July 2005|title=Can coaching reduce workplace stress?|journal=The Coaching Psychologist|volume=1|pages=15–17|doi=10.53841/bpstcp.2005.1.1.15 |citeseerx=10.1.1.465.4855|s2cid=255930948 }}</ref>

===Career ===
{{See also|Career counseling}}
[[Career]] coaching focuses on work and career and is similar to [[career counseling]]. Career coaching is not to be confused with [[#Life|life coaching]], which concentrates on personal development. Another common term for a career coach is "[[career guide]]".

===Christian ===
{{See also|Christian counseling}}
A Christian coach is not a pastor or counselor (although the coach may also be qualified in those disciplines) but someone professionally trained to address specific coaching goals from a distinctively Christian or biblical perspective.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Christian Coaching |url=https://christiancoaches.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CCNI-Christian-Coaching-Distinctions.pdf |website=christiancoaches.com |publisher=Christian Coaches Network International |date=October 2017 |access-date=2018-03-20 |quote=Christian coaching is an approach to the practice of professional coaching—whether focused on personal or professional growth—that integrates the biblical worldview when working with clients to recognize their potential and effect personal change. |archive-date=2 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102131626/https://christiancoaches.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/CCNI-Christian-Coaching-Distinctions.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Co-coaching===
{{Main|Co-coaching}}
Co-coaching is a structured practice of coaching between peers with the goal of learning improved coaching techniques.

===Dating===
{{main|Dating coach}}
Dating coaches offer coaching and related products and services to improve clients' success in dating and relationships.

===Financial ===
{{See also|Financial planner}}
Financial coaching is a relatively new form that focuses on helping clients overcome their struggle to attain specific financial goals and aspirations they have set for themselves. Financial coaching is a one-on-one relationship in which the coach provides encouragement and support to reach the client's economic plans. A ''financial coach'', also called a ''money coach'', typically focuses on helping clients to restructure and reduce debt, reduce spending, develop saving habits, and develop fiscal discipline. In contrast, the term ''[[financial adviser]]'' refers to a broader range of professionals who typically provide clients with financial products and services. Although early research links financial coaching to improvements in client outcomes, much more rigorous analysis is necessary before any causal linkages can be established.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Collins |first1=J. Michael |last2=Olive |first2=Peggy |last3=O'Rourke |first3=Collin M. |date=February 2013 |title=Financial Coaching's Potential for Enhancing Family Financial Security |url=http://www.joe.org/joe/2013february/a8.php |journal=Journal of Extension |volume=51 |issue=1 |page=1FEA8 |doi=10.34068/joe.51.01.27 |s2cid=167405122 |access-date=2 July 2013|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Health and wellness ===
{{Main|Health coaching}}
Health coaching is becoming recognized as a new way to help individuals "manage" their illnesses and conditions, especially those of a chronic nature.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Engel |first=Reed Jordan |date=2011 |title=An Examination of Wellness Coaches and Their Impact on Client Behavioral Outcomes |url=https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/dissertations/AAI3479465/ |publisher=[[Purdue University]] |access-date=2 July 2015}}</ref> The coach will use special techniques, personal experience, expertise and encouragement to assist the coachee in bringing their behavioral changes about while aiming for lowered health risks and decreased healthcare costs.<ref name="NSHC">{{cite web |title=Health Coaches & Health Coaching: Definition, Qualifications, Risk and Responsibility, and Differentiation from Wellness Coaching |publisher=National Society of Health Coaches |url=http://www.nshcoa.com/pdf/NSHCPositionStatementFinal2015.pdf |access-date=7 January 2016}}</ref> The National Society of Health Coaches (NSHC) has differentiated the term ''health coach'' from ''wellness coach''.<ref name="NSHC"/> According to the NSHC, health coaches are qualified "to guide those with acute or chronic conditions and/or moderate to high health risk", and wellness coaches provide guidance and inspiration "to otherwise 'healthy' individuals who desire to maintain or improve their overall general health status".<ref name="NSHC"/>

