Practitioners from many disciplines may become coaches, but as an OT, you have a leg up on some of them. You have been trained in both physical and mental/emotional human development and occupation, and are already using coaching techniques in your evaluations and treatment when you discuss client goals or challenges to those goals. There are some types of coaching in which occupational therapy is already considered a ready player.

But coaching is not therapy and cannot be looked at that way. Coaches usually work with high-functioning adults who are looking for self-realization. In their 1998 book Co-Active Coaching: New Skills for Coaching People Toward Success in Work and Life (Davies-Black Publishing, Palo Alto, CA), authors Laura Whitworth, Henry Kinsey-House and Phil Sandahl describe the coach's job this way: "to help clients articulate their dreams, desires and aspirations, help them clarify their mission, purpose and goals, and help them achieve that outcome" in any area of life.

In life coaching, the goal is to teach clients how to set and reach their own goals over a period of time. The goals may be long range and may involve multiple aspects of their lives; or goals may involve a particular aspect of living (getting a promotion, deciding where to live, etc).

Life planning is slightly different. These individuals are usually looking to prepare for coming stages (retirement, care of a loved one after death, etc) that include a financial plan. Families with physically or mentally disabled adult children often need to do this, and this field has been a niche for a very small number of OTs for many years.

In recent years coaching has been ­bran­­ching off into many marketing niches. Here are some of them.

Personal Coaching

This niche involves a personal "relationship agreement" between client and coach that defines the client's interests and objectives and the tools the coach will use (such as discussion, inquiry, requests, etc.) to help the client identify personal goals. Together the two will make and update a plan to reach those goals. Action is up to the client, with the coach's encouragement.

Health Coaching

The National Society of Health Coaches, founded in 2007, now offers a certification program in this specialty particularly for people who are already providers in the health care field. The role of the health coach requires good therapeutic use of self and working skills in psychosocial therapy.

You could become certified as a health coach and simply add it to your professional initials, just as some therapists are certified health educators (CHEs). If your outcomes improve, you would be sending a strong signal to your agency. Or you might provide train-the-trainer coaching to home care agencies. This is the way to build up an independent business later on.

NSHC offers the following as its organizational philosophy: "We believe that health teaching is best accomplished through the platform of health coaching and should include identifying patient/client goals, guidance to discover ambivalence to needed health behavior change, identifying support for change, minimizing or removing obstacles to change, and holding the patient/client accountable during the process. We believe when health coaching is implemented in this manner, that it can help enhance self-management of chronic conditions and improve health outcomes."

Sound like good occupational therapy?

Business/Corporate Coaching

This is a much more lucrative coaching arena, as businesses can afford to pay more for the service but may not have the funds to hire a huge firm to do it. Companies may need help with training executives in teamwork and communication, building leadership skills among managers or dealing with employee issues.

Business coaches may work in a variety of settings. They do not need to be highly familiar with running a particular business in order to help. They are basically teaching people skills, organizational skills and personal motivation. At least two organizations, the International Coaching Council (ICC) and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches (WABC), offer resources for business coaches.

Should You Be Certified?

That should be a goal if you go into coaching of any kind. But after you've practiced for awhile, look around to see what kind of certification meets your needs. There are many options out there, but the International Coaching Federation (ICF) is considered the gold standard in the industry. Meeting ICF requirements may require extra coursework. Other organizations include the International Association of Coaching (IAC) and the International Guild of Coaches (IGC).

Client Surveys

These organizations have done a number of client surveys over the years, but a summary of the latest and largest one was released Feb. 2 by the ICF. It involved more than 2,100 coaching clients from 64 countries. Results that are of interest to OTs include these facts:

• 96.2 percent of coaching clients report they would repeat their coaching experiences.

• The top three client goals were self-esteem/self-confidence, work/life balance and career opportunities.

• 65 percent of coaching clients are female.

Try doing a Google search on life coaching. You will find a rich cache of resources.

E.J. Brown is editor of ADVANCE.