Collaborative Q&A Part 1 — When clients don’t want to engage a coach

Welcome to our mini-series called ‘Collaborative Q&A’. We’ll be answering common questions about collaborative practice right here on the CPNSW blog. We hope you find this useful, and as always if you would like to learn more please don’t hesitate to contact our team.

Question #1:

What if a client doesn’t want to engage a coach in a collaborative matter?

Answer:

One of the unique parts of collaborative practice is that it is a bespoke process, and tailored to our clients’ individual needs.
Having said that, the majority of practitioners (at least in New South Wales) will not undertake a collaboration without a coach. If a client is resisting:

• Explain the benefits of a coach – who manages the emotions in the room, liaises with all of the parties between meetings and keeps the process on track;
• Explain the coach’s additional role as FDRP in parenting matters;
• Arrange for the coach to call the client, so that the coach can give the client a better understanding of how the role of the coach works, and how the coach adds value to the process.