===Homework ===
{{Main|Homework coach}}
[[Homework]] coaching focuses on equipping students with the study skills required to succeed academically. This approach differs from regular tutoring, which typically seeks to improve a student's performance in a specific subject.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/08/nyregion/08homework.html |title=Like a Monitor More Than a Tutor |last=Maslin Nir |first=Sarah |date=8 November 2010 |page=A21 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref>

===In education===
{{See also|Coaching psychology#In education|Tutor#Academic coaching}}
Coaching is applied to support students, faculty, and administrators in educational organizations.<ref name="Nieuwerburgh">{{cite book |last=Nieuwerburgh |first=Christian van |author-link=Christian van Nieuwerburgh |date=2012 |title=Coaching in Education: Getting Better Results for Students, Educators, and Parents |series=Professional Coaching Series |location=London |publisher=Karnac Books |isbn=9781780490793 |oclc=778418798 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XcO5DRcAGqIC}}</ref> For students, opportunities for coaching include collaborating with fellow students to improve grades and skills, both academic and social; for teachers and administrators, coaching can help with transitions into new roles.<ref name="Nieuwerburgh"/>

===Life===
'''Life coaching''' is the process of helping people identify and achieve personal goals through developing skills and attitudes that lead to self-empowerment.<ref name="CompleteHandbook"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=Cognitive Behavioural Coaching: Distinctive Features |series=Coaching distinctive features |last=Neenan |first=Michael |editor1-first=Michael |editor1-last=Neenan |location=New York |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2018 |isbn=9781351188555 |oclc=1012616113 |doi=10.4324/9781351188555}}</ref> Life coaching generally deals with issues such as procrastination, fear of failure, relationships' issues, lack of confidence, work-life balance and career changes, and often occurs outside the workplace setting.<ref>{{cite book |last=Grant |first=Anthony M. |date=2005 |chapter=What is evidence-based executive, workplace, and life coaching? |editor1-last=Cavanagh |editor1-first=Michael J. |editor2-last=Grant |editor2-first=Anthony M. |editor3-last=Kemp |editor3-first=Travis |title=Evidence-based Coaching, Vol. 1: Theory, Research and Practice from the Behavioural Sciences |location=Bowen Hills, Queensland |publisher=Australian Academic Press |pages=1–12 |isbn=9781875378579 |oclc=67766842}}</ref> Systematic academic psychological engagement with life coaching dates from the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Anthony M. |last2=Cavanagh |first2=Michael J. |chapter=Life Coaching |editor1-last=Cox |editor1-first=Elaine |editor2-last=Bachkirova |editor2-first=Tatiana |editor3-last=Clutterbuck |editor3-first=David |title=The Complete Handbook of Coaching |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PqpODwAAQBAJ |edition=3 |location=Los Angeles |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |date=2018 |isbn=9781526453112 |access-date=26 July 2020 |quote=The roots of contemporary life coaching appear to emerge from humanistic traditions of psychology (e.g. Maslow, 1954) and the practices of the Human Potential Movement (HPM) .... One of the key influences were the Erhard Seminars Training or EST programmes developed by Werner Erhard (Kirsch & Glass, 1977). These were marketed as personal transformation, and as such can be considered as drawing on the same social impetus that later gave rise to life coaching. ... psychology as an academic discipline and a helping profession tended to be associated, at least in the public's mind, with mental illness and the treatment of distress, rather than the promotion of well-being. Psychology did not truly engage with life coaching until the pioneers of commercial life coaching in the USA, such as Thomas Leonard, had raised the profile of life coaching and life coach training during the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, at this time life coaching was still viewed by many as being faddish, theoretically incoherent, new-age and more of a network marketing opportunity than a solid theoretically-grounded helping modality. }}</ref> 

