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What is Self Determination Theory ?

Research by psychologists Richard Ryan, PhD, and Edward Deci, PhD, on Self-Determination Theory indicates that intrinsic motivation... flourishes in contexts that satisfy human needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. -American Psychological Association, July 21, 2004 Our 3 basic needs are autonomy, competence, and relatedness We have heard somethings about them today but I’m just going to briefly say what they are Relatedness For us relatedness is feeling cared for and connected to others It has to do with a sense of belonging A feeling that you matter to the other people that are there And relatedness is enhanced not just by people treating you warming and including you but its also enhanced by your giving to them and your being able to matter in their lives Thats part of what helps us feel connected. So its not a one way street in relatedness it has to do with both and again we will show evidence to that effect Competence Competence is really commonly studied in psycology. Most theories of psychology would probably agree with us on this one point which is competence is essential to wellness to feel effective in your environment, to have some sense of mastery of the things that are important to you very very important And environments can have a big impact on that experience Autonomy And finally relatedness I mean autonomy which as probably been the most controversial but also the most central of all our psychological needs in the sense of research and our integrated mission so to speak Autonomy refers to behavior that is self endorsed That you agree with and find congruent with in yourself And so autonomy here means you feel choice full self initiating And when you’re fully autonomous you’re whole heartedly behind the thing that you are doing And again because of that whole heartedness thats why performance tends to be better when you’re acting out of autonomous motives

WHAT IS SOLUTION BASED COACHING ?

What is Solution Focused Coaching?

What is Coaching?

The term life coaching has entered into everyday language. It’s a catch-all term to describe a professional relationship where a practitioner assists a client to identify and achieve personal (and professional) goals. If we use the transport metaphor, a coach helps you to get from A to B. It works on the principle of ‘two heads are better than one’. You can have coaching for any aspect of life. If you can set a goal for it, you can have coaching for it.

In this article, I’ll describe what coaching is, the links between counselling, psychotherapy and coaching and discuss some of the key features of Solution-Focused Brief Coaching. However, if you just need a quick overview see: ‘frequently asked questions‘. Or, if you want to ‘cut to the chase’ and ask a specific question, get in touch.

The Coaching Process

Ideally, coaching a collaborative, professional relationship where clients provide the agenda and the coach provides various tools and techniques. The clients bring the content and the coach facilitates the process. Life coaching has its origins in sports coaching and draws from psychology, learning theory, teaching practice, counselling, therapy, and, of course, the self-help movement. My practice is grounded in my background in academic psychology and teaching.

Coaching as Focused Conversations

Put simply, coaching is a series of focused conversations between a practitioner (coach) and you, the client. (It can also be a three-way process between the coach and a couple). Within the process, the coach will assist you, as the client, to assess where you are in your life. This includes your strengths, values and exploring the factors that underpin your motivation (to change). Such understanding will assist you to manage change, clarifying ambitions and achieve your goals. This includes working to create more compelling and robust action plans, unlike New Year’s resolutions that fizzle out after a few weeks. The coach helps you to assess progress and provide feedback to keep you on track. Coaching is about empowerment and building confidence and self-esteem, as you learn the coaching style of thinking. The overall aim is that you acquire the skills to become your own coach once the agreed number of sessions come to an end. In turn, you will be able to build confidence in others by passing on your new insights and skills. This is a key theme in my book Unlock Your Confidence.

Coaching and Psychotherapy

Coaching can be applied to any aspect of your life irrespective of your background. You may have a strong idea of where you want to be, such as achieving better work-life balance, improving performance, building confidence and esteem, improving personal and professional relationships, study skills or staff development. The main common factors in people seeking coaching are having goals and a personal investment in taking action to achieve them. Coaching differs from counselling and psychotherapy in that coaching is usually about the ‘here and now’ and the future. Counselling usually covers, past, present and future and includes an element of distress or psychological disturbance. Psychotherapy is often a longer-term prospect and deals with more severe disturbances. In essence, coaching is about goals. It’s a commonly heard phrase that ‘if there ain’t goals, then it ain’t coaching‘. Coaches are not therapists and should refer clients on to suitably qualified professionals, with an option to return to coaching, of course. Apart from answering questions from potential clients, the main reason I offer a free 20-minute consultation (by telephone or Skype) is to make sure that coaching is the most suitable option. If not, I have links to other professionals (counsellors and psychotherapists) who might be better-placed help.

