What is the Scope of Coaching Psychology?
Coaching psychology is an expanding professional discipline, Coaching psychologists work in a variety of settings with individuals and groups.
I’ve been a Chartered and Registered Coaching Psychologist since 2023!
Coaching Psychologists offer specialist support in areas such as:
- Health and wellness
- Executive, business, and career coaching
- Leadership and personal coaching
- Educational and other specialised fields
About the ‘Register of Coaching Psychologists’
The Register of Coaching Psychologists from the British Psychological Society provides formal recognition for coaching psychologists and the profession of coaching psychology.
The Register allows you as a prospective client to differentiate the services of a Registered Coaching Psychologist from other coaches and other psychologists.
Core features of Coaching Psychology
The defining feature of coaching psychology is that it draws on theories and evidence of the psychological mechanisms of human functioning. This psychological underpinning enables practitioners to engage with the unacknowledged or underdeveloped capacities of clients to facilitate learning, development, growth, skill sets, performance and/or levels of wellbeing.
It is a proactive, results focused, and client centred applied discipline that encourages sustainable change through new ways of thinking. It is typically a non-directive form of facilitation of learning and development and focuses clients on the present and the future to generate relevant solutions.
Professional practice of a Coaching Psychologist
The work of a coaching psychologist is ethically, empirically and theoretically based: they adopt a scientist-practitioner perspective.
This combination of empirical evidence base, theoretical understanding, use of reputable guidelines and thorough training, ensures that chartered coaching psychologists deliver ethical practice and interventions, whilst also seeking to evaluate their practice to enable future professional development.
Peace of mind for prospective clients
As coaching is an unregulated industry, the Register means that you can have peace of mind because of this official acknowledgement of my coaching psychology expertise.
How to use the Register of Coaching Psychologists to Find a Coach you can trust
The Register of Coaching Psychologists is designed to be a trusted resource for employers and the public. Here’s how you can use it:
- Search and verify: Use the register to locate chartered coaching psychologists who have met rigorous eligibility criteria.
- Informed choice: Each practitioner’s profile provides details of their areas of expertise (such as health/wellbeing, executive, business, career, leadership, educational, and personal coaching), and their commitment to ongoing professional development.
- Access to experience: Registrants include details of their own professional websites so that you can explore their expertise and experience in more detail.
- Quality assurance: Knowing that every registrant adheres to high ethical and professional standards helps you make informed decisions when seeking coaching support.
By using the register, you can be confident that you are connecting with professionals who deliver ethical, evidence-based, and results-focused coaching services.
Making an informed choice
When selecting a coaching psychologist, consider:
- Their experience and area of expertise
- Their approach and methodologies
- Testimonials or case studies from past clients
Search the Register
You can click here to search the Register.
How to join the Register of Coaching Psychologists
To join the Register of Coaching Psychologists, an applicant must:
- Be a Chartered Member of BPS – this is the highest level of award a psychologist can attain
- Have demonstrated alignment with the Level 8 Standards in Coaching Psychology – this is a doctoral-equivalent award
- Hold current appropriate indemnity insurance
- Be engaged in supervision in relation to your coaching psychology practice
- Be committed to CPD
- Have no adverse findings against you that are relevant to psychology or the Society
Maintaining registration
The requirements to maintain registration are in place to ensure that registrants continue to meet the eligibility criteria, and are up to date with developments relevant to coaching psychology.
Registrants must:
- Hold indemnity insurance for their coaching psychology work
- Engage in supervision for their coaching psychology work
- Engage in CPD as required for maintaining status on the register
- Have no adverse findings against them of relevance to psychology or the Society
Annual declarations and audits
At renewal of their subscription, registrants must declare that they still meet the requirements to maintain their registration.
- On an annual basis, 20% of registrants will be asked to provide evidence of their indemnity insurance and supervision arrangements
- On an annual basis, 20% of registrants will be asked to provide evidence of CPD activities and reflection on those activities for review by peers from the register
Upholding excellence through robust governance
The Register of Coaching Psychologists is maintained with strong governance measures to ensure that high standards of practice are upheld.
By maintaining transparent and rigorous governance processes, the Register of Coaching Psychologists ensures that both practitioners and the public can have confidence in the quality and integrity of coaching psychology practice.
Continuous Professional Development
Registrants are expected to engage in proactive and relevant CPD, with activities that enhance the quality of their practice.
This continuous improvement process is supported by the Division of Coaching Psychology, which shares research and evidence-based insights.
Annual Renewal Declarations
Registrants must declare annually that they continue to meet the registration requirements. Failure to meet requirements will prevent renewal on the register.
Evidence Audits
- Annually, 20% of registrants are randomly selected to provide evidence of their insurance and supervision arrangements.
- Annually, 20% of registrants are randomly selected to provide evidence of their engagement with CPD.
Inadequate evidence or failure to meet requirements can result in removal from the register.
Standards and Accountability
The Level 8 Standards in Coaching Psychology:
- Established by the Society, these standards outline the knowledge and skills required for Chartered Coaching Psychologists.
- They are set at a doctoral (Level 8) standard, conforming to the QAA D-level descriptors.
- The standards ensure that practitioners demonstrate advanced competencies in both the theoretical and applied aspects of coaching psychology.
Reporting and Learning
A review of the annual renewal process is reported to the Member Board to ensure the register continues to meet its objectives and maintains high standards.
Outcomes inform the development of:
- Admission criteria
- Renewal criteria
- Requirements for maintaining status on the register
- Administration processes
- Audit frequency, sample size, and processes
Member Board and the Division of Coaching Psychology consider the review to inform CPD requirements and guidance.
I’ve been a Chartered & Registered Coaching Psychologist since 2023!
Dr Fiona Day is the world’s only Leadership Coach with advanced coaching psychology, medical and public health qualifications (MBChB, FFPH, BPS Chartered Psychologist in Coaching Psychology, EMCC Master Practitioner Coach & Mentor) and is in a unique position to help you and your teams to flourish. Fiona specialises in coaching medical and public health leaders, is a coach Supervisor, and an EQA Foundation Award Holder. Get 3 hours of FREE CPD with Fiona’s Health Career Success Programme here. Book a free confidential 30 minute Consultation with Fiona here. Subscribe and listen to her Podcast ‘Transformational Thinking for Health Leaders’ here.
