GROW coaching model

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · John Whitmore, Graham Alexander, Alan Fine · 1980 · United Kingdom

What it is

GROW is a structure for a coaching conversation, not a psychotherapy. It is a four-stage questioning sequence for helping a well-functioning person reach a goal, solve a problem or make a decision. It came out of UK sports and business coaching in the 1980s. Alan Fine names Whitmore, Graham…

Format

• Session count and format. No source fixes a number of sessions. Performance Consultants says even five minutes of structured GROW questioning is useful. They list one-to-one coaching, performance and career conversations, team coaching, problem-solving and self-coaching as formats. A multi-session…
• one-to-one sessions of 45–60 minutes, every 2–4 weeks;

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• What it is. GROW is a structure for a coaching conversation, not a psychotherapy. It is a four-stage questioning sequence for helping a well-functioning person reach a goal, solve a problem or make a decision. It came out of UK sports and business coaching in the 1980s. Alan Fine names Whitmore, Graham Alexander and himself as co-creators, working together in the early 1980s under the influence of Timothy Gallwey's…
• Note for psychotherapists. GROW is a coaching framework. ICF, EMCC and AC all state that coaching is not counselling, psychotherapy or medical treatment, and that coaches do not diagnose. If you use GROW as a coach, contract explicitly for coaching. If you borrow GROW's structure inside therapy for goal-focused segments, that is a derived use.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• delaying in order to finish the session plan. Abandon GROW entirely.
• the topic stage turning into open-ended exploration. Set a time limit.
• louder team members dominating Options. Collect ideas in silence first.
• shame about actions not done. Treat it as Reality data, not failure (see 5.4).
• this belongs in organisations. A psychotherapist working as an external coach rarely needs it.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.