Distinctions in coaching practice between the island of Ireland and the rest of Europe

Abstract

This research article sought to identify distinctions in the coaching practice between coaches in the island of Ireland (Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) and those in the rest of Europe by reviewing and analysing the Irish coaching data provided by The State of Play in European Coaching & Mentoring (2017) and The State of Play in Irish Coaching (2018) research reports. The article also draws a number of useful conclusions and recommendations for coaching psychology practitioners and coaches in general to improve their coaching practice and for accreditation bodies to further promote the professional development of coaching.A survey design was adopted, with a snowball sampling strategy generating 133 respondents. Eight surveyed aspects of coaching practice produced distinctive responses from coaches within Ireland compared with respondents from other European nations: They are more likely to be members of a professional coaching body; spend a higher amount of their working time engaged in coaching; tend to command higher hourly fee rates from corporate coaching assignments; are more likely to use formal supervision with a qualified coach; make greater use of the cognitive behavioural and psychodynamic methods; are slightly more thorough in the range of topicsthey cover when contracting; are less likely to share their code of ethics with their coachees; and believe that the coach’s experience and his/her professional qualifications, as opposed to price or membership of a professional body, are the most important factors when people commission coaching support.Recommendations are made for future analytical research to identify causal factors for these distinctions.Keywords:Coaching; Ireland; Europe; national distinctions.