Iain McCormick

A schema is a lifelong pattern, life trap or theme that shapes how clients see the world and respond to it.  For example, a client who believes that despite what they have achieved in their career so far, that failure is imminent and that they will soon be discovered as a fraud, is likely to avoid situations where they are asked to take on new and unfamiliar work.  This fear of failure can be severely limiting for the individual’s career progression.  These unhelpful schema tend to form early in life and become the lens through which individuals experience everything.  They are an automatic unconscious filter in adulthood so have a profound impact on the person.

Coaching is widely employed in organisations, which has led to a debate about the differences between coaching and therapy. This study used quantitative, qualitative and conceptual analyses to examine this. The qualitative data suggested that coaches have a clear idea of the differences between modalities. Qualitative data indicated that coaching is seen as having six features: performance versus emotional outcomes, future versus past focus, emphasis on action-based experimentation, the work context, higher client functioning and triadic contracting relationships. However, conceptual analysis suggested that client functioning level, the organisation’s input into coaching outcomes, triadic stakeholder relationships and con dentiality are the most important distinctions.

Schema coaching, based upon schema therapy, is a highly experiential and active approach that can help coaching psychologists assist clients with deep-seated challenges. Schema coaching should only be undertaken by coaches who are suitably trained, supervised and stay within their areas of competence. This article is the sixth in a series on schema coaching and sets out two techniques: schema homework and relapse prevention. Schema homework is an evidence-based approach that assists clients to implement activities between coaching sessions to practice skills and to generalise their use to a wide range of environments. For homework to be successful, the coach needs to describe the activities clearly and with a high degree of speci!city. It needs a clear rationale and to be within the immediate ability level of the client. In reviewing homework in subsequent sessions, it is important to emphasise progress as well as to learn lessons from unsuccessful activities. The second technique presented is relapse prevention that aims to reduce the re-emergence of unwanted challenges that occur after the end of coaching. This evidenced-based technique helps clients to identify high-risk situations where the re-emergence of dysfunctional behaviour is likely and then to use both cognitive and behavioural coping strategies to prevent reoccurrence. Relapse prevention includes risk management to identify upcoming challenges, withdrawal from uncontrollable events, and the proactive use of cognitive and behavioural strategies. Both techniques are important if the coaching psychologist wants to use the schema approach effectively.

The current paper, the fifth in the series, explores the schema approach of emotional exposure. This is a type of evidence-based approach that aims to help clients confront their fears in a safe and supportive environment. This approach generates painful but tolerable emotions and so disrupts the usual avoidance behaviour which fuels the client’s fears. Exposure coaching may be undertaken in several ways. For example, in vivo exposure involves the client directly facing the feared situation or activity in real life. Imagined exposure involves the client facing the fear in their imagination. Virtual reality exposure uses technology to enable contact with the fear. Interoceptive exposure involves deliberately generating physical sensations that are unpleasant but harmless so that the client can learn that these are not dangerous or life threatening. Exposure can be undertaken at a range of different speeds. Graded exposure is where the client works slowly through a fear ladder or hierarchy, which consists of an array of feared activities or situations which are ordered from easiest to face, to most troubling. Flooding which involves helping the client rapidly face their most feared activities or situations for a period until their anxiety decreases. Systematic desensitisation combines deep muscle relaxation exercises with the graduated use of feared activities or situations and so helps the client deal with the exposure in a more comfortable manner. This evidence-based technique can be a useful component of schema coaching.

Death involves the destruction of the mortal body and the consciousness it contains.   The coaching psychology literature covers related topics such as grief and loss however much of this focuses on the individuals left behind rather than the person facing death.  Despite this gap coaching psychology offers several relevant approaches which include existential, phenomenological and narrative coaching.  In addition, there is a wealth of important knowledge from the research on the effectiveness of grief counselling, recommended end-of-life client communications, and the value of palliative care.   This paper uses four case studies on end-of-life coaching to explore these issues. 

Stress Inoculation Therapy (SIT) is an evidence-based method for mitigating adverse stress effects.  Stress Inoculation Coaching (SIC) utilises the same approach as SIT but applies this to the non-clinical workplace population.   SIC has four phases: awareness and knowledge building, skill development, application, followed by review and improvement. This study used a qualitative and interpretative phenomenological method to provide insights from ten clients who had experienced SIC.  Clients regarded the SIC approach as useful and there can be cautious optimism about suitably trained, supervised and ethically adherent coaches using this approach.  Further research is needed into the effectiveness of SIC.

Abstract

Coaching psychology is at the forefront of coaching partly because it has successfully adapted evidence-based therapeutic approaches from other fields and applied these to the high functioning members of the coaching population. An example of this is schema coaching which has been developed from schema therapy. In this approach early maladaptive schema are defined as long-standing unhelpful patterns of memories, sensations and emotions resulting from unmet childhood needs. By contrast, schema modes are the current emotional, cognitive and behavioural mood states that a person experiences in response to their early maladaptive schema. This paper provides an introduction to understanding schema modes and a range of methods for mode modification and the development of more functional thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

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McCormick, I. A. (2025).  Schema Coaching Techniques, Part 4: Schema Challenge Cards and Mindful Release The Coaching Psychologist 20(3):92-97. 

McCormick, I. A. (2025). Reflective practice for coaching psychologists.  In A. Giraldez-Hayes & Passmore, J.  Applied Psychology for Coaches: Integrating Theory and Practice.  [Unpublished manuscript]. McCormick Executive Coach, Auckland, New Zealand. 

Contact the author for a copy

McCormick, I. A. (2024).  Schema Coaching Techniques, Part 3: Imagery rescripting and chairwork. The Coaching Psychologist, Vol. 20, No. 2, 6-13.

McCormick, I. (2024). A qualitative study of client experiences using imagery rescripting during schema coaching. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching & Mentoring, 22(2). 257-270. DOI: 10.24384/DV9Z-XG82