Co-active coaching

1. Introduction

Version followed: the Co-Active Model as set out in Kimsey-House, Kimsey-House, Sandahl & Whitworth, Co-Active Coaching (4th ed., 2018) and as currently taught by the Co-Active Training Institute (CTI) in its core curriculum (Fundamentals, then Fulfillment, Balance, Process and Synergy, then certification). Source status: the model, designed alliance, foundation-setting, Wheel of Life, discovery questions, homeostasis and coaching formats are taken from CTI's own free sampler of the 4th edition (preface, introduction, chapters 1–2, pp. ix–34) [source: CTI sampler]. The content of the course levels (Fulfillment, Balance, Process) is taken from CTI's published curriculum details and course pages [source: CTI curriculum details; CTI catalog]. The detail of chapters 3–12 (the five contexts, Fulfillment, Balance and Process chapters) rests on CTI blog posts and on secondary chapter notes and reviews; points tagged only [source: 4th-ed notes] come from one reader's personal chapter notes and are [uncertain: secondary, unverified]. The book's Balance step names, its Process chapter procedures and its saboteur procedure remain [uncertain].

What it is. Co-Active coaching is a coaching model, not a psychotherapy. CTI calls it a relational model for coaching, leadership and life. It works with values, identity, purpose and how people relate, not only with goals and actions. CTI says it sits at a different level from GROW or solution-focused coaching and does not replace them. CTI has taught it since 1992 and describes itself as the first ICF-accredited coach-training organisation. [source: CTI What is Co-Active]

How change happens (as CTI states it). The client is treated as "naturally creative, resourceful, and whole" and able to find their own answers. The coach does not advise. The coach listens at depth, asks powerful questions, and holds a designed alliance in which the client sets the agenda. Change comes from three principles: Fulfillment (living by one's values and purpose), Balance (seeing more perspectives and choosing consciously), and Process (being fully present to what is happening now, including emotion). Synergy integrates them. The aim is a shift in how a person relates to themselves, others and their work, not only better behaviour. [source: CTI catalog; CTI What is Co-Active; CTI Principles blog]

For a psychotherapist. This guide describes coaching as its authors define it. Bringing Co-Active skills into psychotherapy is a derived application, marked [synthesis] wherever it appears. Section 5 and the Referral entry in section 4 cover the coaching–therapy boundary as ICF, EMCC, AC and the book describe it.

2. Framework

Co-Active has no fixed phase protocol. The book puts the client's life at the centre, surrounded by the designed alliance, with the five contexts drawn as a star that the authors call a constellation rather than a sequence. The coach chooses among them moment by moment ("dance in this moment"). The book does describe an opening phase (foundation-setting) followed by ongoing work. [source: CTI sampler pp. 3–17, 27–32; CTI What is Co-Active]

A. Getting started (initial session or sessions).

Goals: foundation-setting, which orients the client to coaching, begins designing the alliance, and starts clarifying issues and goals. The book says it has no standard format. [source: CTI sampler pp. 27–28]
Content: the book names four areas. (1) Logistics: schedule, cancellation policy, payment; how the coach handles these sets the tone. (2) "You are here": discovery of where the client is now, how they got there, what is at stake, what motivates and blocks them, often including values, purpose and beliefs, and a look at past successes and disappointments. The Wheel of Life is one optional tool here. (3) Designing the future: usually one or two key areas of change, made specific, plus a compelling vision and who the client needs to be. (4) Orientation to coaching: airing assumptions, concerns and expectations so both commit to the relationship. [source: CTI sampler pp. 28–32]
Format: foundation-setting may be one short interview or several sessions. It can include assessments, interviews with co-workers or family, or an off-site visioning session. [source: CTI sampler p. 27] A longer first session is common practice in coaching [synthesis].
Move on when: the alliance is explicit (scope, confidentiality and its limits, how the coach may intrude or challenge); the client has named what they want; and the client's commitment is real. The notes warn that without it, coaching drifts into "chitchat or to-do lists". [source: 4th-ed notes; GCoE 2025 §2] Before moving on, also screen for indicators needing clinical referral (section 4, Referral) [source: ICF 2018].

B. Ongoing coaching sessions (the core of the work).

Goals: hold the client's "big agenda" (their whole life and fulfilment) while serving the "little agenda" (this session's topic, goals, action, accountability). [source: 4th-ed notes]
Typical session shape [synthesis, built from skills the sources name]: check in and clear (venting if needed) → accountability on last session's commitments → client chooses the topic → explore with listening, curiosity and powerful questions, using Fulfillment, Balance or Process work as the moment calls for → forward the action (requests, challenges, structures) → set commitments and a homework inquiry → acknowledge.
Principles in session: CTI teaches Fulfillment, Balance and Process in order, but in practice the coach uses whichever principle the moment calls for. Synergy is defined as tailoring them to the client in the moment rather than following templates. [source: CTI catalog]
Frequency and number of sessions: the book gives no fixed count. It describes common formats: weekly appointments, often by phone, or in-person meetings, under fixed contracts of three, six or twelve months, or open-ended. [source: CTI sampler pp. 26–27] Session length is not given [uncertain]. CTI certification requires 100 hours of paid coaching and a roster of five paying clients. [source: CTI catalog]
Between sessions: structures, homework inquiries, and accountability check-ins by text or email. [source: 4th-ed notes]

