Did you know that 23.2% of your work force is likely experiencing a high level of emotional distress?

In the Manon Dulude Ph.D. research project “an Effectiveness Study on Telephonic Brief Solution-Focused Coaching on Life Satisfaction Measures”, it was discovered that 23.2% of those who volunteered for the study were considered too emotionally distressed to benefit from coaching and more suitable for counseling services.

Out of a sample of 138 volunteers, 32 individuals were disqualified due to their high score on the Brief Symptom Inventory, a brief psychological self-report symptom scale. These unexpected findings bring us to question how these individuals impact the overall performance and dynamics of a team.

These results also bring to light a number of questions:
• How ethical is it for coaches to coach everyone and not take into consideration the level of emotional distress a client presents?
• How do coaches appropriately assess the “coachability” of a client?
• When an organization identifies difficult employees, do they seek coaches with mental health knowledge to assess and make appropriate referrals to fully support the coaching process?

These surprising results highlight the need for decision makers within organizations take into consideration the larger scope of employee needs when considering coaching as a solution.

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