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There are debates on whether coaching, counselling and therapy should be mixed. For the client receiving coaching, it is not a good idea, even if the coach has the relevant skills. Blurring the boundaries may disrupt the coaching process and confuse the client. For the counsellor and psychotherapist, arguably, it’s slightly different, as they are often about past trauma or distress. Coaching skills might be a useful bridge to focus on the future. Ideally, though, a counsellor or psychotherapist would refer a client on to a coach after addressing the emotional issues.

Coaching and Evidence-Based Psychology

Some life coaching models are grounded in theory and research and some are not. Some are approaches to coaching are often called ‘inspirational’ which can also include established principles of human psychology. However, they may also contain elements that operate on the principle that doing something is better than doing nothing at all. Often ‘inspirational’ coaching training does not equip its practitioners with the depth of knowledge to take a critical perspective. Instead, practitioners may continue to adopt the ‘try something different’ approach. Clients deserve better. They deserve a coaching approach that has its basis in evidence-based psychology. Two such coaching approaches have their roots in psychotherapy. They form the basis of the coaching I offer.

The Cognitive-Behavioural Approach to Coaching

Cognitive-Behavioural Coaching emerged from Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which in term developed from research insights into human behaviour and cognition. In short, rather than being guesswork like some inspirational models, it draws on what the evidence says about human behaviour and cognition and how we make sense of the world. Added to this, there has been much research into outcome studies in CBT, that is, the efficacy of therapy and various techniques. Similarly, Solution-Focused Brief Coaching has emerged from Solution-Focused Brief Therapy(SFBT) and so benefits from decades of outcome studies. Two pioneers in SFBT were Insoo Kim Berg and Steve de Shazer. As explained by Berg ‘Instead of problem-solving, we focus on solution-building. Which sounds like a play on words, but it’s a profoundly different paradigm’. Essentially, there is a shift in the amount of time spent discussing the problem. Instead, SFBT shifts the focus to what the client wants to achieve through therapy, that is a picture of the future, rather than picking over the past and the problems that motivated them to see the help of a professional. When I first studied Solution Focused Therapeutic skills, I was immediately struck by how little change was required for it to work for coaching clients, with its goal-directed, future-oriented approach. As with CBT, a coaching model based on SBFT benefits from the insights from outcome studies. Throughout the development of SFBT, Insoo Kim Berg, Steve de Shazer and other practitioners studied the relative effects of question-wording, including the effects of subtle changes. SFBT is not encumbered by complicated models of human behaviour and experience. In some ways, it is almost atheoretical. The approach was developed by seeing what produces the best outcomes for clients.

The Brief Approach to Therapy and Coaching

The SFBT approach to coaching is also supported by general themes from outcomes studies of therapy. Moshe Talmon (1990) considers the question of why the median number of sessions for coaching is just one. Previously, this has been viewed by therapists as a failure. However, Talmon considered the possibility that maybe people just need one session to enable them to move on. Some therapists have considered what they might do to get clients to return. We routinely hear the phrase that ‘clients are the architect of their own lives’. And yet, when it comes to the duration of therapy, some therapists claim to know better than their clients. Instead, Talmon argues that if the majority of people only attend once then how might therapists maximize the effect of this one session. This entirely fits with the ‘person-centred’ emphasis of therapy and counselling. Based on the evidence, the optimal number of therapy sessions is between four and ten. This is when clients make the majority of progress (change). After this, there is a law of diminishing returns. Therefore the notion of brevity is supported. As a coach, I offer coaching for up to ten sessions. Furthermore, part of the Solution-Focused Brief approach is to check with the client, how they will know that they do not need to see a coach anymore. It’s another way of creating a picture of an ideal future. Many of the standard questions in SFBT and Solution Focused Brief Coaching are future focused.

