Abstract
M.Phil.
The primary objective of this research study was to qualitatively explore the contemporary ethical challenges faced by coaching psychologists in South Africa when dealing with both organisations and their coaching clients, and from this to develop an exploratory framework of ethical challenges. Consistent with the objectives of this study, two data-gathering techniques were used, namely semi-structured interviews and the Delphi technique. The use of semi-structured interviews enabled the researcher to determine the prominent and recurring themes in terms of the ethical challenges experienced by coaching psychologists, which were incorporated in the framework of ethical challenges. The Delphi technique allowed for the validation of the exploratory framework. A total of 16 participants were used across the two phases of data-gathering, and content analysis was utilised as a means of interpreting the data. The findings pointed to a number of commonly experienced ethical challenges in the field of coaching psychology, as well as the typical ethical principles used by psychologists who coach as a guide to best ethical practice. The exploratory framework represents the broad systemic outline of the factors that contribute to ethical challenges, and depicts the non-linear, multiple interactions between these factors. The framework articulates ethical challenges from the coach’s, the coachee’s, and the organisation’s perspectives. The framework can be applied by professionals and coaching clients, and can be utilised pro-actively in identifying the potential ethical challenges present in the coaching relationship. The framework identifies ethical principles that could be used as the foundation for a code of ethics in coaching psychology.
Keywords: coaching, coaching psychology, exploratory framework, ethical challenges, ethical principles, ethical outcomes