Coaching and schizophrenia

Coaching and schizophrenia
When I train managers as coaches I always ask them to
respect the power of coaching questions and to recognize
the possibility that what starts as an innocuous, business
related conversation, may lead to the unveiling of a deeper
issue. Coaching managers would be advised to develop at
least a little insight into the signs of abnormal
psychology. Consider for example, that most commonly
diagnosed form of mental disorder; thought to affect about
1% of the population at some point - schizophrenia.

It is a popular misconception that schizophrenia means a
split personality. This is not true. It is actually a
generic term for a group of psychotic disorders
characterized by disturbance of personality, loss of
contact with reality and so on.

Let's look at how the condition might be described and the
symptoms one might expect to be present.

Firstly we'll consider Schneider's first rank symptoms
(1959):

Thought Disturbances:

Typical symptoms under this heading include Word Salad -
bizarre verbal association and Clang Associations - linking
words by sound rather than meaning

Auditory Hallucinations:

This is the classic "I heard voices", where the sufferer
believes some external force is directing them to do
something over which they have no control.

Primary Delusions:

Delusions are misrepresentations of what most people would
regard as the reality of situations. Common schizophrenic
delusions include:

Delusions of influence - the sufferer believes they are
being manipulated by external forces Delusions of grandeur
- e.g. "I am Napoleon" Delusions of persecution - "They're
out to get me", i.e. paranoia

Next let's consider the symptoms outlined by Slater and
Roth (1969):

Disturbance of Affect:

This is characterized by schizophrenics expressing emotions
that are inappropriate to the situation e.g. giggling on
receipt of bad news

Psychomotor Disorders:

Including odd hand gestures, twitching and peculiar facial
expressions

Lack of Volition:

Schizophrenics often have trouble conducting a normal day
to day life. They can find simple activities difficult and
can often become reclusive and withdrawn.

Schizophrenia is a term that has perhaps become cheapened
by misuse at the hands of satirists and thriller writers.
In truth it represents an horrendous burden for sufferers
and their families both of whom deserve our sympathy.

It is unlikely that the coaching manager would be the first
to stumble upon such symptoms, but it is not unheard of.
Sufferers are often able to carry on in their job roles
after perhaps some minor adjustments or be moved to other
duties. A coaching approach to communication amongst the
colleagues of the newly diagnosed schizophrenia sufferer
should also prove a sensitive way to enable everybody to
adjust.

Some studies indicate that schizophrenia - like many
abnormal psychological conditions - can be triggered or
exacerbated by stress, and work is the most common arena
for experiencing stress these days. It seems those of us
with an interest in coaching may be primed to notice the
early signs of stress and what it might lead to.

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Matt Somers is a coaching practitioner of many years'
experience. He works with a host of clients in North East
England where his firm is based and throughout the UK and
Europe. Matt understands that people are working with their
true potential locked away. He shows how coaching provides
a simple yet elegant key to this lock. For a bumper load of
coaching tips and tricks - including FREE resources - visit
http://www.mattsomers.com