When I train managers as coaches I always warn them to respect the power of coaching questions and to recognize the possibility that what starts as an innocuous, business related conversation, may lead to the unveiling of a deeper issue. Coaching managers would be advised to develop at least a little insight into the signs of abnormal psychology. Consider for example, phobias.

In this module we looked at phobias and the anxiety response they can produce in their sufferers. 'Phobia' appears to be one of those psychological terms that have become rooted in everyday language. People at work complain of Mondayphobia and listless teenagers claim to be in the clutches of Gettingupphobia and so on. In truth, however one is only phobic if one experiences some of the physical symptoms of anxiety in situations in which most other people are able to cope.

We might usefully classify phobias as one of 3 types:

• Simple phobias - fear of a certain object or situation
• Social phobias - insecurity in public places
• Agoraphobia - fear of being in unfamiliar places

There are two main explanations as to why people develop phobias:

• Learning Theory - which suggests that phobias develop from an intense experience with certain stimuli, e.g. Watson and Rayner's experiment with young Albert featuring rats and loud noises.
• Psychoanalytic Theory - which suggests that a phobia is a conscious manifestation of an unconscious fear, e.g. Freud's analysis of 'little Hans' in the early 1900s.

Each theory proposes a markedly different treatment:

• Learning Theory - suggests systematic desensitization. In other words the sufferer is exposed to the source of their anxiety a little at a time.
• Psychoanalytic Theory - suggests that treatment involves revealing the subconscious concern; usually with hypnosis.

One thing is for certain, asking the sufferer why they are afraid of something so silly or suggesting that they pull themselves together will probably not help. For people with phobias the fear is very real.

What then of the coaching manager who uncovers these signs when coaching around workload management or time keeping? Best advice would seem to be to keep to good coaching principles. Ask questions designed to raise awareness, generate responsibility and build trust then listen carefully and attentively to the responses. This is highly unlikely to make things worse and may actually do quite a lot of good.

After that, it's a question of referring the coachee to the relevant professional. For this reason I recommend that all coaching managers familiarize themselves with their organization's welfare procedure.