Coaching Certificate Topics— Using Theories of Well-Being for Coaching

If you think coaching is something that can just be done by anyone and even without going through any coaching certification programs, well… here are just some of the scientific theories about wellbeing that help guide coaches through their coaching practice.

In this article are some samples of how the theories can be applied to coaching. I hope that your coach knows these too!

In This Article:
Seligman’s Theory of Well-Being
Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Theory
Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination Theory

In becoming a life coach, there are a lot of scientifically-backed theories that will be used a framework or guide in the coaching practice. The following are just some of the theories about well-being that will be discussed in coaching certification programs

Seligman’s Theory of Well-Being (PERMA)

The best online life coaching programs will never skimp on this topic as this is just one of the foundations of positive psychology coaching. The PERMA Theory of Well-Being by Martin Seligman is an expansion of his other theory which is the Authentic Happiness Theory. According to the latter theory, happiness can be achieved by going into three different paths:

1. Pleasant Life– Happiness can be achieved by indulging in pure pleasures (hedonism)
2. Engaged Life– Happiness that comes from exercising strengths to achieve a state of flow.
3. Meaningful Life– Happiness that can be achieved by pursuing a goal that benefits others or more than oneself.

In his Authentic Happiness Theory, these different paths should be pursued in different amounts throughout life. We can now see that this theory of pursuing well-being does not focus on the satisfaction of needs to be happy, but rather gives us a concept of pursuing paths to be truly happy.

According to his research, there are five core elements of the PERMA theory that are what people need to achieve meaning and life satisfaction. He added two more paths to his previous Authentic Happiness theory and came up with the following:

1. 1. Positive Emotion (Pleasant Life)
   2. Engagement (Engaged Life)
   3. Positive Relationship
   4. Meaning (Meaningful Life)
   5. Accomplishment

1. Positive emotion
   The element of positive emotion according to Seligman comes from pursuing the path of a pleasurable life. It’s mostly about feeling good, but it is more than just about flashing a smile. Experiencing positive emotion can come from the acceptance of one’s past (no matter how bad it was) while looking forward to greater things.
   According to the model by Seligman, pleasure refers to the satisfaction of physical needs (like food, shelter, clothing, safety) while enjoyment is satisfaction felt from doing activities like cooking, painting, writing etc. With that said, positive emotion is experienced when you pursue a path that satisfies your physical needs.
   Positive emotions help to sail through difficulties with ease and confidence. Studies on positive psychology have shown that positive emotions like love, kindness, gratitude, inspiration, peace of mind can help to solve problems creatively. It builds resilience and endurance to fight adversities.
2. Engagement
   The second element in the PERMA Model is Engagement is related to the pursuance of the path leading to an engaged life. An engaged life produces “happiness that comes from exercising strengths to achieve a state of flow”. Flow is a state of intense concentration or absorption on an activity that matches one’s skills and thus creates a rewarding and pleasurable feeling by going through and accomplishing it.This state of flow is said to be achieved by exercising one’s personal strengths by doing activities that make you very immersed. These activities may not have anything to do with your work or maybe likely be seen by others as senseless, but as long as a person enjoys it, it doesn’t matter what it is.

   Being totally engaged and engrossed in an activity means that you are totally committed to whatever you are doing. You can develop a better sense of control over the situation. This makes you less anxious and more hopeful about doing things in the best possible way. It also brings focus and attentiveness to your daily living. A completely engaged mind is calm and promotes psychological wellness, leading to more happiness and well-being.

3. Relationships
   Relationships are the third element of happiness and well-being, according to the PERMA model. It is one of the two elements added by Seligman (to the Authentic Happiness Theory).According to Seligman, human beings are social and they have this need for social connection as we are wired to form relationships which can be a source of emotional support when the going gets tough. Being surrounded by a group of people can bring about positive growth and pushes us to reach our full potential.

   Human relationships are the core factor that determines to bond. It symbolizes the connection that you have with your loved ones. Loved ones help you to thrive, sustain, and feel good in times of stress and turmoil. Seligman noted that to live a healthy life; you need to build healthy humane ties with peers, family, and colleagues. A good relationship gives you warmth, emotional support, love, and intimacy that make you mentally secure and safe. It protects you from negative emotions like sadness and helps to fight odds in life.

