Appreciative inquiry and appreciative coaching

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · David Cooperrider, Suresh Srivastva, Sara L. Orem · 1987 · Case Western Reserve University, USA

What it is

Appreciative Inquiry is not a therapy. It began as an organisational research and change method: Cooperrider and Suresh Srivastva introduced it in 1987 at Case Western Reserve University as a complement to conventional action research. Cooperrider and Whitney describe it as a cooperative search for…

Format

• Structure. Appreciative Coaching follows the AI 4-D cycle, with topic choice at its centre. The book's chapter sequence is: getting started (Ch. 5), Discovery ("Reflecting and Celebrating", Ch. 6), Dream ("Articulating Potential", Ch. 7), Design ("Directing Attention and Action", Ch. 8), Destiny…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Session count and format. The sources give no standard number of sessions. In the authors' 2007 day-long workshop, pairs ran a full Discovery-to-Destiny exchange in one day, alternating as coach and client. This shows the cycle can be completed in one extended conversation for training purposes. In ongoing coaching, a practical format is 6–10 sessions of 50–60 minutes, with Discovery and Dream over the first 2–4…
• Version followed: Appreciative Coaching as set out by Sara L. Orem, Jacqueline Binkert and Ann L. Clancy (Appreciative Coaching: A Positive Process for Change, Jossey-Bass, 2007), which applies the four stages (Discovery, Dream, Design, Destiny) and five principles of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) as described by David Cooperrider and Diana Whitney in "A Positive Revolution in Change" (draft paper; book version…

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 intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• 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?
• 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

• Statements so large that they bring discouragement. Ground them in a past example and narrow the scope.
• Steps chosen to please the coach. Ask how likely the client is to do it and resize the step if that likelihood is low.
• Reframing too soon can feel like dismissal. If the client repeats the problem more forcefully, go back to acknowledging it (see 5.3).
• Prep forms that are left blank or contain only problems. That is information about engagement or mood, not a failure; raise it gently.
• A topic that is a disguised wish for someone else to change, or that the client finds forced. Rephrase until the client recognises it as theirs.

Problems the guide addresses

• Coaching–psychotherapy boundary and signs that a coachee needs clinical referral
• If you are a psychotherapist using these tools
• Common difficulties

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.