C. Recurring dynamics the coach prepares for.

Homeostasis: the natural, often unconscious pull back to familiar patterns. It is strongest mid-change, when the old way is gone and the new one is not yet established. Tell clients in advance that backsliding is common so they do not read it as failure. The people around the client may also resist, especially those affected but not consulted. [source: CTI sampler pp. 31–32]
Dissonance: when a client changes their life, the inner critic or saboteur tends to wake up. Expect it and warn the client. [source: 4th-ed notes]

D. Completion. The published Co-Active sources used here do not set out an ending protocol [uncertain]. The Global Code of Ethics requires coaches to suggest ending when a client would be better served by another form of professional help. [source: GCoE 2025 §3; AC Code page] Suggested ending [synthesis]: review against the original Wheel of Life and goals, acknowledge who the client has become, name the structures they will keep, and agree whether and how to resume.

Criteria for shifting focus within sessions [synthesis from CTI descriptions]: use Fulfillment when the client is disengaged, doubting the worth of their work, or deciding against their values. Use Balance when they are stuck, going in circles, or locked into one perspective. Use Process when emotion, confusion or resistance is present and talking about it is keeping the client from experiencing it. Forward the action once a new perspective or choice has landed. [source: CTI catalog; Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]

3. Guiding principles

The four cornerstones [source: CTI sampler pp. 3–9; CTI What is Co-Active; CTI Principles blog]

People are naturally creative, resourceful, and whole. Practical meaning: do not diagnose, fix or advise. Assume the client can find the answer and ask rather than tell.
Dance in this moment. Practical meaning: follow what is alive now in the client and the relationship, not your plan for the session.
Focus on the whole person. Practical meaning: bring heart, mind, body, spirit, values and roles into the work. The presenting topic is only the entry point.
Evoke transformation. Practical meaning: aim for a shift in how the client relates to themselves and their life, not only task completion.

The designed alliance. The book places it as a protective circle around the client. The power lies in the relationship, not in the coach, and the client helps shape how they want to be coached. It is revisited throughout, not set once. Practical meaning: agree explicitly how you will work, let either party redesign it at any time, and honour the client's power, for example by asking permission. [source: CTI sampler pp. 12–13, 25–26; CTI Designed Alliance blog; CTI Principles blog]

The five contexts (coach capacities) The book draws them as a five-pointed star, used together rather than in order. The skill detail below rests on CTI pages and on secondary chapter notes, not on chapters 3–7 themselves [uncertain where tagged 4th-ed notes only]. [source: CTI sampler pp. 13–16; 4th-ed notes; CTI Levels of listening]

Listening (Levels I, II and III). Practical meaning: stay mostly at Levels II and III. Treat Level I (your own thoughts) as a signal to come back.
Intuition. Practical meaning: speak hunches early and offer them as nudges, "completely unattached to the interpretation".
Curiosity. Practical meaning: ask open, exploratory questions, not leading or yes/no ones. The notes quote the book: "Curiosity builds relationships; interrogation builds defenses."
Forward the action and deepen the learning. The book treats action and learning as equal, complementary forces that together produce change. [source: CTI sampler pp. 13–16] Practical meaning: every session should both move the client into action and deepen their self-understanding. The coach is an "anchor" through authenticity, connection, aliveness and courage. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Self-management. Practical meaning: set aside your opinions, ego and need to look good, keep the focus on the client, and stay aware of your own impact. [source: CTI sampler pp. 13–16] When you lose connection, use recovery: notice, name, reconnect. [source: 4th-ed notes]

The three principles plus Synergy [source: CTI sampler pp. 9–12; CTI catalog; CTI Principles blog; 4th-ed notes]

Fulfillment. Being "fully alive", grounded in values, vision and purpose. The book describes it as personal and evolving: it often starts with outward success and deepens towards purpose, service and full potential, and clarifying values helps align choices. [source: CTI sampler pp. 10–11] Practical meaning: test goals and decisions against the client's own top values.
Balance. Dynamic, not static. The book treats it as a fluid state seen over the long term: choosing what to say yes and no to, widening perspectives, and asking whether the client is moving towards or away from balance. [source: CTI sampler pp. 11–12] CTI states "Every person is always choosing". [source: CTI Principles blog] Practical meaning: start with the client's perspective and the boxes limiting them, not with action.
Process. Attention to what is happening now, including emotion and confusion. The book uses a river image (fast and calm stretches, stuck places, floods and droughts); the coach's job is to notice, point out and accompany the client through them. [source: CTI sampler p. 12; CTI catalog] Practical meaning: help the client experience what is present instead of only talking about it, and treat confusion as part of growth.
Synergy. Integration tailored to each client. Practical meaning: respond to what is most needed now, not a preset template.

