The Coach's Casebook

Our greatest strengths often become our deepest traps.

People-pleasing turns into resentment.

Perfectionism becomes paralysis.

Impostor syndrome fuels overwork.

Performance anxiety and procrastination quietly erode potential.

In each chapter, you follow a skilled coach working live with a client struggling with one of twelve common behavioural patterns every coach will recognise. You see not just what the coach says — but what they’re thinking, feeling, and questioning internally.

This is not theory-heavy abstraction. It is real coaching work, unpacked. The psychological roots of behaviour are explored, practical interventions are tested, and the messy, human side of change is laid bare.

Alongside the cases, you’ll hear insights from high performers — from sport, business, and exploration — who have faced and overcome similar traits in their own lives.

Above all, this is a practical guide: techniques you can apply immediately to help clients shift patterns that may have shaped them for years.

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This book is for practising coaches who want to deepen their craft — not just add more tools.

It’s for you if:

• You sometimes wonder what’s really going on beneath a client’s presenting issue.
• You want to sharpen your psychological insight, not just your questioning technique.
• You recognise traits like perfectionism, impostor syndrome, and performance anxiety showing up again and again in your work.
• You value reflection as much as intervention.

It’s also for aspiring coaches who want an honest, behind-the-scenes look at what real coaching conversations feel like — including the doubt, the judgement calls, and the internal dialogue that never makes it into textbooks.

If you want to understand the traps — and help clients escape them — this casebook is your companion.

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