Skeptics have criticized life coaching's focus on self-improvement for its potential for commercializing friendships and other human relationships.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Nisbet |first=Matthew C. |author-link=Matthew Nisbet |date=May–June 2020 |title=Tony Robbins Next Door: Personal Coaches Are The New High Priests Of Self-Help |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/05/tony-robbins-next-door-personal-coaches-are-the-new-high-priests-of-self-help/ |magazine=[[Skeptical Inquirer]] |location=Amherst, New York |publisher=[[Center for Inquiry]] |volume=44 |issue=3 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201126164415/https://skepticalinquirer.org/2020/05/letters-vol-44-no-3/ |archive-date=26 November 2020 |access-date=26 November 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

The business practices of the life coach industry have also stirred controversy.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Bishop |first=Katie |date=2024-06-02 |title=They Spent Their Life Savings on Life Coaching |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/02/business/life-coach-debt-savings.html |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=The seedy underbelly of the life coaching industry |url=https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20240206-life-coaching-industry-scams |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>  Unlike a [[psychotherapist]], there is no required training, [[occupational licensing]], or regulatory oversight for life coaching.<ref name=":0" />  Anyone can claim to be a life coach, and anyone can start a business selling "certificates" to would-be life coaches.<ref name=":0" />  Most life coaches in the US find that there is relatively low demand for the services they offer, and it ends up being a part-time [[Side job|side hustle]] rather than a full career.<ref name=":0" />  Many pay for expensive classes in the hope that it will make them more marketable, leading critics to suggest that the most profitable area of the field is in training the would-be life coaches rather than being a life coach.<ref name=":0" />

===Relationship ===
{{See also|Relationship counseling}}
Relationship coaching is the application of coaching to personal and [[Business relationship management|business relationships]].<ref name="YossiIves2015">{{cite book |last1=Yossi |first1=Ives |last2=Cox |first2=Elaine |date=2015 |title=Relationship Coaching: The Theory and Practice of Coaching with Singles, Couples and Parents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kz-LBQAAQBAJ |location=Hove, East Sussex; New York |publisher= [[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0415737951 |oclc=881498486}}</ref>

===Sports===
{{Main|Coach (sport)|Sport psychology#Coaching}}
In [[sports]], a coach is an individual who provides supervision and training to the sports team or individual players. Sports coaches are involved in administration, athletic training, competition coaching, and team and player representation. A 2019 literature survey on sports coaching found an increase in publications, and most articles featured a quantitative research approach.<ref>Griffo, J.M., Jensen, M., Anthony, C.C., Baghurst, T. and Kulinna, P.H., 2019. "A decade of research literature in sport coaching (2005–2015)". ''International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching'', 14(2), 205–215. {{doi|10.1177/1747954118825058}}</ref> [[Sports psychology]] emerged from the 1890s.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wildflower |first1=Leni |title=The Hidden History of Coaching |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IKGSyKsY-hkC |series=Coaching in practice series |location=Maidenhead |publisher=[[Open University Press]] |date=2013 |isbn=9780335245406 |oclc=820107321 |page=38 |quote=... sports psychology ... has a history going back to the 1890s in America. ... By 1920 Germany had a specialized College of Physical Education, whose founder, Robert Werner Schulte, wrote a book called ''Body and Mind in Sport''. The universities of Moscow and Leningrad had departments of sports psychology by the 1930s}}</ref>

===Esports===
In [[esports]], coaches are often responsible for planning game strategies and assisting in player development. For example, in the [[League of Legends World Championship]], the head coach advises players via voice chat during the pick–and–ban phase of the game and during the intermission between matches. 

===Vocal===
{{Main|Vocal coach}}
A vocal coach, also known as a voice coach (though this term often applies to those working with speech and communication rather than singing), is a [[music teacher]], usually a piano accompanist, who helps [[singer]]s prepare for a performance, often also helping them to improve their [[singing]] technique and take care of and develop their voice, but is not the same as a [[voice teacher|singing teacher]] (also called a "voice teacher"). Vocal coaches may give singers private music lessons, group workshops, or [[masterclass]]es. They may also coach singers who are rehearsing on stage or who are singing during a recording session.

