Cognitive behavioural coaching (CBC) is a fusion of cognitive behavioural therapy, rational emotive therapy, solution focused approaches, goal setting theory and social cognitive theory. CBC is goal focused, time-limited and focused in the present. It is a non-therapeutic approach dealing with non-clinical problems and challenges. CBC premises that individuals may have inadequate problem solving skills or may not apply skills they have in a contextually appropriate manner, and that their thoughts, emotions and behaviours are key to understanding their perception of problems and situations.
CBC is often combined with a solution-focused (SF) approach to create a dual approach incorporating the psychological and the practical. In dealing with cognition’s coachees are able to change how they view situations and stumbling blocks to change, such as procrastination, indecisiveness and self-doubt are removed.
The concurrent behavioural approach assists the coachee develop goal directed action steps. CBC is parsimonious, using the least effort to achieve the desired outcome for the coachee. It has the ultimate goal of assisting the coachee to learn how to “self-coach”. CBC uses Socratic questioning to facilitate insight and improve rational decision making: The focus is on stimulating thought and increasing awareness rather than providing a correct answer. This assists the coachee to identify and modify thinking patterns that cause undue stress (stress induced thinking), interfere with performance (performance inhibiting thoughts) and develop negative attitudes (automatic negative thoughts). If necessary, it involves the exploration, challenging and modulating of the coachees core beliefs, but only where parsimony dictates.