Many people have heard of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In fact, it’s among the most common forms of psychotherapy for mental health issues. But few realize that the core principles of CBT can also be applied to coaching.
Cognitive behavioral coaching (CBC) is a practical, mindset-focused approach. You can use it to help your clients shift limiting beliefs and unhelpful thoughts and take actions that align with their values, resulting in lasting confidence.
Note that CBC isn’t therapy. It’s not designed to help treat mental health concerns. Instead, it’s a growth-focused coaching model that’s rooted in self-awareness and accountability.
We’ll dive into details on CBC, including the benefits it offers and different CBC tools and techniques life coaches can use.
What is cognitive behavioral coaching?
CBC pulls some concepts and principles from cognitive behavioral therapy, but it’s used for different purposes. Exploring this coaching approach and how it relates to CBT can help you understand how it works and why it can be helpful for life coaching clients. So let’s take a closer look at the CBC model and how it differs from CBT.
Disclaimer: CBC may incorporate language or tools inspired by therapy modalities, but it is not a therapeutic service, nor is it intended to diagnose or treat mental health conditions.
The foundation: CBT in a coaching context
Although CBC draws from cognitive behavioral therapy, it’s meant to support high-functioning clients who want to work on personal development. These clients may be experiencing challenges in their lives that impact growth, such as relationship troubles or work-related issues. But CBC doesn’t address these with a therapeutic approach.
Instead, a cognitive behavioral approach helps clients reframe thoughts that may be preventing them from reaching goals. It also helps them shift behaviors, adopting more constructive ones that are aligned with their goals and personal values. CBC can help coaching clients increase resilience and move past mental blocks that have kept them from making changes in their lives.
The basic CBC model: Thoughts, emotions, actions
CBC focuses on a core triangle of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. What we think affects how we feel and what we do. Unhelpful thought patterns can trigger frustration, anger, or similar emotions and cause us to engage in unhelpful behaviors that hold us back.
Coaches can help clients map this triangle and use the insights gained to transform their lives. This approach helps clients spot limiting thought patterns and beliefs they may not have been aware of. Once they recognize these, they can reflect on how these thoughts and beliefs have been affecting their emotions and behaviors.
It’s a great way for clients to feel empowered and understand how much control they have over their lives.
CBC vs. therapy: What’s the difference?
CBT techniques are often used to help individuals manage mental health or behavioral conditions, like diagnosed cases of depression or anxiety. It involves a collaborative approach, with the therapist guiding clients through an exploration of their emotions and thoughts and giving advice and suggestions.
CBC, on the other hand, doesn’t treat clinical disorders, focusing instead on the connection between mindset and belief systems in everyday challenges. This approach uses self-coaching tools that allow clients to take an active role in sessions, such as identifying their values or mapping their beliefs.
CBC also emphasizes forward momentum and outcomes rather than spending a lot of time examining a client’s past and diving deep into their emotions and thoughts.
What are the benefits of cognitive behavioral coaching?
CBC offers a great way to help your coaching clients find meaning in their lives and make impactful changes. But what makes it such an effective coaching approach? Let’s go over some of the most important advantages of using CBC for life coaching sessions.
Greater self-awareness and emotional regulation
Clients may have an internal narrative that limits their ability to achieve growth, but they might not realize it. CBC helps clients catch these unhelpful thought patterns and belief systems so they can work on building more intentional responses, rather than getting caught up in a cycle of strong emotions and negative behaviors.
But this takes self-awareness and the ability to regulate emotions. CBC helps clients recognize how they respond to negative thoughts or challenging situations in terms of their emotions and behaviors. With your guidance and support, they can develop better stress management strategies and replace unhelpful behaviors with more positive actions.
Faster progress on goals
CBC helps clients move along the path toward personal growth more quickly. It encourages them to shift their mindset, so they can make clearer decisions and take action with greater confidence. Instead of being mired in self-doubt or feeling overwhelmed, they can handle setbacks, difficulties, and other challenges with resilience and dedication to working toward their goals.
Clients can also break down internal roadblocks while using CBC to achieve change. This method helps them recognize and overcome these obstacles, rather than facing them over and over or being held back by them. For example, clients with a fear of failure can learn to see failures as opportunities to learn and grow.
Empowerment through self-coaching tools
Growth and change don’t stop when clients are done with the coaching process. It’s an ongoing commitment that requires clients to remember and use what they learn during these sessions. CBC equips clients with practical strategies and tools they can continue using long after coaching ends.
This empowerment helps boost clients’ self-confidence and gives them a greater sense of autonomy. They discover that they’re in control of their lives and able to face and overcome difficulties while working on continued growth.
A clear, structured framework for coaching sessions
Life coaching generally works best with a client-centered approach that’s not rigid, giving clients time to engage in self-reflection. But having some structure can be helpful. CBC provides this structure, bringing clarity and direction to coaching sessions. Clients have a better idea of what to expect from each session, helping them feel more confident.
You might find CBC especially useful if you’re just getting started with your life coaching business, as the structured approach can help you guide you as you begin working with clients.