=== Writing ===
A writing coach helps writers—such as students,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=David |date=May 1977 |title=Writing coach |journal=[[College Composition and Communication]] |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=154–158 |jstor=356104 |doi=10.2307/356104}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Stanley |first=Jane |date=September 1992 |title=Coaching student writers to be effective peer evaluators |journal=[[Journal of Second Language Writing]] |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=217–233 |doi=10.1016/1060-3743(92)90004-9}}</ref> journalists,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolf |first1=Rita |last2=Thomason |first2=Tommy |date=March 1986 |title=Writing coaches: their strategies for improving writing |journal=[[Newspaper Research Journal]] |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=43–49 |doi=10.1177/073953298600700305|s2cid=151436996 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Laakaniemi |first=Ray |date=March 1987 |title=An analysis of writing coach programs on American daily newspapers |journal=[[Journalism Quarterly]] |volume=64 |issue=2–3 |pages=569–575 |doi=10.1177/107769908706400242|s2cid=145010627 }}</ref> and other professionals<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baldwin |first1=Claire |last2=Chandler |first2=Genevieve E. |date=February 2002 |title=Improving faculty publication output: the role of a writing coach |journal=Journal of Professional Nursing |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=8–15 |pmid=11859488 |doi=10.1053/jpnu.2002.30896}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jefferies |first1=Diana |last2=Johnson |first2=Maree |last3=Nicholls |first3=Daniel |last4=Lad |first4=Shushila |date=August 2012 |title=A ward-based writing coach program to improve the quality of nursing documentation |journal=[[Nurse Education Today]] |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=647–651 |pmid=21982050 |doi=10.1016/j.nedt.2011.08.017}}</ref>—improve their writing and productivity.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gardiner |first1=Maria |last2=Kearns |first2=Hugh |date=September 2012 |title=The ABCDE of writing: coaching high-quality high-quantity writing |journal=[[International Coaching Psychology Review]] |volume=7 |issue=2 |pages=247–259 |doi=10.53841/bpsicpr.2012.7.2.247 |s2cid=255927125 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236627021}}</ref>

==Ethics and standards==
{{See also|Licensure|Professional certification|Professional ethics}}
Since the mid-1990s, coaching [[professional association]]s have worked towards developing training standards.<ref name="Passmore"/>{{rp|287–312}}<ref name="Grant Cavanagh">{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Anthony M. |last2=Cavanagh |first2=Michael J. |date=2011 |chapter=Coaching and Positive Psychology: Credentialing, Professional Status, and Professional Bodies |editor1-last=Sheldon |editor1-first=Kennon M. |editor2-last=Kashdan |editor2-first=Todd B. |editor3-last=Steger |editor3-first=Michael F. |title=Designing Positive Psychology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward |location=Oxford; New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=295–312 |isbn=9780195373585 |oclc=610144651 |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195373585.003.0019 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5itnDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA295}}</ref> Psychologist Jonathan Passmore noted in 2016:<ref name="Passmore"/>{{rp|3}}

{{blockquote|text=While coaching has become a recognized intervention, sadly there are still no standards or licensing arrangements which are widely recognized. Professional bodies have continued to develop their own standards, but the lack of regulation means anyone can call themselves a coach. ... Whether coaching is a profession which requires regulation, or is professional and requires standards, remains a matter of debate.}}

