Coaching clients with anxiety.
Coaching is a well established intervention to help those struggling with the symptoms of anxiety. Remember that we all experience anxiety at some points in our lives, when we are moving house or about to take an exam. It is part of normal human experience and not something to be concerned about. However, sometimes anxiety becomes overwhelming and comes to dominate a person’s daily life. That is when help is needed.
Over the past 25 years, the number of coaches specialising in the treatment of anxiety has significantly increased, generating new knowledge about how a coaching approach can effectively help anxiety sufferers.
The International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring is a leading publication for bringing coaching research to a wider audience. Over the past few years it has published a number of articles demonstrating the effectiveness of a coaching approach in managing the symptoms of anxiety.
Researchers such as Jarosz (2017) have concluded that coaching is beneficial in reducing both fear and anxiety in coachees (those being coached). Common symptoms of anxiety including panic, tension and poor concentration can all respond positively to coaching interventions.
Ladegard, working in 2011, focussed specifically on the the value of coaching as a means of reducing stress. The research concluded that coaching was particularly useful in helping coachees to develop effective planning skills, leading to reported reductions in their levels of stress.
As a final example of coaching’s relevance, Buckley writing in 2007 explores more generally the impact of coaching upon improving mental health, concluding that coaching is a support technique well placed to assist effectively with a range of mental health conditions. Buckley suggests that we should quickly move beyond the question ‘what is wrong?’ and ask ‘what to do?’ This places emphasis upon seeking the most appropriate intervention to manage each individual’s needs.
So how do coaches help with anxiety? In general terms, much anxiety is caused by worrying about the unknown (the future) and putting the worst outcome upon it. Coaching is also about looking forward, but in a positive and constructive way, helping coachees to find solutions and set their own targets. Coaches work by allowing coachees to explore issues for themselves. This gives them a sense of ownership and control. By talking things through, they can be put into better perspective. Through effective planning, coachees find security and confidence.