It can also be a suitable method if you’re working with clients who like structure. Some clients are more comfortable with this kind of approach, since it offers more focus and a sense of security that comes from its predictability.
Tools and techniques used in CBC
The CBC style of life coaching includes several exercises and techniques you can use to help clients. You might find certain tools more helpful for different clients, depending on their unique needs. You can also use a combination of a few or more CBC techniques or adapt them as needed to best serve each client.
Thought records or belief mapping
Shifting mindsets through CBC involves being more aware of thought patterns and belief systems. Coaches can ask clients to map their beliefs or keep a log of their thoughts to help them increase this awareness.
Clients can write down their thoughts or beliefs and analyze them to look for patterns. For example, they might write about a stressful event or situation and what thoughts were going through their mind at that time.
They might realize that they have unhelpful thoughts that are restricting their growth journey. This realization moves them one step closer to overcoming these limitations. With belief mapping or thought records, clients can test new perspectives and use them to replace beliefs or thought patterns that are preventing transformation.
Reframing negative self-talk
Many people have an inner monologue or narrative, though they might not be aware of it. This self-talk can have a big impact on thoughts, emotions, and actions.
With a CBC approach, you can help clients learn to recognize and reframe negative thinking or self-talk that’s getting in the way of their progress, replacing thoughts like:
- “I always mess this up” with “I’m still learning, and that’s okay.”
- “I’ll never be good enough” to “I always have opportunities to improve.”
- “I can’t handle this” to “I’m resilient and capable enough to face this challenge.”
- “It’s too late to find my purpose in life” to “It’s never too late to try something new.”
- “I don’t deserve happiness and fulfillment” to “I’m worthy of enjoying a meaningful life.”
The overall goal is to have clients identify negative beliefs or thoughts they tell themselves and turn those into more helpful, affirming statements that motivate or inspire them.
The 7-step CBC model
This structured problem-solving process offers a useful approach that many cognitive behavioral coaches follow. It’s designed to help clients move from feeling overwhelmed or stuck to taking aligned action in order to create change.
You might find it helpful to use in your own coaching sessions. If you do use it, note that it’s not a strict model you have to follow step by step. Some steps may overlap at times, or you might need to revisit certain steps, depending on a client’s specific needs. But this format is a great place to start:
- Identify the problem or opportunity: Clients use self-awareness and tools, like the Wheel of Life, to identify an issue or concern, specify what they want to change, and consider the problem from different perspectives.
- Formulate goals: Clients set goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) to address the identified problem.
- Generate alternatives: Coaches and clients work together on brainstorming possible solutions to achieve goals, then come up with an actionable list.
- Consider the consequences: Under guidance from coaches, clients examine the consequences, limitations, and possibilities of success for each idea to identify the most plausible solutions.
- Make decisions: Coaches guide clients through the process of dividing bigger goals into smaller steps, gathering resources, developing needed skills, and setting up a support network.
- Implement actions: Clients use daily habits and cognitive and behavioral techniques, like visualization, to take action and refine smaller actions as they make progress.
- Evaluate the outcome: Together, they review the client’s progress at regular intervals and at the goal’s target date to determine if any adjustments need to be made.
Values clarification exercises
Aligning actions with core values helps clients create change that improves their lives. But they need to identify what those values are first. Values clarification exercises used in CBC, such as journaling, help clients determine their core values.
These exercises reduce internal conflict that might be stopping clients from reaching their goals. Knowing their core values helps eliminate contradictions between what they believe and what they do, creating greater harmony between their external behaviors and internal beliefs.
Values clarification exercises also help reduce self-sabotage. Clients might engage in unhelpful actions repeatedly that keep them stuck, often due to a fear of change or a need for familiarity. Identifying their core values encourages them to act in alignment with what’s most important to them, helping them move forward and make progress.
Visualization and behavioral experiments
Mental blocks can make it much harder for clients to work on their goals. Coaches can use future visualizations or “try it and see” actions to encourage clients to break through these barriers and continue making progress.
Future visualizations involve having clients picture the outcome of accomplishing their goals. How do they feel? How does their life change? Imagining these outcomes can motivate clients to push past mental blocks.
“Try it and see” actions are new thinking patterns and behaviors clients can test out to see whether they’re helpful or not. They can adapt them as needed or give different actions a try instead.
These are often small steps clients take that can help them break through mental barriers. For example, a client who struggles with procrastination might commit to doing a simple task right away instead of putting it off.
Learn how to guide mindset shifts with integrity
Helping clients shift their thoughts and behaviors is one of the most meaningful parts of being a life coach. CBC gives you the language and structure to coach with greater confidence and clarity, inspiring clients and motivating them to make authentic changes based on their values.
But it’s just one of many valuable coaching techniques and tools you’ll need to build a rewarding career. The Jay Shetty Certification School can help you develop a balanced toolkit and the coaching skills you need for success through coach training that combines depth, science, and service.
Are you ready to create a fulfilling career in service to others? Join the Jay Shetty coaching program today!