Further stance rules [source: 4th-ed notes unless stated]

Big agenda and little agenda. Practical meaning: serve the session topic in a way that serves the client's whole life.
Stay unattached to outcome. This applies to requests, intuitions and advice alike. Practical meaning: the client may say yes, no, or counter-offer.
Wear the expert hat only by permission. Practical meaning: say which hat you are wearing, ask before offering expertise, and offer it without attachment.
Tell hard truths in service of the client's agenda. Practical meaning: be willing to push back.
Coaching environment. Confidentiality, trust, truth-telling, openness and spaciousness. Practical meaning: keep the space "as clear and as quiet as possible".
Coaching is not counselling, psychotherapy or medical intervention. Practical meaning: stay within competence and refer when needed. [source: GCoE 2025 Values; AC Code page; ICF 2018]

4. Intervention inventory

The entries are grouped as: A. alliance and discovery; B. the five contexts in use; C. core coaching skills; D. Fulfillment, Balance and Process work; E. forwarding the action; F. boundary and referral. Skill names follow the 4th edition as the notes record them. The notes name some skills but give no steps for them; those steps are marked [synthesis]. All example language is illustrative unless it is in quotation marks with a citation.

A. Alliance and discovery

1. Designing the alliance

Purpose / when: At the start of every engagement and throughout it. The book calls it a deliberately designed working relationship, covering assumptions, expectations, process and outcomes, that coach and client create and revise over time. CTI also uses it for groups ("Consciously agreeing on how a group will be together"). [source: CTI sampler pp. 25–26; CTI Designed Alliance blog; CTI Principles blog]
Steps: (1) Cover logistics: schedule, cancellation, fees. [source: CTI sampler p. 28] (2) State scope: this is coaching, not therapy, and give the limits of confidentiality (risk of harm, illegality, legal duty). [source: GCoE 2025 §2–3] (3) Explore the conditions needed to work well together, likely obstacles, and the key questions the client wants answered. [source: CTI sampler pp. 25–26] (4) Ask how the client wants you to be with them, especially around their known patterns; use discovery answers here (for example, how to respond when they get stuck). (5) Describe your own style (for example direct, sometimes challenging), ask whether it suits them, and adjust. (6) Invite candour: ask the client to say when your approach is not working, and draw out requests from clients unsure they may make them. [steps 4–6: CTI Designed Alliance blog; CTI sampler p. 29] (7) Get advance permission for intruding and challenging. [source: 4th-ed notes] (8) Redesign periodically, when the client's life changes, and when a pattern or problem shows up, by asking what is going well, what less well, and what to change. [source: CTI Designed Alliance blog; CTI sampler p. 26]
Example language: "How do you want me to be with you around that?" and "What's going well in our coaching right now?" [quoted from CTI Designed Alliance blog]. Illustrative: "Is it OK if I interrupt when the story is taking over?" "What would make this the most valuable relationship for you?"
Watch for: unspoken expectations, such as wanting advice or wanting therapy. It is working when the client calls on the agreements ("you have permission to push me here").

2. Wheel of Life

Purpose / when: In the "You are here" part of foundation-setting, as an overall check of satisfaction across major life areas and to choose a focus. The book allows adapted versions. [source: CTI sampler p. 29] It can be repeated later to track change [synthesis].
Steps: (1) Draw a circle divided into the eight areas in the book's figure: physical environment, career, money, health and wellness, significant other or romance, friends and family, personal growth, fun and recreation; adapt as needed. [source: CTI sampler p. 29, Fig. 4] (2) The client rates current satisfaction in each area, commonly from 1 to 10. [source: 4th-ed notes] The sampler gives no scoring procedure and refers to CTI's online toolkit, which is not drawn on here [uncertain]. (3) Explore the shape: lowest and highest scores and surprises. (4) Ask what a higher score would look like in one or two areas. (5) Choose one or two changes to focus on. [steps 3–5: synthesis, consistent with the book's "one or two key areas", CTI sampler p. 30]
Example language (illustrative): "Looking at the whole wheel, what jumps out?" "What would a 7 in this area look like on an ordinary Tuesday?"
Watch for: uniformly very low scores together with hopelessness, low energy or withdrawal. These can indicate depression, so screen as in F1 before setting goals. [source: ICF 2018]

3. Discovery questions

Purpose / when: The heart of "You are here" discovery. The book lists simple questions about where the client wants to make a difference, what they value most in relationships, what has worked when they changed before, where they usually get stuck, what motivates them, how they handle disappointment or failure, and how reliably they do what they say they will. [source: CTI sampler p. 29]
Steps: Ask open questions in each area and listen at Levels II and III. Note values and patterns and articulate them back. Feed the answers into the alliance: for example, after learning where the client gets stuck, ask how they want you to respond when it happens. Review past successes and disappointments to learn what works for this client. [source: CTI sampler pp. 28–29]
Example language (illustrative): "When you fail at something, what usually happens next?" "Where do you reliably get stuck?"
Watch for: recurring themes from the past, or a need to keep processing old feelings. In the ICF guidance these suggest a referral question. [source: ICF 2018]

3a. Orientation to coaching

Purpose / when: The fourth area of foundation-setting: surface the client's assumptions, concerns and expectations about coaching and about each other, so both commit to the relationship. [source: CTI sampler pp. 31–32]
Steps: (1) Ask what the client has heard about coaching and what they expect of you. (2) Say what coaching is and is not, including that it is not counselling or psychotherapy. [source: GCoE 2025] (3) Clarify the client's part: setting the agenda, doing what they commit to, saying what is not working. (4) Ask for an explicit commitment to the work. [steps 1, 3, 4: synthesis from the book's description]
Example language (illustrative): "What are you hoping I'll do, and what do you expect of yourself in this?"
Watch for: an expectation of advice, rescue or therapy. Address it now, or refer (40).

