Beyond Therapy: A Conceptual Review of Emotion-Focused Coaching for Mental Well-Being
Keywords:
Emotion-focused coaching, mental well-being, emotional intelligence, psychological resilience, coaching psychology
Abstract
Emotion-Focused Coaching (EFC) is used as a non-therapeutic coaching approach that bases its work on emotions to help people develop personally and achieve life satisfaction. This literature review integrates theoretical foundations with academic research to study EFC's effects on emotional awareness and self-compassion development and its impact on psychological resilience and relationship quality. EFC serves people who maintain normal functioning in their personal and professional lives through a structured method to identify and validate emotions before they need clinical help. The research findings demonstrate that EFC has four main advantages, which include better emotional regulation and identification, reduced self-criticism and enhanced self-acceptance, improved stress management, and strengthened interpersonal connection skills. The literature suggests that EFC may be particularly suitable in education, healthcare, and leadership contexts with high emotional demands, complementing goal-oriented coaching models. Research on Emotional-Focused Coaching currently exists as conceptual studies, which prove the necessity for emotional facilitation training, but more empirical studies are needed to measure EFC effectiveness and evaluate its cross-cultural adaptability.
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References
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35. Van den Broeck, A., Vansteenkiste, M., De Witte, H., & Lens, W. (2010). Capturing autonomy, competence, and relatedness at work: Construction and initial validation of the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction scale. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(4), 981–1002. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X481382
36. World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. Geneva: World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338
2. Barrett, L. F. (2017). How emotions are made: The secret life of the brain. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
3. Biswas-Diener, R., & Dean, B. (2007). Positive psychology coaching: Putting the science of happiness to work for your clients. Wiley.
4. Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59(1), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.20
5. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
6. Eilert, D. W., & Mensah, P. (2025). Emotion-focused ego-state coaching reduces communication apprehension: Evidence from a randomized controlled study. Frontiers in Organizational Psychology, 2, 1487283. https://doi.org/10.3389/forgp.2025.1487283
7. Elliott, R., Watson, J., Goldman, R. N., & Greenberg, L. S. (2013). Learning emotion-focused therapy: The process-experiential approach to change. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10725-000
8. Gilbert, P. (2009). The compassionate mind: A new approach to life’s challenges. Constable & Robinson.
9. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. Bantam Books.
10. Grant, A. M. (2008). Personal life coaching for coaches-in-training enhances goal attainment, insight and learning. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 1(1), 54–70. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521880701878141
11. Grant, A. M. (2012). Solution-focused coaching. In S. Palmer & A. Whybrow (Eds.), Handbook of coaching psychology (pp. 142–154). Routledge.
12. Grant, A. M. (2014). The efficacy of executive coaching in times of organizational change. Journal of Change Management, 14(2), 258–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2013.805159
13. Greenberg, L. S. (2010). Emotion-Focused Therapy: A Clinical Synthesis. FOCUS: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, 8(1), 32–42. https://doi.org/10.1176/foc.8.1.foc32
14. Greenberg, L. S. (2015). Emotion-focused therapy: Coaching clients to work through their feelings (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/14692-000
15. Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
16. Gyllensten, K., & Palmer, S. (2014). Increased employee confidence: A benefit of coaching. Coaching Psychologist, 10(1), 36–39. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpstcp.2014.10.1.36
17. Hugh-Jones, S., Rose, S., Koutsopoulou, G. Z., & Simms-Ellis, R. (2018). How is stress reduced by a workplace mindfulness intervention? A qualitative study conceptualising experiences of change. Mindfulness, 9, 474–487. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0790-2
18. Jones, R. J., Woods, S. A., & Guillaume, Y. R. F. (2016). The effectiveness of workplace coaching: A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes from coaching. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 89(2), 249–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/joop.12119
19. Kirby, J. N. (2025). Compassion as a transdiagnostic target to reduce mental health symptoms and promote well-being. Nature Reviews Psychology, 4(4), 249–263. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-025-00422-4
20. Kovbuz, V. (2025). Supporting Mental Well-Being Through Emotion-Focused Coaching Intervention. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 43, 1. Retrieved from https://eujournal.org/index.php/esj/article/view/19743
21. Lieberman, M. D., Eisenberger, N. I., Crockett, M. J., Tom, S. M., Pfeifer, J. H., & Way, B. M. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x
22. Linley, P. A., & Joseph, S. (2004). Positive psychology in practice. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470939338
23. Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2004). Emotional intelligence: Theory, findings, and implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15(3), 197–215. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1503_02
24. Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Sage.
25. Neenan, M., & Dryden, W. (2002). Life coaching: A cognitive-behavioural approach. Routledge.
26. Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity, 2(3), 223–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298860309027
27. Passmore, J. (2010). A grounded theory study of the coachee experience: The implications for training and practice in coaching psychology. International Coaching Psychology Review, 5(1), 48–62.
28. Passmore, J., & Fillery-Travis, A. (2011). A critical review of executive coaching research: A decade of progress and what’s to come. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice, 4(2), 70–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/17521882.2011.596484
29. Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person: A therapist’s view of psychotherapy. Houghton Mifflin.
30. Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9(1), 13–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0
31. Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.
32. Severinsen, L., Stiegler, J. R., Nissen-Lie, H. A., Shahar, B., Bjerregaard Bertelsen, T., & Zahl-Olsen, R. (2025). Effectiveness of emotion-focused skills training (EFST) for parents: A randomized controlled trial investigating remission of mental health diagnosis and symptom reduction in children. Psychotherapy Research, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/10503307.2025.2491477
33. Spinelli, E. (2005). The interpreted world: An introduction to phenomenological psychology (2nd ed.). Sage.
34. Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(2), 320–333. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.320
35. Van den Broeck, A., Vansteenkiste, M., De Witte, H., & Lens, W. (2010). Capturing autonomy, competence, and relatedness at work: Construction and initial validation of the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction scale. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(4), 981–1002. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317909X481382
36. World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. Geneva: World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338
Published
2025-09-30
How to Cite
Kovbuz, V. (2025). Beyond Therapy: A Conceptual Review of Emotion-Focused Coaching for Mental Well-Being. European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 21(25), 53. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2025.v21n25p53
Section
ESJ Social Sciences
Copyright (c) 2025 Valeriya Kovbuz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
