Cognitive Behavioural Coaching

Cognitive Behavioural Coaching In Education Pepita Torbrand Head of Psychology - Oxford High School

What is Cognitive Behavioural Coaching? ‘Coaching focuses on future possibilities – not past mistakes’. John Whitmore 2002:7 Beck (1976, 1979) CBT; Ellis (1972) REBT Based upon CBT but focuses on a non-clinical population, often senior executives& managers CBC aimed to coach someone in a leadership position to build upon leadership skills My idea? To use CBC on high school students!

How can it be used on students?Why would it be effective? CBC can be used to reduce the gap between desired and actual performance Reduce procrastination Reduce maladaptive perfectionist beliefs Increase self-efficacy (beliefs in one’s own capability) Reduce irrational thinking and performance anxiety Increase well-being Suitable to stretching both high performing and slightly weaker students

Or in layman’s terms CBC is effectively about helping students use more positive/realistic thinking

How does CBC work then? What research has been done? …a whistle stop tour…

Potential Minus Interference/disturbance Is equal to Performance (Downey, 1999)

Current situation? - Evidence based research? One of the biggest challenges for schools is knowing how best to assist our students in developing and maintaining a strong performance. Especially, as our opportunities for spending time with students on a 1-1 basis are becoming less frequent! Based upon recent research showing that student performance is often influenced by psychological factors such as unhelpful thinking patterns, self-doubt, performance anxiety, and maladaptive perfectionism; cognitive behavioural group-coachingcan be an extremely effective tool for teachers to help optimise performance, andbuild upon key-strengths to enhance wellbeing in a very cost effective way!

Evidence Based research? CBC, based on the well-established and evidence based principles of CBT/REBT, is extremely effective when used with students and young adults. A brief selection of some of the tools which I train teachers in is turning Performance Interfering thoughts to Performance Enhancing Thoughts (PITs to PETs), challenging frequently occurring Thinking Errors such as ‘I should, ought and must’ (e.g. I should have started earlier, I must perform better!) In CBC I also use Socratic Questions, perhaps the most powerful tool to effectively work with students to challenge the logic, usefulness and effectiveness of unhelpful thinking, as well as train teachers to effectively use the Coping Imagery, SPACE, ABCDE, and GROW models to help students find & build upon their Signature Strengths.

So how does it work then? Today’s brief session Challenge Thinking Errors Using Socratic Questions Becoming familiar with the SPACE model to change unhelpful behaviour Use GROW to set specific goals and help students follow through with goals Changing PITs to PETs Building upon Key/Signature Strengths

REBT - Ellis (1962); Burns (1980) Challenging various thinking errorsthat inhibits performance: All or nothing thinking: ‘it’s got to be perfect, or….’ Catastrophizing Should and Must statements: ‘I must get an A/A* in my mock’ Mental filter (particular focus on negative details)..or.. Disqualifying the positive Fortune telling Mind reading

CBC- Becoming Focused 2010 Centre for Coaching Performance As more time & energy is released by removing those identified blocks, There is a corresponding improvement in performance Psychological blocks

The perils of procrastination.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P785j15Tzk

CBC - Socratic Dialogue Logic Usefulness Evidence Of students’ unhelpful perfectionist beliefs and negative thinking

Challenging students recurringnegative thoughts that inhibits performance Negative comparison I can never get an A in Psychology/Biology/Chemistry/Maths/Physics/Politics/History/Any other subject... I’m not going to do very well in my exams... I won’t be able to remember it all! : 0 I will have a black out I can’t remember anything, so what’s the point trying? I won’t get the grade I want to take it at A-level...

Example: Negative Comparison– Socratic Dialogue Is it logical? Where is the evidence for your belief? Where is this belief getting you? Is this belief helping you to attain your goals? Is this belief focussed on problem solving? Are you rating yourself or your performance?