4. Designing the future (goals and compelling vision)

Purpose / when: After discovery, to turn broad wishes (concrete goals, or states such as feeling "balanced") into specific outcomes, usually in one or two key areas. It also seeks a compelling vision that pulls the client, in contrast to deadlines and obligations that push, and asks who the client needs to be: new attitudes or beliefs, and shedding accumulated old roles. [source: CTI sampler pp. 30–31]
Steps: (1) Pick one or two key changes. (2) Make each specific: what will happen, by when, and how the client will know. (3) Explore the compelling vision behind the goal. (4) Ask who the client needs to become. (5) Identify draining habits to replace with sustaining practices. [steps 1–5: CTI sampler pp. 30–31] (6) Split goals into manageable pieces (see 36). [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "If this were already true a year from now, what would you see?" "Which habit drains you most, and what would give life instead?"
Watch for: goals that conflict with the client's values. Check them against values (D1).

B. The five contexts in use

5. Three levels of listening

Purpose / when: Throughout every session. [source: CTI Levels of listening; CTI Fundamentals]
Steps: Level I is internal: "listening primarily to your own thoughts or agenda". Notice when you are there and come back. Level II is focused: attention "intensely focused on what the other person is saying". Level III is global: take in tone, pauses, energy, posture and the atmosphere, then name what you notice without attachment. CTI's training drill uses roughly 2-minute paired rounds: the listener deliberately listens at Level I, then II, then III, and the speaker reports the difference. An advanced version uses no words. [source: CTI Levels of listening]
Example language (illustrative): "Your voice dropped when you mentioned your father. What's there?"
Watch for: the mistakes CTI lists: staying at Level I, listening for problems to fix, interrupting to redirect, and missing tone or mismatches. [source: CTI Levels of listening]

6. Intuition and blurting

Purpose / when: To offer a hunch that may open something new. Blurting means saying it messily and unpolished, which the notes say often builds trust. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps: (1) Notice the hunch. (2) Say it early, before the moment passes. (3) Frame it as a hunch. (4) Drop it if it does not land. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "I've got a hunch, and it might be wrong: this sounds less like a job decision than a permission question."
Watch for: attachment to being right. It works when the client corrects or builds on the hunch, either way.

7. Curiosity and powerful questions

Purpose / when: Constantly, to evoke the client's own discovery. [source: CTI Fundamentals; 4th-ed notes]
Steps: Ask open, simple, direct questions; the notes give "Aim for seven words or less". Avoid "why", which tends to make people defensive. Avoid leading questions and yes/no questions. Then allow silence. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "What do you want?" "What's important about that?" "What's next?" "What are you tolerating?"
Watch for: strings of questions that feel like interrogation, and questions that smuggle in advice.

8. Self-management and recovery

Purpose / when: Whenever your own opinions, reactions, need to be liked or need to fix take you out of connection. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps: (1) Notice the gap or shift; you do not need to know why it happened. (2) Name it, aloud if useful ("I got lost"). (3) Reconnect your attention to the client. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "I was off in my own thoughts for a moment. Can you say that last part again?"
Watch for: in therapists, the pull toward formulation or diagnosis while coaching [synthesis]. Owning a lapse builds trust. [source: 4th-ed notes]

9. Forward the action and deepen the learning

Purpose / when: As a test for every session: did the client move into action, and did they learn something about themselves? [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps (synthesis): before closing, ask what was learned and what will be done, and link the two.
Example language (illustrative): "What did you learn about yourself today, and what will you do with it this week?"
Watch for: sessions that are all action and no learning, or the reverse.

C. Core coaching skills

10. Articulating what's going on

Purpose / when: To describe, without judgement, the pattern you observe so the client can see it. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps (synthesis): gather what you have heard, state the pattern in one or two sentences, and check it with the client.
Example language (illustrative): "Three times today you've built a plan and then found a reason it can't work."
Watch for: articulation that turns into interpretation or labelling. Keep it to the observable.

11. Clarifying

Purpose / when: When the client's picture is fuzzy. Sharpen it until they say "Yes! That's it!" [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps (synthesis): reflect what you heard in tighter words, ask whether that is it, and refine.
Example language (illustrative): "So it's not the workload, it's not being consulted. Is that it?"
Watch for: recognition in the client's voice or body (Level III).

12. Meta-view

Purpose / when: When the client is lost in detail. Take a helicopter view of their whole life to regain perspective. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "Zoom right out. Where does this fit in the bigger story of your life?"
Watch for: relief or a reorder of priorities.

13. Metaphor

Purpose / when: To speed understanding, and as a gentler route into emotional content. [source: 4th-ed notes; Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]
Steps: Offer an image or invite the client's own. Explore it, then translate it back into the situation. Examples in the CTI-derived literature include a landscape, or a point on a river (rapids, waterfall, quiet pool). [source: Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]
Example language (illustrative): "If this stage of your career were a stretch of river, where are you?"
Watch for: imposing your metaphor. Use the client's wording once they have offered one.

14. Acknowledging

Purpose / when: To name who the client is, their "inner character", as distinct from praising what they did. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps (synthesis): name the quality the action shows, then pause and notice the impact.
Example language (illustrative): "Making that call took real courage. You chose honesty over comfort."
Watch for: deflection. Let the acknowledgment land rather than moving on.

