Presenting at the 1st International Congress of Coaching Psychology

About a week ago I was informed that the abstract I presented to SIOPSA to present at the 1st International Congress of Coaching Psychology – Southern Hemisphere, was in fact accepted.  All sponsors are welcome!

Here is the abstract. Book for the conference and my session at http://www.siopsa.org.za/asp/interestgroups/consulting.aspx?

Skills Session paper outline

Title

Coaching framework for a wellness intervention

Author

Alan Ahlfeldt (Psychologist) – NeuroLab http://www.neurolabinc.com

BIO

The haze started in 1984 when I was not made head boy because my marks were not good enough.

• Dropped out of university after my first year
• Designated ‘Not university material by the establishment”
• Successful businessman at 24
• Insolvent at 25
• Marketing manager of publishing company at 32
• Internet “ paper millionaire at 34”
• Bankrupt again at 35
• First degree at 37
• Second degree at 38
• Master’s degree and registered counselling psychologist at 40
• Surviving and trying desperately to find financial margin at 44

It looks like there is something unhealthy in this story, but that is not the whole truth. It’s some of the truth but I think you’ll find that this story is quite common among a number of people with similar temperaments or personalities.  This is my story, and I anticipate 2012 as the mid-point of an murky past, smattered with bursts of clarity not unlike a shooting star on a black and cloudless night.

Mining the past, engaging the present and planning for the future, and through research, eight domains of functioning have been identified, that when quantified, can be analysed to identify patterns of behaviour and plan more effectively as an individual and for teams in general.

1. Physical Wellness
2. Psychological Wellness
3. Social Wellness
4. Financial Wellness
5. Environmental Wellness
6. Career Wellness
7. Spiritual Wellness
8. Creativity Wellness

2012 will be the official start of my doctorate, developing a coaching framework around these eight domains of wellness.

Objectives

The primary objective of the skills session is to introduce a coaching framework which comprises of eight domains of wellness. It creates a comprehensive and practical way of engaging, analysing and planning.

Content

As a member of the team that added to the body of knowledge in the development of the South African Student Wellness questionnaire, it became increasingly evident that developing a wellness framework geared toward coaching in the workplace could be meaningful. Developing the framework has overlaps with various psychological schools of thought, including Health Psychology, Positive Psychology as well as Consulting.

Working within the domains of physiology, psychology, career, financial, social, environmental, spiritual and creative wellness gives significant reach into analysis, engagement and planning in coaching.

Methods

The framework is based on but not exclusive to research undertaken in the development of the Student Wellness Questionnaire. Literature reviews on coaching for performance, Emotional Intelligence, Positive Psychology, Health Psychology as well as existing coaching frameworks and psychometrics have also been included.

Results

The main discussion points of the paper will revolve around the analysis of the eight domains of wellness, with explanations of each. It will include a practical way of implementing a company-wide intervention and proposed revenue model. Examples of the analysis will include graphs of the quantitative analysis to demonstrate the framework.

Conclusions

The conclusions as well as the implications are yet to be drawn up. Practical examples of current usage will be included as well as personal experience on the perception and use of the framework within and organisation.