05: Neuroscience in coaching

In this podcast episode, Dr. Natalie Lancer with Dr. Divine Charura, Dr. Sarah McKay, Gry Osnes, and Amy Brann, discuss the integration of neuroscience into coaching practice. They explore the benefits and challenges of applying neuroscience concepts in coaching, emphasising the need for a more-informed understanding for coaches who choose to work in this way. Our guests explain how coaches can stay informed about neuroscience research and offer insights into how to effectively apply neuroscience concepts into coaching sessions.

We discuss:

•    What can an understanding of neuroscience bring to coaching psychology?
•    How is neuroscience research advancing and what is its impact on coaching?
•    What is the role of neuroscience in organisational leadership and the workplace?
•    How can we use neuroscience to help us understand emotions, cognition, and behaviour when coaching people on change processes?
•    How can coaches access reliable neuroscience information and education?
•    What are the risks of coaches using neuroscience principles without a solid understanding?
•    What neuromyths can we debunk?
•    What are the difficulties of integrating complex neuroscience concepts into coaching practice?
•    What are some useful neuroscience insights coaches can immediately apply?
•    How can we create brain-friendly work environments that foster better habits and heightens creativity?

Drawing on neuroscience in our coaching needs to be done in a considered way. We must draw from peer-reviewed research rather than 30-year-old neuroscience ideas that have since been revised, such as the oversimplified 'lizard brain' concept or the left brain-right brain dichotomy. Coaches must ensure their understanding of neuroscience is solid before practically applying these concepts in their practice. Our guests today are:

Dr Sarah McKay is an Australian-based (Kiwi-born) neuroscientist, speaker, author and founder of Think Brain, which offers professional development programs in applied neuroscience and women’s brain health, and the Neuroscience Academy suite of training programs. Sarah attended Oxford University to complete an MSc and DPhil in Neuroscience. She sums up her thesis with the words, 'Nature, Nurture or Neuroplasticity' and worked on research in spinal cord injury as a post-doc. Sarah is the author of The Women's Brain Book: The neuroscience of health, hormones and happiness. Her second book, Baby Brain: The surprising neuroscience of how pregnancy and motherhood sculpt our brains and change our minds (for the better), was published by Hachette in April 2023.

Professor (Dr.) Divine Charura is a practitioner psychologist registered wit