Future Orientation – Solution Focused Brief Coaching

Solution Focused Brief Coaching employs questions that focus and refocus the coaching sessions on solutions, clients’ strengths and on the future. The questions help to focus on the areas of life that are ‘problem free’, such as hobbies, strengths and times of relaxation. They also look help to clarify clients’ coping strategies to highlight transferable skills. Other techniques are designed to explore exceptions to negative evaluations of situations or skill sets. Other questions help clients to create a picture of their ideal future and consider the aspects of this picture that they have already attained and aspects that are within reach. Overall, a Tanzanian Proverb sums up the Solution-Focused approach: ‘Little by little, a little becomes a lot’. Clients are usually surprised how quickly positive changes take place and usually over the course of a few sessions clients have learned a different way of thinking about their lives, their problems and how to focus on solutions.

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About the Author, Dr Gary Wood

Chartered Psychologist Dr Gary Wood combines a solid background in academic psychology and adult teaching and learning with substantial expertise in the application of evidence-based methods in coaching. He is a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society’s Special Group in Coaching Psychology and a Fellow of Higher Education Academy. He has taught psychology and research methods in several UK universities and over twenty years of coaching experience. His approach is best summed up by the phrase ‘It’s your life, so take it personally’, from his personal development book ‘Don’t Wait For Your Ship To Come In. . . Swim Out To Meet It!‘. His new book, Unlock Your Confidence employs has a strong solution-focused emphasis and was developed through his coaching practice and his confidence building workshops. His coaching practice is based in Birmingham and Edinburgh and is registered with the Life Coach Directory and Coach Digg.

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HOW THE BRAIN WORKS

How does the brain work?

Created: October 8, 2009; Last Update: October 31, 2018; Next update: 2021.

The brain works like a big computer. It processes information that it receives from the senses and body, and sends messages back to the body. But the brain can do much more than a machine can: humans think and experience emotions with their brain, and it is the root of human intelligence.

The human brain is roughly the size of two clenched fists and weighs about 1.5 kilograms. From the outside it looks a bit like a large walnut, with folds and crevices. Brain tissue is made up of about 100 billion nerve cells (neurons) and one trillion supporting cells which stabilize the tissue.

There are various sections of the brain, each with their own functions:

the cerebrum
the diencephalon – including the thalamus, hypothalamus and pituitary gland
the brain stem – including the midbrain, pons and medulla
the cerebellum

The cerebrum has a right half and a left half, known as the right and left hemispheres. The two hemispheres are connected via a thick bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum. Each hemisphere is made up of six areas (lobes) that have different functions. The cerebrum controls movement and processes sensory information. Conscious and unconscious actions and feelings are produced here. It is also responsible for speech, hearing, intelligence and memory.

The functions of the two hemispheres are to a great extent different: whereas the left hemisphere is responsible for speech and abstract thinking in most people, the right hemisphere is usually responsible for spatial thinking or imagery. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, and the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. This means that damage to the left hemisphere due to a stroke, for example, can lead to paralysis on the right side of the body.

The left cerebral cortex is responsible for speech and language. The right cerebral cortex supplies spatial information, such as where your foot is at the moment. The thalamus provides the cerebrum with sensory information from the skin, eyes and ears, as well as other information. The hypothalamus regulates things like hunger, thirst and sleep. Together with the pituitary gland, it also regulates the hormones in your body.

The brain stem relays information between the brain, the cerebellum and the spinal cord, as well as controlling eye movements and facial expressions. It also regulates vital functions like breathing, blood pressure and heartbeat.

The cerebellum coordinates movements and is responsible for balance.

How is the brain supplied with blood?

The brain needs a steady flow of enough oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients. For that reason, it has a particularly good blood supply. Each side of the brain receives blood through three arteries:

In the front, the anterior cerebral artery supplies the tissue behind the forehead and under the crown (the top of the head).

The middle cerebral artery is important for the sides and areas that are further inside the brain. The anterior and middle cerebral artery split off from the internal carotid artery, a major blood vessel in the neck.

