‘It’s kind of revolutionary’ - An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Exploring Clients’ Experiences of Using Journaling in Coaching

Abstract

Although dialogue is the main medium of communication in the helping professions, writing, mainly throughout journaling, has been extensively used in different therapeutic contexts. However, there has been little research into the use of journaling in coaching. This study investigates how the use of journal prompts in coaching affects client experiences. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed using an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology. Findings suggest that the prompts optimised and enhanced the coaching experience. The study provides coaches and researchers with exciting insights into the use of journal prompts in coaching and their impact on client experiences.

Keywords

• journaling
• journal prompts
• writing
• coaching
• interpretative phenomenological analysis