Quotes ‘I’ve stuck that piece of paper (Socratic challenges) above my desk, so every time I do start to think like that, I just go back to that and just think ‘is this thought logical?’ ‘Is it helping me in any way?’ […] you’re just like, No, carry on!’ Y13 student ‘I could sit at a desk for five hours and have the work in front of me and I still wouldn’t do it, something was so stronger than me…It sounds crazy. But now I’m just doing it fine.’ Y13 student I should be more positive, stop comparing myself to others as this will not help me to achieve my potential! Y11 Student Negative thinking is the DOOR, positive thinking is the KEY! Y11 Student I’ve learnt to be less hard on myself. It was reassuring that other people procrastinate too. Y11 Student

Quotes I feel a lot more determined and that I am capable of doing my best. Knowing problems and how to tackle them really makes me feel more positive. Y11 Student Awareness of the blocks stopping us from success. Realising ways to improve on this. Acknowledging that our mental attitude isn’t always accurate and that we can control the outcome if we put our minds to it. Y11 Student Underestimating your ability is much more of an obstacle than your ability itself. Perfectionism is a counter-productive habit. I have learnt to understand that I am the only one standing in the way for achieving my goals. Y11 Student

The SPACE model: Peer Coaching(Edgerton & Palmer, 2005) Hormones Breathing SleepingArousal levels Tensions ? Tendencies Behaviours Doing Feelings Mood ThoughtsImages Self-talk Memories Expectancies beliefs

Some trigger points… Essay writing Examinations! Presentations Course work

SPACE: ‘freeze time’ Social Context: …Essay Writing… Cognitions: I can’t do it perfectly enough, I can’t make it perfect straight away, Others can do it better than I can… Emotions: Anxiety, Fear, Guilt, Self-blame, Embarrassment, Potential loss of motivation Physiology: Stress, Arousal, Tension, Breathing (shallow) Action: I won’t do it now (but soon…) leads to anxiety reduction (temporarily). But as we have to do the work later (but in a much shorter time frame!) this leads to significantly increased anxiety (vicious circle as a rushed piece of work confirms our negative thinking…)

SPACE: challenge ANTs Social Context: …Essay Writing… Cognitions: I can’t do it perfectly straight away, no one can! I can try to write something to the very best of my ability and ask my teacher to have a look at it… Emotions: Determination, Motivation, Locus of Control Physiology: Eustress, Being on a ‘flow’, Arousal Action: No point delaying. Better just get on with it. Just do it! Not trying to do perfectly all at once, but planning work to decrease negative stress.

SPACE WORK – Peer Coaching Applied Practice - Your time! In pairs or threes Start with the ‘Social Context’ and work your way round the SPACE model challenging negative thoughts as if one of you were the student

Think about how you can work with students to help them change unhelpful behaviour by thinking differently, feeling differently, and acting differently to become more effective!

CBC with students The rationale of Performance Coaching Is raising AWARENESS And taking RESPONSIBILITY (Whitmore, 1996) Centre for Coaching 2010

One student’s experience https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUu4rv3ol34

What other tools can you use in CBC?What focus can your sessions session take? Let’s GROW – using Whitmore’s model for setting and following GOALS. Challenging Maladaptive Perfectionist beliefs (PITs and PETs) Finding students’ signature strengths!

What is a PIT and a PET? PIT = Performance Interfering Thought PET = Performance Enhancing Thought Can you turn some PITs into PETs?

Setting Goals - Students Think of a goal for yourselves such as: Positive + Specific Studying more effectively… Getting up earlier in the morning… Going to bed earlier at night! Remain committed and focused… Spending less than 2 hours on FB/Tumblr/Twitter a ......... Week! Do now/Just do it! I will now give you a moment to think about a goal for yourself!

A few ideas Get all the marking done as soon as I can… Design new, more effective seating plans Using more ICT/ILT in my lessons Set up a twitter account to share learning outside the classroom! Upload more resources to Moodle Do that budget! Target grids? Do the SoWs for next academic year! Find new interesting resources for teaching the more challenging topics next year

Let’s GROW – Setting and following your goals - Keeping it positive!Peer coaching G stands for Goal What area would you like to improve on? What type of performance outcome are you looking for? What specific steps can you identify – in what time frame? Exam Performance – Presentation skills – Feeling more confident Effective revision – Practice presentation skills? How often? Up to final exam?

Let’s GROW – group coaching R stands for Reality Describe your situation How much control do you have over the outcome? What resources have you got to help you? Procrastinating, avoidance – have you got control? Effective Time Management – CBC course!

