What is psychodynamic coaching? - Chapter 3

In the third chapter, psycodynamic coaching will be discussed. The core aim of psychodynamic coaching is to create change with a purpose, which implies that the change is realistic and permanent. By acknowledging and providing insight into someone's own history, personal patterns, inner structure, as well as into the present and its dynamics, the coachee is enabled to combine past, present and wishes for the future with realistic and feasible actions. Typically, psychodynamic coaching focuses on the individual, but it may also help a group who want to understand and change some aspect(s) of life. Hence, central is the wish for change. Psychodynamic coaching starts out from the idea that what is going on now in life is not happening by chance, but it is connected with things that happened earlier. The underlying patterns that originate in childhood have an important bearing on the way situations will be managed later in life. 

What is the theoretical foundation of psychodynamic coaching?

Psychodynamic coaching draws on a variety of theories encompassing personality, development, couples and close relations, groups and organizations. These, both the older classical theories and the newest theories of mentalization, are discussed briefly below. 

Psychodynamic personality and developmental psychology 

The primary theory on which psychodynamic coaching is built, is Freud's concept of the 'unconscious'. The unconscious can be defined as the unintended transformation of motive (changes, distortions, redirections of intellectual impulses, wishes or intentions). The fact that we have something 'unconscious' in us implies that we do things, think thoughts, and have feelings that in reality arise from different motives from the ones we are aware and convinced of. When our own actions or the actions of other people are not immediately understandable, for example disproportionate outbursts of anger, or an appointment is forgotten that we really knew we made, when something is suddenly impossible, or we accidentally say something different from what we meant (a Freudian slip of the tongue), we often explain it away as unconscious. Psychodynamic coaching then is an attempt to open up and include.

Further theories have been developed by clinically oriented researchers about how our personalities are formed and what role early childhood plays. One of these researchers is Erikson (1977) who was studying the 'ego development': How do I become me? How do I develop myself? According to Freud's structural personality model, it is the task of the ego to solve the conflict between the id (instinctual impulses) and the superego (moral or social control and will). Next, Erikson added the epigenetic model, in which he drew attention to the fact that development does not end with childhood, but that we develop continually all through life. 

Another theory that is involved here is the theory of attachment of John Bowlby (1988) and his concept of 'inner working model' that is derived from it. Bowlby was in particular concerned with the significance of the mother-and-child relationship, but also with the other family relationships and how the mother and child interact with them. The distinctive feature of good attachment is that the individual can form bonds with others (and to systems, groups and organizations), and can also detach from them again.

All these theories combined have made it possible that the concept of the unconscious has moved from being understood as something that belonged and was resistant solely in the individual (in body and mind) to the understanding that it is not bound to time and place, but rather is more a matter of relationships and reflection. The unconscious is to be found inside and individual and between people in relationships. We can discover the unconsciousness in the moments when it is revealed and becomes visible to the inner eye, and therefore to the consciousness. It is precisely in this transformation from unconsciousness to consciousness that liberation takes place and the possibilities appear.

Psychodynamic group psychology

The theoretical background of psychodynamic theory also comprises theories about groups and what happens in groups. The group is an independent unit that requires its own concepts. Different theories focus on different parts of the group. For instance, Foulkes (1984, 1964) considers the group primarily as a healing and constructive phenomenon. Humans are social; the individual has been formed as the result of the development in the community. Consequently, people's problems, difficulties and psychological dysfunction must also be understood as having arisen in social networks. He created the concept of the matrix, which is a superordinate for the total states in the group. It consists of the basic matrix and the dynamic matrix. The basic matrix refers to what the members of the group have in common. The dynamic matrix consists of the specific, that is, where the members are different from each other, such as their history, their personalities and their current situations. A core concept of Foulkes is to grasp what happens in the group as a whole (reflection), which is an overall designation for the projections, identifications and anti-identifications that go on between the members. Next, condensation is connected to the way that in-group feelings can be released, as members stimulate each other to do so. Further, resonance means that there is a sympathic response in the group. When one person in the group says something, there will be different responses from different members, depending on who they are. One special type of resonance is called polarization, which occurs when something arouses opposing feelings in the group. 

Another theory is that of Bion (1961), who sees the group as a place where primitive and destructive processes occur. The group tendency is not an instinct, but one of conditions of the human live. The basic assumption state described the state the members get into when the individuals regress because of a threat into a primitive defence position, where individuality disappears and the sense of reality is weakened. On the other hand, there is the working group state, which occurs when it is oriented towards reality and working to achieve a task. Bion identified three general basic assumption states: dependency group, the fight or flight group, and the pairing group.

Psychodynamic organizational psychology: the system theory

In psychodynamic coaching, the individual is always considered as part of a system. A system (such as family, school, or peer groups) often consists of several subsystems, and the interaction between these is described in inter-group psychology, where all the members of the group are understood as the single individuals they are, but at the same time each is a representative of the whole group. 

How to apply psychodynamic coaching in practice?

The aim of psychodynamic coaching is to create development and learning for the coachee. In this wish, there is often a concealed wish for greater freedom. Freedom to work out what one wants, and freedom to let go of the goals that are unrealistic and feel comfortable about doing so. Freedom to stand still and reflect. Freedom from pressure and frustation. Freedom is not similar to independence. Rather, freedom is 'destruction plus movement'. 

Psychodynamic coaching in practice consists of four steps:

1. The first contact.
2. The first coaching session: the goal and the framework.
3. The course of coaching: investigation, hypotheses and acknowledgements.
4. Conclusion, evaluation and leave-taking.

The first contact almost always offers a lot of information of what the unconscious problem is behind the presenting problem, so the coach's works begins right from the first contact. It is beneficial to establish a fixed working method of registering, such that it becomes a routine. The first coaching session then is the first physical meeting between the coach and coachee. Here, two factors are important: the psychological contract and the conclusion of definite agreements on the goal, the costs and the framework. What does the coachee want to change? How does he want things to be at the end of the process? How many sessions should be planned, and how often should sessions be held? It is important that the coachee shares the responsibility for these things. Next, it is time for the course of coaching: investigation, hypotheses and acknowledgements about the present situation. Next, the coach and coachee move on to the future: the expectation of what is to come and what is desired. In doing so, it is important to set realistic goals. Finally, continual evaluations of the process are made with reference to the initially defined goal, and then rounded off with an overall evaluation and summing up of the contributions of both coach and coachee and their joint efforts.

When does psychodynamic coaching work best?

Psychodynamic coaching is most suitable when the client has a feeling that current problem is connected to the past. When the problem has shown to be complex and impossible to solve and when there are many systems, roles and emotions involved. Psychodynamic coaching can be applied to both individuals and groups. 

In the third chapter, psycodynamic coaching will be discussed. The core aim of psychodynamic coaching is to create change with a purpose, which implies that the change is realistic and permanent. By acknowledging and providing insight into someone's own history, personal patterns, inner structure, as well as into the present and its dynamics, the coachee is enabled to combine past, present and wishes for the future with realistic and feasible actions. Typically, psychodynamic coaching focuses on the individual, but it may also help a group who want to understand and change some aspect(s) of life. Hence, central is the wish for change. Psychodynamic coaching starts out from the idea that what is going on now in life is not happening by chance, but it is connected with things that happened earlier. The underlying patterns that originate in childhood have an important bearing on the way situations will be managed later in life.