CRC CRC Coaching Tools & Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does 'motivational interviewing' contribute to relationship coaching practice?
- A method for diagnosing relationship disorders
- Techniques to evoke intrinsic motivation and explore ambivalence about change (Correct answer)
- A script for advising clients on what to do
- A tool for measuring IQ in relationship contexts
Correct answer: Techniques to evoke intrinsic motivation and explore ambivalence about change
Motivational interviewing helps coaches elicit clients' own reasons for change and work through mixed feelings about making relationship shifts.
Question 2: A coach uses a 'miracle question' with a client. What is the intended outcome?
- To help the client fantasize unrealistically about their partner
- To evoke a vivid description of the client's desired future, bypassing problem focus (Correct answer)
- To assess the client's mental health symptoms
- To confront the client with harsh truths
Correct answer: To evoke a vivid description of the client's desired future, bypassing problem focus
The miracle question (from solution-focused approaches) shifts attention to a preferred future, generating clarity about what the client truly wants.
Question 3: Which approach involves coaches helping clients identify strengths and past successes to apply to current relationship challenges?
- Psychoanalytic approach
- Solution-Focused Brief Coaching (Correct answer)
- Cognitive restructuring only
- Behavioral punishment
Correct answer: Solution-Focused Brief Coaching
Solution-focused coaching builds on existing client strengths and successful past experiences rather than dwelling on problems.
Question 4: What is the purpose of a 'relationship inventory' exercise at the start of coaching?
- To legally document the client's relationship history
- To establish a baseline understanding of the client's relationship history, patterns, and goals (Correct answer)
- To judge whether the client's past relationships were healthy
- To compare the client's relationships to average statistics
Correct answer: To establish a baseline understanding of the client's relationship history, patterns, and goals
A relationship inventory helps the coach and client map patterns, strengths, and areas for growth across the client's relational history.
Question 5: Why might a CRC coach use scaling questions during a session?
- To rank clients against a normative sample
- To quantify client progress and explore what would move them one step higher (Correct answer)
- To measure the severity of mental illness
- To set fixed numerical targets for relationship satisfaction
Correct answer: To quantify client progress and explore what would move them one step higher
Scaling questions (e.g., 'On a scale of 1–10...') help clients articulate current status and identify small, actionable steps toward improvement.
Question 6: What is 'active experimentation' in the context of relationship coaching?
- Conducting scientific research on clients
- Encouraging clients to try new behaviors between sessions and report back (Correct answer)
- Experimenting with different coaching fee structures
- Testing hypotheses about a client's diagnosis
Correct answer: Encouraging clients to try new behaviors between sessions and report back
Active experimentation invites clients to test new relational behaviors in real life, gathering data on what works for their unique situation.
CRC CRC Coaching Tools & Techniques 2
What does 'motivational interviewing' contribute to relationship coaching practice?