15. Asking permission

Purpose / when: Before entering sensitive ground, offering expertise, or changing direction. It honours the client's power in the alliance. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language: "May we work with this issue?" [quoted in 4th-ed notes]
Watch for: a "no". Accept it and stay curious.

16. Intruding

Purpose / when: When storytelling or rambling hides the real issue. Prepare the client for intrusion in the alliance first. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "Let me stop you there, as we agreed. What's the headline?"
Watch for: rupture if no permission was set up. Use recovery and redesign the alliance.

17. Bottom-lining

Purpose / when: To get to the essence, both the client's and your own. The coach talks little and the client does most of the talking. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "In one sentence: what's the real issue?"
Watch for: the coach monologuing.

18. Clearing

Purpose / when: When the client arrives too full or upset to work. Let them vent fully so the session can proceed. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps (synthesis): offer a set time to vent, listen without solving, then ask what they want from the session now.
Example language (illustrative): "Take a few minutes and get it all out. I'm listening. Then we'll see what you want from today."
Watch for: clearing that never ends, recurs session after session, or turns into processing past trauma. These are referral indicators. [source: ICF 2018]

19. Reframing

Purpose / when: To shift a disabling perspective so that a real opportunity shows. The notes stress it must not be empty comfort. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "Being passed over also means you're free to choose. What do you actually want?"
Watch for: reframes the client experiences as dismissive.

20. Making distinctions

Purpose / when: To sharpen the difference between related ideas, such as commitment versus obligation, or a fact versus a story. The notes give the heading only, so the detail here is [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Is this a 'should' or a 'want'?"

21. Championing

Purpose / when: When the client doubts themselves. Stand up for their ability, and only when you mean it. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "I've watched you handle harder than this. I believe you can do it."
Watch for: cheerleading that bypasses real obstacles or real distress.

22. Offering expertise ("which hat")

Purpose / when: When you have relevant expertise. Say which hat you are wearing, ask permission, and offer the input without attachment. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "I'm stepping out of coaching for a moment to share something from my clinical work. Would that be useful?"
Watch for: for therapists, sliding into treatment inside a coaching contract. See section 5 [synthesis].

D. Fulfillment, Balance and Process work

23. Values clarification (Fulfillment)

Purpose / when: Values are "the qualities of a life lived fully from the inside out", not morals. Use values clarification when the client is choosing, drifting or disengaged; decisions grounded in top values are more fulfilling over time. [source: 4th-ed notes; CTI catalog]
Steps (steps 1–2 synthesis; steps 3–4 from the notes and from CTI's curriculum, which teaches coaches to help clients identify their own unique values and assess how satisfied they are with how fully they live them [source: CTI curriculum details]): (1) Elicit peak moments, and moments of anger or frustration, which often show a value being stepped on. (2) Name the value behind each one. (3) Keep the client's own unique wording rather than a standard list. (4) Rank the values or pick the top ones, rate how fully each is being lived, then use them to test current choices.
Example language (illustrative): "What was present in that moment that made it so alive?" "What would you call that, in your own words?" "On a scale of 1 to 10, how fully are you honouring 'freedom' right now?"
Watch for: "shoulds" posing as values. Real values tend to bring energy. The CTI catalog also covers organisational values, vision and purpose and how well they align.

24. Life purpose (Fulfillment)

Purpose / when: Purpose is a "path, not a destination". A purpose statement can give direction. [source: 4th-ed notes] CTI's Fulfillment course covers vision and purpose. [source: CTI catalog]
Steps: CTI teaches life purpose in its Fulfillment course with its own proprietary tools [source: CTI curriculum details]; those tools and the book's purpose exercises are not published openly [uncertain]. A [synthesis] version: draft a provisional purpose statement from the client's values and peak experiences, test it against current choices, and treat it as revisable.
Example language (illustrative): "If your life had a direction rather than a destination, how would you name it?"
Watch for: pressure to find "the" answer. Keep it exploratory.

25. Meaning questions in brief form (Fulfillment)

Purpose / when: Short reconnection to meaning at the start of work or during fatigue. These are documented for teams and adapt to individuals. [source: Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]
Example language: "What brought you to this work?" "What would make this project feel important to you?" [quoted from Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]
Watch for: if a client cannot find any meaning anywhere over time, consider screening for depression. [source: ICF 2018]

26. Perspectives (Balance, step 1)

Purpose / when: When the client is stuck in a "box". Balance starts with perspective, not action. [source: 4th-ed notes] The book frames balance as choosing what to say yes and no to [source: CTI sampler pp. 11–12], and CTI's Balance course lists Perspective Building and Power of Choice among its outcomes. [source: CTI Balance course page]
Steps: (1) Identify the current perspective. (2) Name the limiting perspective and explore what it costs the client. (3) Generate alternative perspectives. (4) Have the client try each one on. [source: 4th-ed notes] Step 4 is [synthesis].
Example language: "What is another way of looking at this that would work for you?" [quoted in 4th-ed notes]. Other prompts the notes record: how a five-year-old would see it, the "good news" perspective, and seeing it as a grand adventure linked to one of the client's values. Illustrative: "Let's name this view. What does it cost you to hold it?"
Watch for: a perspective that is generated but not felt. Use Level III to check for real energy before moving on.

