Integrating Coaching, Therapy and Person-Centred Approaches – A Model for Therapeutic Coaching

Written by Paul Beal, Therapeutic Coach

Paul Beal is a seasoned professional with over 30 years in HR, leadership, and coaching. Passionate about transformation, Paul, as a therapeutic coach, combines counselling and coaching to help clients uncover barriers and achieve personal and professional breakthroughs. Empathetic yet challenging, Paul inspires lasting change.

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Traditional coaching and therapy have often been positioned as distinct practices. Coaching is typically framed as future-oriented, goal-driven, and focused on strengths and accountability.[1][10] Therapy, by contrast, often addresses past experiences, unconscious patterns, and emotional healing.[2][8] Increasingly, however, scholars and practitioners are recognising the blurred boundaries between these approaches and exploring integrative models.[1][9] Therapeutic coaching provides a framework that acknowledges the importance of goals and change, while also attending to the emotional and psychological processes that can enable or obstruct progress. At the heart of this approach is a person-centred foundation, ensuring psychological safety, empathy, and respect for autonomy.[2]

The therapeutic coaching model

The model (Figure 1) illustrates three overlapping domains:

1. Coaching: Emphasising growth, action, and accountability. This involves identifying future goals, building on strengths, and fostering sustainable change. Research highlights that action-oriented approaches increase motivation and behavioural outcomes.[3]

2. Therapy: Emphasising depth and healing. This includes exploration of past patterns, emotions, and beliefs that may constrain current behaviour. Therapeutic insight can enable the release of limiting beliefs and enhance emotional resilience.[4]

3. Person-centred: Emphasising empathy and safety. Drawing on Rogers’ core conditions, empathy, unconditional positive regard, and congruence, the model acknowledges that transformation occurs most effectively within a trusting relationship.[2] The intersection of these three domains forms the Integration Zone, which is characterised by resilience, authenticity, clarity, and purpose. This integration is not a blurring of boundaries but rather a thoughtful weaving together of approaches, applied with ethical sensitivity and awareness of the scope of practice.

Practical applications

Therapeutic coaching has growing relevance in contexts where individuals face complex challenges, including healthcare, leadership, and transitional life stages. In leadership development, for example, therapeutic coaching allows individuals to explore not only strategic goals but also the emotional drivers and barriers underpinning their leadership identity.[5] In clinical and wellbeing contexts, it can support clients to balance personal growth with emotional healing. Importantly, practitioners must hold clarity around role boundaries. While therapeutic coaching integrates therapeutic principles, it is distinct from psychotherapy. Coaches must remain within their competence, drawing on supervision and referring clients where clinical intervention is required.[6]

Discussion

The value of this model lies in its integrative stance. Purely action-focused coaching may neglect underlying emotional dynamics, while therapy alone may risk insufficient attention to forward momentum. The person-centred dimension ensures that both action and healing are held in a safe relational space. This model aligns with current trends towards pluralism in psychological practice, which advocates for approaches that flexibly respond to client needs rather than rigid adherence to one modality.[7] In doing so, therapeutic coaching contributes to the broader movement towards holistic, person-centred support for wellbeing and development.

Conclusion

Therapeutic coaching provides a valuable framework for supporting clients who seek both change and deeper personal understanding. By integrating coaching, therapy, and person-centred principles, practitioners can help clients build resilience, live with authenticity, and pursue goals with clarity and purpose. This integrative approach represents a significant development in both coaching and helping professions, offering a bridge between action and reflection, between growth and healing.

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Read more from Paul Beal

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Paul Beal, Therapeutic Coach

Paul Beal is an experienced HR professional and therapeutic coaching specialist with over 30 years of experience in leadership and personal development. Integrating coaching and counselling, he empowers individuals to uncover hidden barriers, achieve breakthroughs, and unlock their full potential. A Fellow of the CIPD and Strengthscope Master Practitioner, he is passionate about helping clients navigate challenges in both personal and professional realms. Learn more about his unique approach to transformation.

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References:

[1] Bachkirova, T., & Kauffman, C. (2009). The Evolution of Coaching: An Interview with Sir John Whitmore. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 2(1), 8–20.

[2] Rogers, C. R. (1961). On Becoming a Person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

[3] Grant, A. M. (2014). Autonomy support, relationship satisfaction, and goal focus in coaching. International Coaching Psychology Review, 9(2), 118–129.

[4] Corey, G. (2017). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. 10th ed. Cengage.

[5] Lee, G. (2020). Leadership Coaching: From Personal Insight to Organisational Performance. CIPD.

[6] British Psychological Society (BPS). (2022). Coaching Psychology Guidelines. BPS Publications.

[7] Cooper, M., & McLeod, J. (2011). Pluralistic Counselling and Psychotherapy. Sage.

[8] Clarkson, P. (2014). The Therapeutic Relationship. London: Routledge.

[9] Stelter, R. (2019). The Art of Dialogue in Coaching: Towards Transformative Exchange. Routledge.

[10] Whitmore, J. (2017). Coaching for Performance. 5th ed. Nicholas Brealey.