As coaches, we have an ethical responsibility to recognize when a client’s needs extend beyond our scope of practice. ICF Core Competencies and Code of Ethics emphasize the importance of referring clients to other support professionals as needed. Research also suggests that early intervention through referral can positively impact clients’ mental health outcomes.
When a client raises issues that are outside a coach’s level of expertise, it becomes our duty to help them identify and access appropriate resources. The distinctions between coaching and therapy are important to understand in this context.
Coaching typically focuses on visioning, success, the present, and moving into the future. Therapy, on the other hand, often delves into psychopathology, emotions, and the past in order to understand the present. The purpose of coaching is frequently about performance improvement, learning, or development in some area of life, while therapy often addresses deep-seated emotional issues and trauma recovery.
As an analogy, a coach can be likened to an athletic trainer, while a therapist is akin to a medical doctor specializing in sports medicine.
Trainers and therapists both have a solid background in areas like anatomy and movement. But they use this knowledge differently based on their specific roles.
Trainers work from the idea that the athlete’s body is basically healthy. Their focus is on improving the person’s fitness and athletic performance. If they think the athlete is injured, they’ll send them to a doctor.
Therapists, on the other hand, specialize in identifying, diagnosing, and rehabbing injuries or physical limitations. Their approach is about restoring function and safely getting the athlete back to their sport.
So while they draw from similar scientific knowledge, trainers are optimizing for peak performance, while therapists prioritize health, healing, and a gradual return to play. These complementary perspectives are crucial for supporting the athlete’s overall needs.
Early intervention can make a significant difference. Research shows that problems are unlikely to resolve without action, and that timely help leads to a higher rate of recovery. Intervention can improve an individual’s quality of life and may even save a life, whereas delayed intervention can disrupt an individual’s overall performance.
As coaches, we play an important role as outside observers in recognizing when a client may need additional support. Our expression of interest and willingness to provide referrals can be a critical factor in helping a struggling individual. Ultimately, self-reflection and self-awareness are crucial in determining when an issue is beyond the scope of our competence as coaches.
When to Refer a Coaching Client
As coaches, it’s important to recognize when a client may benefit from additional support beyond the coaching relationship. There are a few key signs that a referral to therapy or other resources may be warranted.
- If the client’s presenting problem is interfering with their coaching progress and not resolving over time, it could indicate an underlying issue better suited for a therapeutic setting. Clients may be functioning in daily life but making little headway in coaching due to psychological barriers.
- Similarly, if a client continually revisits past issues or struggles to process their feelings, preventing them from gaining insight and taking action, a referral should be considered. Therapy can provide specialized support to address deep-seated emotional concerns.
- Clients who become stuck on a past incident, continually seeing themselves as a victim or suffering ongoing trauma effects, are also likely to benefit more from the expertise of a licensed therapist.
As coaches, we play a crucial role in recognizing these signs and making appropriate referrals. By connecting clients with the right resources, we can help ensure they receive the support needed to achieve their goals and foster their overall well-being.
Signs for referral
Common mental health issues include:
- Anxiety – Excessive feeling of worry, nervousness, or apprehension about real-life events; recurring intrusive thoughts or concerns.
- Duration – Occurring more days than not for at least six months
- Depression – Feelings of severe sadness, emptiness, and hopelessness or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities.
- Duration – When feelings of sadness disrupt daily life and persist for more than 2 weeks
- Eating disorders – When eating and feeding behavior, such as overeating or undereating, demonstrates psychological distress and impairment; extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors surrounding weight and food issues.
- Duration – Recurrent episodes or persistent behaviors
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – Feelings of trauma or stress in people who have experienced a terrifying event, such as warfare, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault.
- Duration – Have lasted at least one month
- Substance abuse or addiction – Addiction, or dependence on a particular substance or activity.
- Duration – Displaying a couple or all of the symptoms within 12 months
- Suicidal ideation – Thoughts or acts of self-harm or killing oneself intentionally; has a suicide plan.
- Duration – Recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal ideation, or suicidal plans; any past suicidal attempts within 24 months.
- Thought disorders – Behavior or speaking that indicates problematic, illogical, or incoherent patterns of thinking.
- Duration – Displaying a couple of symptoms for a significant portion of the time for at least one month
It’s important to note that the presence of any single sign alone does not necessarily mean a client is experiencing mental health issues. However, the more of these indicators you observe, the more likely it is your client would benefit from support from a mental health professional.
These potential signs can be grouped into categories like personal life, professional life, behavioral/emotional, physical, and safety risk factors. While any one factor may not be cause for concern, a cluster of smaller signs can signal an underlying issue.
For example, if there are emotional outbursts, repeated excuses for unfinished homework, and consistent fatigue, this grouping of relatively minor indicators could suggest the client is struggling. In these cases, making a referral to a therapist may be reasonable.
The key is to remain attuned to the overall picture, not just isolated factors. By recognizing clusters of potential distress signals, we can help ensure clients receives the specialized support they need.
At the end of the day, whether to get counseling is up to the client. They may not want professional help, and that’s okay. If the person doesn’t want to work with a mental health expert, we must let them know we’re here if they change their mind in the future. We need to respect their choice not to get help, unless we believe they’re in danger of hurting themselves or others in which case we should contact the local support services to handle the situation properly. Our job is to make sure they can access the resources and specialized care they may need, while still letting them make their own decisions.
The goal is to make sure clients get the support that fits their individual situation, whether that involves counseling or not. By paying attention to potential warning signs, we can help connect them with the right help at the right time, if and when they’re ready for it.