27. Choice (Balance)

Purpose / when: After perspectives are widened. CTI's stated premise is "Every person is always choosing". [source: CTI Principles blog]
Steps: Have the client choose a perspective to act from and name the trade-offs. [source: Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]
Example language: "If we say 'yes' to this, what do we say 'no' to?" [quoted from Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]
Watch for: a non-choice presented as a choice ("I have to").

28. Remaining Balance steps: planning from possibility, commitment, action

Status: CTI's Balance course names five outcomes: "Respond-ability", Perspective Building, Forwarding Action, Power of Choice and Self-Affirmation. [source: CTI Balance course page; Co-Active Singapore Balance page] CTI's curriculum adds detail: respond-ability is choosing from alignment rather than reacting to urgency; forwarding action is a five-step process from feeling stuck to taking action; choice means choosing consciously rather than being run by circumstances; self-affirmation is building an action strategy from the chosen perspective and picking the choice that resonates most [source: CTI curriculum details]. Reviews of the book describe the movement as stuck, to possibility, to action [source: O'Brien review], and as opening new perspectives, choosing one, deciding what to say yes and no to, acting, and committing to a plan [source: Bob on Books review, 3rd ed.]. The book's own names for the five steps (chapter 9) are [uncertain]. The CTI catalog confirms planning from possibility rather than circumstances, and using structures to sustain action. [source: CTI catalog]
Steps (order from the reviews above; wording and detail [synthesis] built from the verified skills): (1) Perspectives: name the box and generate alternatives (26). (2) Choice: the client picks a perspective and names what it says yes and no to (27). (3) Brainstorm options and a plan from that perspective (32). (4) Commitment: turn one or more options into a commitment, using specific requests (33). (5) Action, supported by structures (35) and accountability (37).

29. Process: staying with what is present

Purpose / when: When the client meets emotionally charged material, confusion or resistance. Help them fully experience what is there rather than only talk about it, and treat confusion as part of growth. [source: CTI catalog] The book's image is a river with rapids, stuck places, floods and droughts; the coach notices, points out and accompanies. [source: CTI sampler p. 12] Naming emotions builds trust; unacknowledged emotion builds up. [source: Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]
Steps: CTI's Process course teaches experiential coaching (helping clients experience what is specifically true for them rather than talk about it), staying present and flexible in challenging moments, attuned listening, and moving fluidly between Fulfillment, Balance and Process; it frames chaos, confusion and inertia as part of forward motion [source: CTI curriculum details; CTI Process page]. A review of the book describes the arc: explore the turbulence beneath what the client says matters; stay with it until a shift comes; emotion opens up energy; the client finds new resources; movement follows and they feel less stuck. Emotions are explored, not fixed. [source: O'Brien review] The book's own Process procedure (chapter 10) is [uncertain]. Working version [synthesis consistent with these]: (1) Name what you notice at Level III. (2) Invite the client to stay with it rather than fix it. (3) Ask where it is in the body or what it is like. (4) Use metaphor if direct naming is hard. (5) Stay present without rushing to action. (6) Ask what is different now, and only then decide whether to forward the action.
Example language: "In one word, how do you feel right now?" [quoted from Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]. Illustrative: "Let's not solve this yet. Just stay with the frustration a moment. What's it like?"
Watch for: for a therapist, the line between coaching process work and trauma processing [synthesis]. If staying with the feeling brings intrusive memories, flashbacks, dissociation, panic or overwhelm, stop the deepening. Ground the client in the present (orient to the room, feet on the floor, ordinary breathing), close the topic, and treat it as a referral indicator (F1). Coaching does not address trauma recovery. [source: ICF 2018] It is working when the client's energy shifts and they reach clarity without being flooded.

30. Working with the saboteur (inner critic)

Purpose / when: When self-defeating voices block action. The book defines the saboteur as the inner voice that objects to change, points out shortcomings and argues an idea won't work, and says the coach listens for it. [source: CTI sampler p. 13] CTI's Fulfillment course covers identifying and letting go of self-defeating influences, a model of inner dialogue it calls "access range", and proprietary tools for the "inner leader" and for "identifying allies and saboteurs" [source: CTI curriculum details; CTI catalog]. Those tools are not published openly [uncertain]. CTI's short version: recognise the inner critic, name it, and choose a more resourceful response. [source: CTI Principles blog]
Steps: (1) Notice the critical voice and articulate it. (2) Have the client name it; personifying it is common, but the book's own procedure is [uncertain]. (3) Separate the voice from the client's own wants. (4) Have the client choose an action from their values despite the voice. [steps 1, 2, 4: CTI Principles blog; step 3: synthesis]
Example language (illustrative): "Whose voice is that?" "If that critic had a name, what would it be?" "It's here. What do you choose anyway?"
Watch for: a harsh inner critic combined with persistent hopelessness, worthlessness, or thoughts of death. This is a clinical indicator, not saboteur work: refer (F1). [source: ICF 2018]

31. Preparing for homeostasis and dissonance

Purpose / when: When change begins. Homeostasis is the natural pull back to old patterns, strongest mid-change, and the people around the client may resist too. [source: CTI sampler pp. 31–32] The saboteur also tends to wake up (dissonance). [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps: Forewarn the client that backsliding is common, so they do not read it as failure. [source: CTI sampler pp. 31–32] Agree in advance how a slip will be handled and treat it as data. Ask who around them will be affected by the change and whether to prepare them [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Somewhere in the next few weeks part of you will want to go back to the old way. That's normal. How do you want us to handle it?"

