In this issue
Features
Standing out from the crowd: what’s your USP?
Jo Birch and Sarah Corrie
How did we get here?: coaching’s hidden history
Dr Leni Wildflower
Meaning in the mood: the intelligence of emotion
Dr Geoff Pelham
Reliving the moment: using audio playback in coaching supervision
The Ashridge Supervision Research Group
Regulars
Message from the chair
A day in the life
Coach, teacher and special needs practitioner Dimos Kyritsis
Articles from this issue are not yet available online. Divisional members and subscribers can download the pdf from the Coaching Today archive.
Editorial
As regular readers of this column will know, I am fast approaching completion of my Master’s degree in dance movement psychotherapy and preparing to launch myself into a new career. However, I’m under no illusions that I will be immediately offered a contract as a freshly-graduated professional dance therapist in the NHS or private sector; my aim with this training was always to build on my existing skills and integrate elements of psychodynamic dance movement psychotherapy with my coaching practice.
I have found this happening naturally over the past couple of years in actual work with my clients (how could it not?) but I confess that, when it comes to putting myself out there and marketing myself as an integrated coach/therapist who uses dance, movement, creativity and the body, I struggle with knowing how to ‘package’ and ‘brand’ myself as such. From the discussions you have been having, both online through our LinkedIn group1 and in the pages of this journal, I know I’m not alone in this struggle. So I was delighted when our Past Chair of BACP Coaching Jo Birch and the Chair of the BPS Special Interest Group in Coaching Psychology Sarah Corrie came together to offer us all some advice on building and promoting our integrated practices.
In our special cover feature in this issue, Sarah and Jo begin by looking at our history and go on to explain what being dual trained might mean for us, why we might find self-promotion challenging and how to overcome this. What do we bring from our diverse backgrounds as counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists, coaches and coaching psychologists, and what does it all mean in the marketplace? As they explain, to communicate our brand we must first identify our unique selling point (USP). What makes us so special and unique – and what differentiates us from other practitioners? How do we stand out from the crowd?
Elsewhere, Leni Wildflower traces the origins of coaching from the early days of the self-help movement to today’s approaches embracing developments in psychology and psychotherapy. Leni’s piece serves as a reminder that we all stand on the shoulders of giants – and that we are each and every one of us pioneers in our field. It’s for this reason that I love reading your stories and your contributions and I feel privileged to be able to share them and showcase your work here in the pages of this journal – your ideas and explorations, your struggles and challenges, your dreams and hopes. Thank you for continuing to share and contribute to the discussion.
I’m also delighted to welcome our new Chair of BACP Coaching, Gill Fennings-Monkman MBE, with her first Chair’s Message for Coaching Today readers. I echo Gill’s sentiments in expressing gratitude to our predecessors and looking forward to the future with excitement, passion and curiosity. I hope you will join us.
Diane Parker
Editor
editorial@bacpcoaching.co.uk