As I take on the role of Chair of BACP Coaching’s Executive Committee from February 2022, in true dual-practitioner style I find myself looking both forwards to the future, and back to the past. I’m taking the baton from the brilliant Carolyn Mumby, whose incredible warmth, inspirational thinking, and dedicated commitment to the division will be greatly missed by those of us in the current Executive, and I’m sure all of those who've been lucky enough to cross paths with her over the last three years. Yet with the Coaching division going from strength to strength, we recognise the great platform Carolyn and her predecessors have created for us coach-therapists to now build on.

As we focus on the future, I and the Executive have taken the opportunity to revisit our Coaching Division Strategy for 2022-25, with a newly defined purpose to demonstrate and support the unique and vital contribution dual-trained practitioners can make to UK society. I’ll expand on our ambitions for the next three years in my column in Coaching Today in April, where I’ll introduce you to our core strategic pillars, the Executive team members who are driving each area of specialism, and crucially, how we’d like our members to help us to achieve our stretching and exciting goals!

I'll also be in a position to update you on one of the biggest milestones achieved by Carolyn and the Executive team over recent years – the kickstarting of a programme to develop an evidence-based coaching competence framework. This work aims to identify the additional competences required by counsellors and psychotherapists who wish to move into coaching, and will provide the perfect jumping off point for future steps, including exploring what integrated practices can look like, and the potential development of training. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the member survey as part of our research – your thoughts and ideas will continue to be vital in shaping our work and the Coaching division moving forwards.

Talking of which, if you are both a coach and a therapist and would like to join a tribe of like-minded practitioners or are just keen to find out more about it all, we'd love you to join the BACP Coaching division. It would also be great for you to join us on the 24 March 2022 from 6pm to 7pm for a free online networking event. This is our first gathering this year and it will be a fantastic opportunity to network, share and help influence and shape the topics for future events. We hope to see you there.

We're also running an interactive live event, Coaching for social impact and change, providing an opportunity to learn about cutting-edge coaching for social change and impact from experienced and enthusiastic coaching practitioners. You'll also hear about a new model for coaching for social impact and contribute to its development. We want to create space for conversations, foster ideas, and increase the growing network of people committed to equity and social change.

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Views expressed in this article are the views of the writer and not necessarily the views of BACP. Publication does not imply endorsement of the writer’s views. Reasonable care has been taken to avoid errors but no liability will be accepted for any errors that may occur.