Coaching Practiced

5 The scientist-practitioner model as a framework for coaching psychology

Sarah Corrie & David A. Lane

Abstract

The scientist-practitioner model has been proposed as a viable basis for the development of coaching psychology, despite proving to be a controversial ideal in other forms of applied psychology. This article examines what is meant by this term and how it can contribute to the development of coaching psychology and proposes a redefinition of the model that is fit for the purposes of contemporary coaching practice.

Original publication details: Corrie, S., & Lane, D. A. (2009, December). The scientist-practitioner model as a framework for coaching psychology. The Coaching Psychologist, 5(2), 61–67. Reproduced with permission of The British Psychological Society.

Keywords

scientist-practitioner model, coaching psychology, science, identity, applied psychology. .

The Scientist-Practitioner model has long been heralded as the authorised model of training and practice in professional psychology (Barlow et al., 1984; British Psychological Society, 2005; Lane & Corrie, 2006; Trierweiler & Stricker, 1998). In consequence, it is not surprising that it has also been proposed as an appropriate framework for the emerging profession of coaching psychology (Cavanagh & Grant, 2006; Short & Blumberg, 2009). However, within the wider spectrum of applied psychology, the scientist-practitioner model has proved to be a controversial, and some would argue a misplaced, ideal. Coaching ...