Let’s GROW – group coaching O stands for Obstacles Are there any obstacles? What are your options to overcome these? (make a list!) Work for different subjects? – Other responsibilities? Working part-time? Effective time management? Write exemplar essays – hand to teacher Do revision cards

Let’s GROW – group coaching W stands for Way Forward What is your specific criteria for success? On a scale of 1-10, what commitment do you have now? How can you improve it? Bs, As – A*? 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9? 2!!?

Following through with goals Can be used in coaching where students generate and set their own sub-goals which are small, easily achievable goals rather than a more challenging goal that they are likely to procrastinate with! To be unpacked and then followed through withand reflected upon in the next session with encouragement and potential adaptions

GROW – Setting and following our goals - Keeping it positive! Peer coaching Goal? (Outcome) Reality? (Control) Obstacles? (Options) Way Forward? (Commitment) Can you set a date for when to achieve this?

Quotes I can set goals with reasonable steps in order to achieve! I should work with my strengths instead of thinking only of my weaknesses. Y11 Student I have learned how to optimise my potential and to believe in myself to do better. I have found methods to target my procrastination. Y11 Student I have found the sessions have made me realise that I can set goals really easily and that it is a good idea to use the GROW model. Y8 Student Learning how to change my desired goals to my actual performance. How to change my behaviour patterns. Acknowledge what my bad behaviour patterns are! Y11 Student

Perfectionism 3 types of perfectionism Do you think you engage in any of these? Self Oriented - I ‘must’ do it right Other Oriented – they ‘must’ do it right Socially Prescribed Perfectionism – Others expect me to do it right

The perils of Perfectionism – working with students(Do you recognise any in yourself?) Which ones does your students engage in? Excessively high standards Fear of failure Procrastination Conditional self-acceptance Not satisfied by success – continually striving Emotional disturbance when standards not met All-or-nothing thinking Overly self-critical High levels of anxiety before, during and after a performance

Perfectionism is not always negative…Enns & Cox 2002What does the Helpful Perfectionist Beliefs really look like?

Quotes I now know that I don't always have to be perfect, and I know steps and methods to achieve my goals and minimalize irrational thinking and negative attitudes. Y8 Student I have learnt to channel concepts of ‘perfect’ into inspiring me to excel rather than scare me into failure. Y12 Student What I have taken away from this? Positive thoughts, self-belief and unconditional self acceptance! Y8 Student

Identifying Signature strengths! Students find three key strengths that they believe can help them optimise performance! What are they? How can they use them to improve performance? Some Examples.....

Signature strengthsadapted from Seligman Curiosity - Interested in experience for its own sake, finding subjects and topics fascinating;love exploring and discovering. Good at writing – Good at summing up info and putting thoughts down on paper Humour - Like to laugh! Try to see the light side in all situations. Critical thinking – Good at evaluating ideas and thinking critically about information from different perspectives Good at listening – They actually listen to what their teachers tell them! Open-mindedness – Open to new learning strategies and approaches to learning Creative -Thinking of new ways to do things and never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible. Artistic Organised Good at looking at the facts – Do not jump to conclusions but are that kind of person who rely on evidence! Citizenship - Excel as a member of a group. Are a loyal and dedicated teammate.

As a teacher/coach: which ones are your signature strengths?

Signature strengths? Adapted from Seligman Motivating – You are an expert in fostering a love of learning, involve all students actively in their own learning, and encourage ownership Leadership - You excel at the tasks of leadership: encouraging a group to get things done and preserving harmony within the group by making everyone feel included Caring – You are committed to and an expert in creating a calm, supportive and respectful coaching/learning environment Open-minded – You are open to new teaching/coaching strategies and approaches to learning Creative -Thinking of new ways to do things and never content with doing something the conventional way if a better way is possible Perspective - You are able to provide wise counsel to others Persistence - You work hard to finish what you start. No matter what the project is, you get it done in time Social Intelligence - You are aware of the motives and feelings of other people. You know what to do to put others at ease Citizenship - You excel as a member of a group. You are a loyal and dedicated teammate.

Cognitive Behavioural Coaching