4. Meaning
   The fourth core element Meaning can be achieved by pursuing the path to a meaningful life. But what exactly is a meaningful life?A meaningful life is a life that finds purpose, not just on having money and material possessions. A meaningful life is a life that aims to find a good cause or life purpose that serves well beyond yourself and interests.

   Many people wonder why many celebrities who live in multi-million-dollar mansions and go on monthly vacations to the Maldives and the Caribbean end up taking their own lives. What they do not understand is that there is so much more to life than just money and material possessions. Above it all, what makes a person want to live is the meaning they find in their lives.

   Parents with young children understand how important they are in their children’s lives and so they work hard to provide for their families. A beautiful lady, though unmarried, is happy because she takes care of her aging parents. These things are worth more than any amount of money and meaning keeps people happy and persistent.

5. Accomplishments
   Finally, the fifth PERMA model element is accomplishments. We all take pride in something we’ve done or accomplished. It is these accomplishments that strengthen our self-esteem and our confidence that we are worth something. When we achieve something, we feel good and want to do more and become more. It can be seen even in very young children.For instance, a little girl learns to use the spoon and fork when eating and when she knows how proud her mother is upon learning this, the child continues to use her spoon and fork. She also seeks new things to learn that are more challenging than what she can already do, such as pouring water into her glass or putting her toys back in the cupboard. In short, these accomplishments drive individuals to achieve more and make them feel good.

How can the PERMA Model be Used in the Workplace?

The workplace is where we spend a big part of our day, working with people who are not related to us in ways other than being colleagues. It is true that the level of happiness experienced by each worker, as well as the atmosphere of a workplace, greatly and directly affect an organization’s productiveness.

Therefore, the PERMA Model is one thing that should be applied in the workplace to foster a positive work environment that will eventually result in a happy and productive workforce.

• Positive emotions can be created by simply congratulating a colleague who has achieved something at work. It can also be as simple as dropping a note of thanks with a bar of chocolate to another employee who did a favor by covering a shift.
• The workplace doesn’t need to always solidly feel like a place where things need to get done. If offices now have pumping rooms for breastfeeding employees, why not put an “engagement room” in where there is a small piano, book corner, or several sketchbooks and canvasses to let workers take a break and do something engaging? This way, workers can recharge and reset their ‘buttons’ to be more efficient.
• Belongingness is an important key to a productive workplace. However, belonging to a team or a small circle isn’t the only way to do it. Conducting team building is one of the HR Department’s best tools for fostering healthy relationships within the office. Relationships can be built at any time of the day by things such as inviting one or two officemates to lunch.
• An organization shouldn’t only be productive, but it should also be meaningful to the society where it functions. In fact, a lot of companies already devote a lot more time and finances into their corporate responsibility.
• Let’s take as an example Walt Disney English, which is an English Learning Centre in China that is under the company’s publishing sector. As it deals with kids, its Voluntears Program chooses an orphanage or school for special children as its recipient for fundraising. Employees visit the chosen school and bring Mickey Mouse dolls for every kid, apart from the monetary donation to the school.
• Accomplishments exert a bigger impact if they are acknowledged by the “higher-ups.” Normally, companies hold a gala night each year where citations are given to exemplary employees. But why wait for the once-a-year event when companies can recognize their employees regularly without being too extravagant?
• A Kudos wall is simple, yet the impact it creates on the person whose name is upon that wall for a job well-done can be immense.

How can we use the PERMA Model to coaching?

My life coach certification program taught me how that the PERMA Model can be used by coaches for clients seeking brief goal-oriented coaching, and transformational/life coaching.

For example, a client undertaking brief goal-oriented coaching can be guided by their coaches using this PERMA Model, by specifying the client’s goal and therefore choosing which pathway to choose. For example, a client pursuing a creative career might be experiencing a creative block, and thus they have this goal of experiencing a state of flow again get the inspiration to create; thus they should take the path to develop engagement maybe through exercising their strengths, slowing down to enjoy moments, and practicing mindfulness. Clients can use one of the different pathways to achieve their goals.
On the other hand, a client pursuing transformational/ life coaching can use all the different pathways in different and varying degrees in their pursuit of overall well-being.