The posterior cerebral artery supplies the back of the head, the lower part of the brain, and the cerebellum. It is supplied with blood from the vertebral arteries, which are also major arteries of the neck.

Before the three arteries reach “their” brain region, where they split into smaller branches, they are close together below the brain. In this area, they are connected to each other by smaller blood vessels – forming a structure similar to a traffic circle. The arteries are connected to each other in other areas as well. The advantage of these connections is that blood supply problems in the brain can be compensated for to some extent: For example, if a branch of an artery gradually becomes narrower, blood can still flow to the part of the brain it supplies through these alternative routes (collateral blood flow).

The smallest branches (capillaries) of the arteries in the brain supply the brain cells with oxygen and nutrients from the blood – but they do not let other substances pass as easily as similar capillaries in the rest of the body do. The medical term for this phenomenon is the “blood-brain barrier.” It can protect the delicate brain from toxic substances in the blood, for example.

After oxygen has passed into the cells, the oxygen-poor blood flows away through the veins of the brain (cerebral veins). The veins carry the blood to larger blood vessels known as sinuses. The sinus walls are strengthened by a tough membrane (dura mater), which helps them keep their shape too. This keeps them permanently open and makes it easy for the blood to flow into the veins in the neck.

Your brain contains billions of nerve cells arranged in patterns that coordinate thought, emotion, behavior, movement and sensation. A complicated highway system of nerves connects your brain to the rest of your body, so communication can occur in split seconds. Think about how fast you pull your hand back from a hot stove. While all the parts of your brain work together, each part is responsible for a specific function — controlling everything from your heart rate to your mood.

The cerebrum is the largest part of your brain. It's what you probably visualize when you think of brains in general. The outermost layer of the cerebrum is the cerebral cortex, the "gray matter" of the brain. Deep folds and wrinkles in the brain increase the surface area of the gray matter, so more information can be processed.

Your brain's hemispheres are divided into four lobes.

The frontal lobes control thinking, planning, organizing, problem solving, short-term memory and movement.
The parietal lobes interpret sensory information, such as taste, temperature and touch.
The occipital lobes process images from your eyes and link that information with images stored in memory.
The temporal lobes process information from your senses of smell, taste and sound. They also play a role in memory storage.

The cerebellum is a wrinkled ball of tissue below and behind the rest of your brain. It works to combine sensory information from the eyes, ears and muscles to help coordinate movement.

The brainstem links the brain to the spinal cord. It controls many functions vital to life, such as heart rate, blood pressure and breathing. This area is also important for sleep.

Structures deep within the brain control emotions and memories. Known as the limbic system, these structures come in pairs. Each part of this system is duplicated in the opposite half of the brain.

The thalamus acts as a gatekeeper for messages passed between the spinal cord and the cerebral hemispheres.
The hypothalamus controls emotions. It also regulates your body's temperature and controls crucial urges — such as eating or sleeping.
The hippocampus sends memories to be stored in appropriate sections of the cerebrum and then recalls them when necessary.

The peripheral nervous system is all the nerves in your body, aside from the ones in your brain and spinal cord. It acts as a communication relay between your brain and your extremities. For example, if you touch a hot stove, the pain signals travel from your finger to your brain in a split second. In just as short a time, your brain tells the muscles in your arm and hand to snatch your finger off the hot stove.

Nerve cells (neurons) have two main types of branches coming off their cell bodies. Dendrites receive incoming messages from other nerve cells. Axons carry outgoing signals from the cell body to other cells — such as a nearby neuron or muscle cell.

Interconnected with each other, neurons are able to provide efficient, lightning-fast communication.

A nerve cell (neuron) communicates with other cells through electrical impulses when the nerve cell is stimulated. Within a neuron, the impulse moves to the tip of an axon and causes the release of neurotransmitters, chemicals that act as messengers.

Neurotransmitters pass through the synapse, the gap between two nerve cells, and attach to receptors on the receiving cell. This process repeats from neuron to neuron, as the impulse travels to its destination — a web of communication that allows you to move, think, feel and communicate.

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