Can coaching be useful when offering CBT to someone with low self-esteem?
As psychological services become increasingly integrated with wellbeing and performance-focused approaches, clinicians are exploring whether coaching principles may offer additional value.
Fast Facts
Coaching effectively complements CBT for low self-esteem when used in later treatment stages
CBT challenges negative beliefs while coaching builds future-focused strengths and goals
Research shows coaching significantly improves self-esteem through goal-setting and action planning
Early use risks bypassing unresolved trauma - timing and clinical judgement are crucial
CBT is one of the most evidence-based interventions for low self-esteem. However, as psychological services become increasingly integrated with wellbeing and performance-focused approaches, clinicians are exploring whether coaching principles may offer additional value, particularly in cases where low self-esteem persists despite cognitive restructuring.
Can coaching be a useful adjunct to CBT in this context? The answer is nuanced.
Understanding the difference
CBT is a structured, problem-focused therapy grounded in psychological theory and often targets distress or dysfunction. Coaching, by contrast, typically centres on goal achievement and potential realisation in the absence of clinical distress.
However, the overlap is growing, particularly in the domain of “cognitive behavioural coaching” (CBC), which applies CBT principles in a coaching context.
• Focus:
CBT typically focuses on identifying the root of negative self-beliefs and challenging them through cognitive restructuring and behavioural experiments. Coaching, by contrast, is more future-focused, helping clients build a desired self-image through strengths-based goal setting.
• Use of the past:
CBT often draws on the client’s early experiences to understand the development of their core beliefs and safety behaviours. Coaching is less interested in the past and more concerned with present actions and future possibilities.
• Role of the practitioner:
A CBT therapist uses structured protocols to guide the client through psychoeducation, formulation and behavioural change. A coach may take a more facilitative stance, encouraging the client to generate their own solutions and action steps.
Essentially, both approaches can increase self-efficacy, but they take different paths to achieve this.
The case for integration
Research from Grant (2003, 2012)1 has demonstrated that coaching interventions can significantly improve self-esteem, particularly when based on self-reflection, goal setting and action planning.
A study by Wildflower and Palmer (2017)2 reviewed the outcomes of coaching within NHS and educational settings, noting improved confidence and resilience among participants. Palmer and Szymanska (2007)3 argue that cognitive behavioural coaching techniques, such as guided discovery, socratic questioning and behavioural experimentation, can help individuals move from a “problem-saturated” identity to one more focused on strengths and aspirations.
This approach could be particularly relevant in the later stages of CBT for low self-esteem, where clients are consolidating gains and beginning to re-engage with broader life goals.
How CBT therapists might use coaching in practice
A CBT therapist can incorporate coaching elements by weaving them into the later phases of treatment once safety behaviours have been reduced and negative self-beliefs have softened.
For example:
• Values clarification: After addressing maladaptive core beliefs, the therapist might help the client identify personal values and long-term aspirations, supporting identity development beyond symptom relief.
• Self-efficacy building: Encouraging clients to track and celebrate small wins builds a sense of agency, shifting the self-concept from “I can’t” to “I am becoming more capable.”
• Strengths-based language: The therapist might intentionally highlight the client’s resilience, effort and growth, fostering a more affirmative internal narrative.
Crucially, these techniques still sit within a formulation-driven, evidence-based CBT framework, but allow the work to transition toward growth and flourishing.
Cautions and considerations
Despite these benefits, there are important caveats. Coaching is not a substitute for therapy in cases of clinical distress. When used indiscriminately or too early in the therapeutic process, coaching goals may risk bypassing unresolved trauma or entrenched schemas.
It is also worth noting that many coaching approaches are not regulated or standardised in the way that CBT is. The British Psychological Society has highlighted the need for greater integration of coaching psychology within mental health services but stresses the importance of practitioner competence and supervision.
Conclusions
Ultimately, integrating coaching into CBT for low self-esteem may be most effective when it is deliberate, collaborative and tailored to the client’s stage of recovery. For example, early sessions might focus on addressing core beliefs and emotional regulation, while later sessions incorporate coaching-style goal setting and values-based action to support identity development and long-term self-worth. By helping clients move from “I am not good enough” to “I am becoming who I want to be,” coaching can offer a useful and affirming complement to traditional CBT, when used judiciously.
Author: Francesca Harland is a CBT psychotherapist and low-self esteem specialist.
Grant, A. M. (2003). The impact of life coaching on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 31(3), 253–263.
Grant, A. M. (2012). Making positive change: A randomized study comparing solution-focused vs. problem-focused coaching questions. Journal of Systemic Therapies, 31(2), 21–35.
Wildflower, L., & Palmer, S. (2017). Coaching for Health: Why it works and how to do it. London: Routledge.
Palmer, S., & Szymanska, K. (2007). Cognitive behavioural coaching: An integrative approach. The Coaching Psychologist, 3(1), 6–14.