One of the challenges in the field of coaching is upholding levels of professionalism, standards, and ethics.<ref name="Grant Cavanagh"/> To this end, coaching bodies and organizations have codes of ethics and member standards.<ref name="Passmore"/>{{rp|287–312}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Passmore |first1=Jonathan |last2=Mortimer |first2=Lance |date=2011 |chapter=Ethics in Coaching |editor1-last=Hernez-Broome |editor1-first=Gina |editor2-last=Boyce |editor2-first=Lisa A. |title=Advancing Executive Coaching: Setting the Course for Successful Leadership Coaching |series=The Professional Practice Series |location=San Francisco |publisher=[[Jossey-Bass]] |isbn=9780470553329 |oclc=635455413 |pages=205–227 |chapter-url=http://www.jonathanpassmore.com/resources/Ethics%20in%20Coaching%20-%20Passmore%20&%20Mortimer%202011.pdf |access-date=19 July 2021 |archive-date=3 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203094918/http://www.jonathanpassmore.com/resources/Ethics%20in%20Coaching%20-%20Passmore%20%26%20Mortimer%202011.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, because these bodies are not regulated, and because coaches do not need to belong to such a body, ethics and standards are variable in the field.<ref name="Grant Cavanagh"/> In February 2016, the Association for Coaching (AC) and the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) launched a "Global Code of Ethics" for the entire industry; individuals, associations, and organizations are invited to become signatories to it.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Woods |first1=Declan |last2=Sleightholm |first2=David |title=For Joint Release on 5th February 2016 - Global Code of Ethics for Coaches and Mentors |publisher=[[PRWeb]] |date=5 February 2016 |url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/for_joint_release_on_5th_february_2016_global_code_of_ethics_for_coaches_and_mentors/prweb13201905.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208080737/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/02/prweb13201905.htm |archive-date=8 February 2016 |url-status=live |access-date=13 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Iordanou |first1=Ioanna |last2=Hawley |first2=Rachel |last3=Iordanou |first3=Christiana |date=2017 |title=Values and Ethics in Coaching |location=Thousand Oaks, CA |publisher=[[SAGE Publications]] |isbn=9781473919563 |oclc=948548464 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yuAqDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1}}</ref>{{rp|1}}

Many coaches have little training in comparison to the training requirements of some other helping professions: for example, [[licensure]] as a [[Counseling psychology|counseling psychologist]] in the State of [[California]] requires 3,000 hours of supervised professional experience.<ref>{{cite web |title=An Overview of Licensure as a Psychologist |publisher=California Board of Psychology |url=http://www.psychology.ca.gov/applicants/license.shtml |access-date=4 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706131838/http://www.psychology.ca.gov/applicants/license.shtml |archive-date=6 July 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some coaches are both certified coaches and licensed counseling psychologists, integrating coaching and counseling.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Popovic |first1=Nash |last2=Jinks |first2=Debra |date=2014 |title=Personal Consultancy: A Model for Integrating Counselling and Coaching |location=London; New York |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=9780415833929 |oclc=842330076}}</ref>

Critics see life coaching as akin to [[psychotherapy]] but without the legal restrictions and state regulation of psychologists.<ref name="Grant Cavanagh"/><ref name="USAToday">{{cite news |last=Guay |first=Jennifer |date=16 January 2013 |url=http://college.usatoday.com/2013/01/16/millennials-enter-growing-controversial-field-of-life-coaching/ |title=Millennials Enter Growing, Controversial Field of Life Coaching |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |access-date=4 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731105833/http://college.usatoday.com/2013/01/16/millennials-enter-growing-controversial-field-of-life-coaching/ |archive-date=31 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="NYTimes">{{Citation |title=Should a Life Coach Have a Life First? |first=Spencer |last=Morgan |newspaper=The New York Times |date=27 January 2012 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/fashion/should-a-life-coach-have-a-life-first.html |access-date=4 July 2015}}.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Pagliarini |first=Robert |date=20 December 2011 |title=Top 10 Professional Life Coaching Myths |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/top-10-professional-life-coaching-myths/ |work=[[CBS News]] |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref> There are no state regulations/licensing requirements for coaches. Due to lack of regulation, people who have no formal training or certification can legally call themselves life or wellness coaches.<ref>{{cite web |last=O'Brien |first=Elizabeth |title=10 Things Life Coaches Won't Tell You |url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-life-coaches-wont-tell-you-2014-09-05 |publisher=[[MarketWatch]] |date=8 September 2014 |access-date=4 July 2015}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Div col}}
* [[List of counseling topics]]
* [[List of psychotherapies]]
* {{annotated link|Personal development}}
* {{annotated link|Self-actualization}}
* {{annotated link|Self-discovery}}
* {{annotated link|Self-help}}
* {{annotated link|Training and development}}
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}{{Wiktionary |life coach}}
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[[Category:Coaching| ]]