We can see how PERMA sets a path for reaching one’s goals and is not about fulfilling a need to achieve happiness. The model can be used in pursuit of pathways to success or accomplishment and may improve well-being— but does not offer a broader approach and view of life.

Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Theory (PWBT)

Carol Ryff’s theory is an extension of her work regarding “quality aging”. She looked at current theories of psychological wellbeing and found that most theories did not have both quantitative and qualitative theory perspectives which is essential in making founded theories. Ryff suggested that well-being is more than just about life satisfaction and affect balance and that it is composed of the following additional six dimensions:

• Self-appreciation

• Positive Relation with others
• Autonomy
• Environmental Mastery
• Purpose in life
• Personal Growth

Most life coaching courses online will discuss intensively how she ended up creating one of the first systematic models of Psychological Well-Being, but here we’ll keep it simple. What differs Carol Ryff’s model from the then existing models of well-being was that she looked at well-being as something that is not merely about happiness, or the experience of positive emotions. Her model remains one of the most scientifically verified and empirically rigorous today.

Ryff produced an inventory consists of either 84 questions (long form) or 54 questions (medium form). According to the CenterOfInquiry.org,

“Both the long and medium forms consist of a series of statements reflecting the six areas of psychological well-being: autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Respondents rate statements on a scale of 1 to 6, with 1 indicating strong disagreement and 6 indicating strong agreement.”

The following are Carol Ryff’s six dimensions of well-being and what it meant when you score lower and higher on the dimensions:

1. Self-Acceptance
   High Self Acceptance: This means you have a positive attitude toward yourself; you acknowledge and accept multiple aspects of yourself including both good and bad qualities; you feel positive about your past life.Low Self Acceptance: You have a dissatisfaction towards yourself; has a frustration that you have not gotten over yet; is easily disturbed by certain personal qualities, and wanting to be different than what you are at the moment.
2. Personal Growth
   Strong Personal Growth: You have an affinity to pursue growth and development; you acknowledge that you are still expanding and growing; you are open to new experiences; you are inclined to find and realize your potential; you appreciate your self-progress and changed behavior; you develop yourself by indulging in activities that increase your knowledge and skill effectiveness.Weak Personal Growth: You have a sense of personal stagnation; lack the sense of improvement or expansion over time; feel bored and uninterested with life; feel unable to develop new attitudes or behaviors.
3. Purpose in Life
   Strong Purpose in Life: You have goals in life and a sense of directedness; feel there is meaning to your present and past life; hold beliefs that give life purpose; have aims and objectives for living.Weak Purpose in Life: You lack a sense of meaning in life; have few goals or aims, lack a sense of direction; do not see the purpose of your past life; have no outlook or beliefs that give life meaning.
4. Positive Relations With Others
   Strong Positive Relations: You have warm, satisfying, trusting relationships with others; are concerned about the welfare of others; are capable of strong empathy, affection, and intimacy; and understand the give and take of human relationships.Weak Relations: You have few close, trusting relationships with others; find it difficult to be warm, open, and concerned about others; are isolated and frustrated in interpersonal relationships; are not willing to make compromises to sustain important ties with others.
5. Environmental Mastery
   High Environmental Mastery: In our life coach training having high environmental mastery means having a sense of mastery and competence in managing the environment; control a complex array of external activities; make effective use of surrounding opportunities; can choose or create contexts suitable to your personal needs and values.Low Environmental Mastery: You have difficulty managing everyday affairs; feel unable to change or improve surrounding contexts; are unaware of surrounding opportunities; lack a sense of control over the external world.
6. Autonomy
   High Autonomy: You are self-determining and independent; can resist social pressures to think and act in certain ways; regulate behavior from within; evaluate yourself by personal standards.Low Autonomy: You are concerned about the expectations and evaluations of others; rely on judgments of others to make important decisions; conform to social pressures to think and act in certain ways.

   Studies have shown that the medium and the long-form inventory are more statistically reliable than the short form. The model of Psychological Well-Being by Ryff provides a powerful framework through which to analyze and organize one’s life, and to generate ideas about how to live better.

