Towards understanding that coaches’ knowledge of themselves is the enabler of client insight

Abstract

Lack of a coaches understanding of their own psychology impacts on the effectiveness of coaching, in particular the client’s ability to access insight. Despite the general awareness of the role of the coach, the concept of coaches’ psychology needs a deeper understanding in the coaching literature. This article reports on an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) study of the elements that promote the occurrence of Aha! Experiences, and considers ways coaches enable the occurrence of client insight. This article seeks to deepen coaches’ understanding of the role they hold as the central tool for successful coaching.

Keywords

• insight
• equine facilitated coaching
• transformative learning
• consciousness
• embodied creativity
• experimental learning