Coaching Through Resistance:

Counterintuitive Coaching Tools, Techniques and Tips to Ease Meaningful Change

Clients often come to coaching excited, hopeful, and ready to move toward their goals. The coach uses ICF competencies to inquire about the desired future and resilient past. Awareness is evoked and client-generated action is taken.

Somewhere along this journey, roadblocks typically appear for the client—time constraints, limited resources, lack of support, and more can derail progress. One important roadblock to be aware of is the client’s own resistance.

Being familiar and comfortable with resistance, and how to coach through it, without attachment, is one of the most important tools we can possess as a coach.

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The Challenge

Encountering resistance in a coaching engagement is NORMAL. The real questions become:

  • How do you, as coach, respond to the resistance?
  • How comfortable (or uncomfortable) are you with it?
  • How do you explore resistance (or not)?
  • How do you respond when a client gets reactive or defensive or offended or reticent as resistance is explored?

You will be equipped to:

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apply perspectives on resistance as being normal and a positive thing—your ally (and not something to overcome)—in order to remain curious and maintain presence (ICF #1, #2, and #5)

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relate to a client experiencing resistance from an I/THOU (versus an I/IT) relationship, without attachment, to cultivate trust and safety (ICF #4)

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learn exploration techniques to evoke awareness around the client’s experience and beliefs (ICF #7)

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emphasize “informed experimentation” in client actions as clients integrate new awareness into their worldview and behaviors (ICF #8)

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establish agreements with the client about what the client believes they need to address or resolve, and how resistance will be explored, to achieve what the client wants (ICF #3)

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use clean language and voice tonality techniques to integrate the client’s words and minimize the appearance of the coach sounding judgmental or accusatory (ICF #6)

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explore perceived threats and cognitive dissonance, and challenge compassionately, to evoke awareness around the client’s experience and beliefs (ICF #7)

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... and more!

Accreditation

ICF Approval: This 12-hour program is approved by the International Coaching Federation for 11 hours of Core Competency CCEs and 1 hour of Resource Development CCEs.

Program Details

Program outline

The Coaching Through Resistance course is asynchronous with optional add-on of 3 live Individual Mentor Coaching sessions focused on application of Resistance concepts.

Coaching Through Resistance is made up of three modules that you can complete at your own pace. Each module has a video for you to watch followed by lessons based on the material in the video.

Weekly topics include:

  • Module 1 | Resistance and the Brain
      • ICF Core Competencies #1, #2 & #5
        • Explore your relationship with Resistance
          • Understand the neuroscience behind Resistance
        • Module 2 | Resistance Tools: Relationships
          • ICF Core Competencies $3, #4, #6 & #7
            • Managing your emotions around Resistance
              • Relating from I/Thou
                • Learn language and tone to reduce Resistance.
              • Module 3 | Resistance Tools: Exploration
                  • ICF Core Competencies #7 & #8
                    • Tools for increasing client awareness around Resistance
                      • Navigating cognitive dissonance and perceived threats that keep people from changing their minds
                        • Brain-friendly approach to experimenting with new thinking

                      why the academies

                      Neuroscience: We’ve been training coaches for 20+ years, and we’ve spent the better part of our last 10 years gobbling up the latest research on neuroscience. Translating neuroscience findings into easy-to-implement coaching techniques is our passion. When you marry coaching techniques with mind-body biology, you have a much better chance of supporting your clients to make lasting change (they’ll thank you for it)!

                      Mission: We’re on a mission to “Change Minds, For Good” (starting with our own)! We believe respectful relationships and authentic conversations are the incubator for insight, action, and lasting change. We believe that every brain is wired for growth and capable of choosing well. We stand for growing our individual and collective capacity to feel good, think good, encounter good, and create good. If this resonates with you, you’re in the right place.

                       

                      REGISTRATION & REQUIREMENTS

                      Pre-Enrollment Requirements

                      This program is appropriate for coaches who have completed a minimum of 45 hours of ICF-approved coach training.

                      Pricing and Registration

                      This course is available at any time as it is asynchronous.

                      Asynchronous Resistance
                      (12 CCEs)                      		 $797
                      Asynchronous Resistance with Add-On of 3 Individual Mentor Coaching Sessions for Application
                      (12 CCEs & 3 Individual Mentor Coaching Hours)                      		 $1,647

                      Completion Requirements

                      You will have 6 months from your purchase to complete the course and receive your certificate. We guarantee on-going access to the course materials for 12 months from purchase.

                      Upon completion of all your asynchronous assignments, you will request your certificate of completion. Your certificate will be issued within 4 weeks of completion.