Coaching at Relational Depth: A Case Study

Day, 2010

Short summary: This case study shows how the dynamics of the coaching relationship can be understood as a repetition of unconscious processes by the client in the organization.

Andrew Day describes -from a psychodynamic perspective- how unconscious dynamics in the client’s organization contributed to the shaping of the experience of his role, and thus evoked feelings of powerlessness and anger. Initially, the coach identified with the client’s feelings because of the coach’s own experiences. As a result, the coaching relationship got stuck for some time. After the coach revealed his own experiences and associated emotions in the coaching, the coaching relationship started again. Based on this ‘disclosure’, further exploring the dynamics in the coaching relationship helped the client to understand his struggles within the organization at a deeper level and to position himself again within the organizational dynamics.

Link: http://bit.ly/35oy01r

Published in: Journal of Management Development Vol. 29 No. 10 2010

Research type: Qualitative

Number of participants: 1

Control group: No

Keywords: Coach-coachee relationship, Case study, Unconscious dynamics, Organizational dynamics

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