Uses of PWBT Becoming a life coac

Ryff uses her six categories to define well-being.

This model can be used in coaching practice after taking a life coach certification program, these six dimensions can determine how the clients view themselves and help them realize where they are in terms of their personal growth– a coach can thus discuss and assess the dimensions their clients are in an appropriately adjust their need according to the environment and goals that they want to achieve.

I adapted this example from my life coach training notes, a client in an individualistic western culture who wants to achieve career success may find that high levels of autonomy as a good thing for it can indicate determination and social independence. But if your client is in a collectivist culture and they want to achieve success in the workplace, a high level of autonomy may be seen as non-conformity and unwillingness to cooperate.

Deci and Ryan’s Self Determination Theory (SDT)

Self-determination theory (SDT) was proposed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, who first introduced their ideas in their book “Self-Determination and Intrinsic Motivation in Human Behavior” on the year 1985. Here, they initially developed a theory of motivation which suggested that people tend to be driven by a need to grow and gain fulfillment

My life coach training online notes specifies these two key assumptions of their theory were:

1. Behavior is driven by a person’s need for growth. People are actively pursuing and seeking growth. Having mastery over something and seeking new experiences are innate and gives us a strong sense of self.
2. Internal motivation is deemed important. External motivations like money, rewards and prizes are mostly what drives us, but the theory emphasizes on the importance of our internal motivations like a drive to attain wisdom or experience freedom

Ryan and Deci suggest that the following three ways should ALL be present to achieve well-being:

• Autonomy
  People need to feel like they are in full responsibility and control of their behaviors and goals. This sense of self makes a person able to take direct action to produce change, and thus plays a major part in helping people feel self-determined.
• Competence
  People need to achieve mastery of tasks and learn different skills. Learning these skills that they deem to be their tools to succeed can make them more likely to take actions that will help them achieve their goals.
• Connection/Relatedness
  People need to experience a sense of belonging and attachment to other people.

The theory then emphasizes the creation of an environment that makes people feel competent, supported, and free to express themselves. This theory provides consideration to social and cultural conditions as elements that can truly affect or impair well-being. It is a theory that has relevant use for coaching practice as it also highlights factors that enhance motivation and well-being in different areas like education, career, family, society, and personal life.

How can we use SDT in practice after life coach training

A coaching certificate training program can help aspiring coaches understand how to use the Self-Determination Theory in the coaching practice. The theory not only talks about the importance of both the need for internal and external motivations, but it also focuses on how to guide people who were not able to fulfill these three basic needs.

The probability that these three are always present in every kind of success in not guaranteed, and thus there is a need to remind coaches that discussing success with their clients need a critical thought and approach so they can pursue success that also considers the need for relatedness even if success would mean fulfilling the need for competence and autonomy.

For example, a client’s goal is to advance their career level. In their pursuit of this goal, they may make decisions that benefit themselves like aiming to enhance their skill and learn relevant information regarding their objective (competence), and thus they allot their weekends and after-work hours for these (autonomy).
A client may truly achieve their goal doing these two things, but the idea of SDT is that the need for connectedness should also be fulfilled. A client focusing on autonomy and competence may forego social connectedness and thus could hamper his relationships with their family and his sense of connection with his workmates. The goal of SDT is to fulfill these three needs to have a greater sense of sense that can then translate to well-being.

It is important to realize that the psychological growth described by self-determination theory does not simply happen automatically. While people might be oriented toward such growth, it requires continual sustenance.

Summary

The three theories of well-being offer a different perspective on taking on a path to seeking wellness.

• The PERMA model can be used in pursuit of pathways to success or accomplishment and may improve well-being— but does not offer a broader approach and view of life.
• Ryff’s uses her six dimensions to define well-being as a whole and thus helps in determining an assessment of self-views and self-reported level of growth or development.
• Ryan and Deci’s SDT suggests that people’s inherent craving for growth is best achieved when there are both internal and external motivations present during the quest for development.

There are a lot of other scientific theories that guide the framework of how coaches help their clients achieve their goals. A life coach certification is not a dismissible requirement for a coach, does your selected coach have one? I really hope they have!