E. Forwarding the action

32. Brainstorming

Purpose / when: To generate options. There are no bad ideas, and the coach must not use brainstorming to pitch their own solution. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps (synthesis): agree quantity over quality, alternate ideas, include wild ones, then let the client pick.
Example language (illustrative): "Let's get ten options, including some ridiculous ones. You first."

33. Requesting

Purpose / when: To turn an insight into a specific, measurable action that the client commits to. Stay unattached to the answer. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps: Make a specific request with a time frame. The client may answer yes, no, or with a counter-offer. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "My request: send the email to your manager by Thursday noon. Yes, no, or counter-offer?"
Watch for: compliance to please the coach.

34. Challenging

Purpose / when: To push the client beyond self-imposed limits. Expect a refusal of the first challenge and a counter-offer. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "I challenge you to apply for five roles this week, not one." The client might reply: "No, but I'll do three."
Watch for: challenges used with a client who is depressed or overwhelmed. These can reinforce failure [synthesis].

35. Structures

Purpose / when: Playful supports between sessions, such as reminders, wall charts, rewards and deadlines. Experiment to find what works for this client. [source: 4th-ed notes; CTI catalog]
Example language (illustrative): "What would remind you of your 'courage' value every morning?"

36. Goal setting in manageable pieces

Purpose / when: When goals are too big to start. Split them into steps. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "What's the smallest step you could take in the next 48 hours?"

37. Accountability

Purpose / when: At every session. Clients "give an account" of what they did and learned, without blame. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Steps: Ask the three accountability questions, then review what happened next session, exploring rather than judging. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language: "What will you do? When? How will I know?" [quoted in 4th-ed notes]
Watch for: shame or excuse loops. Shift to learning (39).

38. Homework inquiry

Purpose / when: At the end of a session. Give a reflective question to live with until the next session, with check-ins by text or email if agreed. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "Your inquiry this week: what does 'enough' mean for you?"

39. Celebrating failure

Purpose / when: When the client fails, or avoids action through fear of failing. Treat failure as learning; fear of failure is the main obstacle. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Example language (illustrative): "You tried, and it didn't work. Great. What did it teach you?"

F. Boundary and referral

40. (F1) Screening and referral to clinical care

Purpose / when: At intake and throughout. The book's own advice is that a coach who is truly out of their depth should "refer him or her to another coach or another resource for help". [quoted in 4th-ed notes] ICF: "A coach does not diagnose nor does a coach offer treatment." [source: ICF 2018] The Global Code (EMCC, adopted by AC) says members respect that coaching is "not counselling, psychotherapy or medical intervention", refer to suitably qualified practitioners, and suggest ending when another form of help would serve the client better. [source: GCoE 2025; AC Code page]
Concrete referral signs (ICF guidelines): problems that interfere with daily functioning (self-care, work, homemaking, leisure, social life) for weeks; coaching that stalls because of an underlying issue (recurring past issues, a continuing need to process feelings, self-defeating behaviour, feeling stuck as a victim or after trauma); a cluster of small signs (outbursts, repeated excuses, ongoing fatigue); coach discomfort (feeling responsible for the client, pressure to solve their problems, anxiety before sessions, client over-dependence); and emergency or danger to self or others. Distress signs: marked mood change, decline at work or school, withdrawal, changes in weight, appearance or hygiene, and sleep disturbance. Conditions named: anxiety, depression (sadness or hopelessness lasting more than two weeks, loss of interest, thoughts of death), eating disorders, PTSD (intrusions, nightmares, flashbacks, avoidance, hyperarousal), substance misuse, suicidal ideation (hopelessness, no reason to live, giving away possessions, seeking means), and thought disorders (paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, incoherent thinking). Grief is a concern when it is overwhelming or blocks thinking about the present or future. [source: ICF 2018]
Steps (ICF): (1) Meet privately at an unhurried time. (2) Open with concern for the client, calmly and without judgement. (3) Name the specific changes you have observed. (4) Ask open questions, listen, and allow silence. (5) Ask how the client feels about the suggestion. (6) Share referral options and their benefits, and offer help with scheduling. (7) Keep the door open and follow up. Expect to raise it more than once. Respect the client's decision unless there is risk of harm to self or others. [source: ICF 2018]
Continue or pause: coaching can run alongside therapy if the client is functioning and still progressing in coaching. Otherwise pause coaching until the client has addressed the issue, then review the coaching agreement. [source: ICF 2018]
Example language (illustrative): "I've noticed you've mentioned not sleeping for several weeks, and our work keeps circling back to the same pain. I care about how you're doing, and I think this deserves support that coaching doesn't provide. How would you feel about talking with a therapist?"
Watch for: confidentiality. Its limits should already be in the alliance. A therapist needs a signed release to discuss the client with you. [source: ICF 2018; GCoE 2025]

41. (F2) Emergency response

Purpose / when: When there is imminent danger to the client or others. [source: ICF 2018]
Steps: Stop coaching. Ask directly about suicidal thoughts and intent, following current standard risk-assessment practice [synthesis]. Contact local emergency services and stay with the person until help arrives (ICF). Follow safeguarding law for children and vulnerable adults (GCoE). Discuss the case in supervision afterwards. [source: ICF 2018; GCoE 2025 §3–4]

5. Handling problems

The Co-Active sources name these problems: drift into chitchat, backsliding, the saboteur, rambling, coach lapses, refusing a challenge, failure, and being out of one's depth. Responses to other problems are marked [synthesis].

