Reciprocal peer coaching (co-coaching)

Domain VI · Brief, integrative, trauma, hypnosis & coaching · Polly Parker, Douglas Hall, Kathy Kram · 2008

What it is

Reciprocal peer coaching (co-coaching) is a format and relational model, not a psychotherapy. In it, "two people of equal status" help each other with work or learning goals, and each takes turns as coach and coachee (Parker et al., 2008). There is no expert, supervisor or evaluator. Ladyshewsky…

Format

• The model has three steps, plus set-up and an optional group format. Parker et al. (2008) number the steps in the abstract and figure, but their conclusion calls it a two-step process. The 2018 book uses three steps and names them as below.
• Griffith practice began with course content to build questioning skill, then moved to personal applications (personal visioning, leadership challenges).

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Set-up (before Step 1): selection and training.
• Ladyshewsky (2017) adds that participants need some training, especially in non-evaluative questioning. A partner does not need to be an expert, and a similar-level peer is often more useful.
• Skills named: critical reflection, self-disclosure, giving and receiving feedback, deep listening, empathy, self-regulation and social-emotional competencies.

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?
• 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?
• Does it use a device, heat, cold, water or a physical procedure? Has a medical professional checked that it is safe for you?
• 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

• one partner dominating. Use equal timed turns.
• pairs that are all support and no challenge (cosy) or all challenge (bruising).
• feedback that becomes appraisal or competition, and feedback flowing one way only.
• the coach interpreting someone else's results like an assessor. Keep the stance curious.
• pairs formed only out of friendship, or across a power line. Re-pair early rather than late.

Problems the guide addresses

• Unequal investment and non-adherence
• Stuck coachee (circling, no action)
• Coach slipping into advice, fixing or expert mode
• Drift into friendship, venting or therapy
• Competition, evaluation and power
• Signs that a peer needs referral to clinical care
• Confidentiality breach or rupture between partners
• Overwhelm within a session
• Programme-level problems

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.