Client Assessment & Goal Setting Flashcards

A client wants to 'fix' their partner as their primary coaching goal. The appropriate coach response is to:

Answer: Help the client reframe the goal toward their own actions and responses within the relationship

Coaching focuses on the client's own growth and actions, not changing another person, so reframing is the ethical and effective approach.

During intake, a coach notices a client minimizing serious relationship conflicts when answering assessment questions. The best response is to:

Answer: Gently probe deeper with open-ended questions to get a fuller picture

Open-ended probing questions create a safe space for clients to reveal more accurate information without feeling judged.

What is the primary purpose of a 'wheel of life' or 'wheel of relationship' assessment in coaching?

Answer: To provide a visual snapshot of satisfaction levels across multiple relationship dimensions

The wheel assessment visually maps satisfaction across relationship areas, helping clients and coaches prioritize where to focus goal-setting efforts.

When is it appropriate to revisit and adjust established coaching goals mid-engagement?

Answer: When new information or circumstances emerge that make original goals no longer relevant or achievable

Goal flexibility is a hallmark of responsive coaching — goals should evolve when client circumstances or priorities meaningfully change.

A client's stated goal is to improve intimacy, but their behavior consistently avoids vulnerability. This gap between goal and behavior is best addressed by:

Answer: Exploring the underlying beliefs or fears that create the gap as part of the coaching process

Exploring the beliefs underlying behavior-goal gaps is a core coaching competency that moves clients from intention to action.

In relationship coaching, 'ecological checking' of a goal means:

Answer: Examining whether a goal, if achieved, would positively affect all areas of the client's life and relationships

Ecological checking assesses whether a goal's achievement will have positive ripple effects — or unintended negative consequences — across the client's life.

Which attachment style, when identified during assessment, most often presents with goals centered on reducing jealousy and increasing trust?

Answer: Anxious-preoccupied attachment

Anxious-preoccupied attachment is characterized by hypervigilance to relationship threats, making jealousy reduction and trust-building common goal themes.