No real commitment; sessions drift into "chitchat or to-do lists". [source: 4th-ed notes] Response: return to the big agenda and values (23). Ask what the client really wants from coaching, and redesign the alliance (1). If commitment does not come back, ask whether coaching is the right service now [synthesis].
Client stuck or going in circles. Use Balance: name the box, explore its cost, and generate perspectives (26), then choose (27). [source: 4th-ed notes; CTI catalog] If the client stays stuck, articulate the pattern (10), or check in at Level III for unexpressed emotion (29) [synthesis]. If stalling persists because of recurring past issues or a victim stance, this is an ICF referral indicator (40). [source: ICF 2018]
Rambling or storytelling that hides the issue. Intrude, using the permission set up in the alliance (16), and bottom-line (17). [source: 4th-ed notes]
Resistance to a request or challenge. Expect it. A "no" or a counter-offer is a valid answer, and staying unattached keeps the alliance intact. [source: 4th-ed notes] Get curious about the resistance as data, and check whether the saboteur is speaking (30) [synthesis].
Non-adherence: commitments not done. Use accountability without blame: explore what happened and what was learned (37), treat it as learning (39), and adjust structures (35). [source: 4th-ed notes] If it is a pattern, rescale the steps (36) and check whether the goal still fits the client's values [synthesis].
Backsliding after progress. This is homeostasis. Normalise it, as forewarned (31). [source: 4th-ed notes]
Saboteur flare-up when change begins. This is dissonance. Expect it, name it, and choose anyway (30). [source: 4th-ed notes; CTI Principles blog]
Overwhelm or emotional flooding in session [synthesis]. Clearing (18) and Process (29) are for ordinary emotion. If the client is flooded, dissociates, panics or describes flashbacks: slow down, ground them in the present, stop deepening, and leave action steps for later. Close by asking what they need to leave the session safely. Then assess against the ICF indicators (40). For a clinician, decide whether the contract should change from coaching to therapy, possibly with a different provider (see dual roles below).
Coach lapses: Level I, judging, wanting to fix. Recovery: notice, name, reconnect (8). [source: 4th-ed notes]
Rupture (the client feels pushed, misjudged, or that an intrusion or challenge went too far) [synthesis, built on CTI skills]. Name it, own your part, ask what happened for the client, and redesign the alliance (1). The notes say that admitting a lapse builds trust. [source: 4th-ed notes]
Client wants advice or the coach as expert. Ask permission and say which hat you are wearing (22). First ask what the client already knows [synthesis].
Client wants therapy, or shows clinical indicators. Coaching "does not diagnose nor... offer treatment" (ICF). Use the referral conversation (40), and continue or pause coaching per ICF. [source: ICF 2018; GCoE 2025]
Coach feels responsible for the client, anxious before sessions, or the client is over-dependent. The ICF lists this as a referral indicator in its own right. Take it to supervision. [source: ICF 2018; GCoE 2025 §4]
Risk to self or others. Emergency response (41). Confidentiality yields to risk of harm, and the alliance should already say so. [source: ICF 2018; GCoE 2025]
Modality-specific risk for psychotherapists: dual roles [synthesis plus GCoE]. Coaching and psychotherapy contracts differ in scope, records, confidentiality and fees. The Global Code requires separating professional relationships, disclosing conflicts, and withdrawing if a conflict cannot be managed. [source: GCoE 2025 §3] In practice [synthesis]: do not switch an existing therapy client into a coaching contract, or the reverse, mid-stream without an explicit new agreement. Check your licensing board's rules on providing coaching. Using Co-Active skills inside therapy is acceptable, but they do not replace evidence-based treatment of a diagnosed disorder. Note that CTI's catalog states California has no licensure for coaches. [source: CTI catalog]
Cultural mismatch with direct challenge, blurting or championing [synthesis]. Use the alliance to agree the client's preferred level of directness.
Group or team use. Design the alliance with the whole group ("Consciously agreeing on how a group will be together"). [source: CTI Principles blog] Brief Fulfillment, Balance and Process questions adapt to teams. [source: Kaniewska & Jiang 2026]

Source status. Taken from CTI's free sampler of the 4th edition (front matter and chapters 1–2): the model, cornerstones, designed alliance, foundation-setting, Wheel of Life categories, discovery questions, designing the future, homeostasis and coaching formats. Taken from CTI's curriculum details: the content of the Fulfillment, Balance and Process levels. Still [uncertain]: the book's own Balance step names (chapter 9) and Process procedures (chapter 10), so those steps rest on CTI course pages and secondary reviews; the book's saboteur procedure and CTI's proprietary Fulfillment tools; dissonance, which rests on chapter notes only; points tagged only [source: 4th-ed notes] (secondary, unverified); any typical session length; the book's leadership and Synergy material.

Sources

Pages used:

Books cited (the 4th edition is used through CTI's free sampler of the front matter and chapters 1–2):

Kimsey-House, H., Kimsey-House, K., Sandahl, P., & Whitworth, L. (2018). Co-Active Coaching: The Proven Framework for Transformative Conversations at Work and in Life (4th ed.). Nicholas Brealey.

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