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 awareness of abnormal psychology.

In previous articles I have examined how coaching may uncover signs of, amongst other things, alcoholism, schizophrenia, drug addiction, eating disorders and sexual deviation.

This can seem an alarming list but I’m not suggesting that we all need to become psychotherapists, but even if you have to deal with such issues only once an awareness of what to look for and how to respond could be crucially helpful.

This article now goes on to look at the range of therapies available for the treatment of psychological disorders. We have moved a long way from our historical approach of exorcisms and burnings to a range of therapies often based on the work of such pioneers as Sigmund Freud and Ivan Pavlov.

The Biological Perspective

This approach suggests that cause and treatment is physical. Treatments include:

Chemotherapy (Neuroleptics, Antidepressants, Antimanics, etc.)
Electro-convulsive Therapy (Cerletti and Bini, 1938)
Psychosurgery

The Psychodynamic Approach

This approach suggests disorders stem from unconscious conflicts. Treatments include:

Psychoanalysis (Hypnosis, Dream Interpretation, etc.)
Group Therapies (Psychodrama, Transactional Analysis, etc.)

The Behavioural Model

Looking at the resultant behaviour, rather than the cause, such as:

Implosion Therapy
Flooding
Systematic Desensitization
Aversion Therapy
Behaviour Shaping
Token Economics
Modelling

We might also consider the cognitive perspective which bases treatment on altering a patient’s thinking about a problem and the humanistic perspective which seeks to put sufferers in touch with their true selves, e.g. the work of Carl Rogers in the 1940s.!

What then of the coaching manager who uncovers signs of abnormal psychology when coaching and wants to provide appropriate help. 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, because as we've seen here expert treatment may be required. For this reason I recommend that all coaching managers familiarize themselves with their organization's welfare procedure.