What is transpersonal coaching
What transpersonal coaching is, where it comes from, how it differs from executive and career coaching, what happens in a session and when it makes sense.
What transpersonal coaching is and where it comes from
Transpersonal coaching is a coaching approach that doesn't stop at the goal: it works on your values, your sense of meaning and the way you see yourself, which are what explain why you want that goal in the first place. The concrete target is still there, but the work starts with what sits underneath it.
A coach who uses this approach will ask you less about "what you'll do on Monday" and more about "what you want this for" or "which part of you is at stake here". The action plan comes later, once the answers to those questions are clear.
The origin: transpersonal psychology in 1969
Transpersonal coaching takes its name and its ideas from transpersonal psychology. According to the Association for Transpersonal Psychology, the field was first announced and defined with the publication of The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology in 1969, guided by the work of psychologists Abraham Maslow and Anthony Sutich, among others. The association itself was established in 1972.
The association was originally founded to investigate peak experiences and mystical states of consciousness, as it explains on its about page. That is why the word "transpersonal" sometimes sounds spiritual. A good transpersonal coach works with your values and sense of meaning; they don't teach you a belief system.
How it differs from executive coaching and career coaching
Transpersonal coaching differs from executive and career coaching in what you work on: executive coaching works on how you lead, career coaching works on your job search and your applications, and transpersonal coaching works on what your work means to you. All three are coaching, but they don't solve the same problem.
| Aspect | Transpersonal coaching | Executive coaching | Career coaching |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting question | What do I want this for? | How do I lead better? | What job am I looking for, and how do I get it? |
| What you work on | Values, meaning, identity | Decisions, team, leadership | CV, job offers, interviews, applications |
| Who it usually suits | People unsure of their direction, not their method | Managers and executives | People looking for a job or a change |
| Expected outcome | Clarity about what you want | Changes in how you lead | Better applications and a concrete goal |
If managing people is your focus, we explain executive coaching. If finding a job is your focus, career coaching goes straight to your applications.
What situations transpersonal coaching is for
Transpersonal coaching is mainly useful when the problem isn't knowing how to do something, but knowing why to do it. It's an approach designed for moments when your usual goal has stopped convincing you and you need to sort out what matters to you before you decide.
Some typical situations:
- You've got what you were after and it doesn't satisfy you: the promotion, the salary, the role.
- You're torn between two paths that look equally good on paper.
- A big change (redundancy, a move, the end of a chapter) forces you to rethink your priorities.
- You find it hard to say what you want without repeating what others expect.
If your problem is that you know what to do but can't get yourself to do it, motivational coaching is a better fit, as it works on initiative and consistency.
What to expect from a transpersonal coaching session
In a transpersonal coaching session you talk more about yourself than about your to-do list: the coach asks about what you value, the decisions that have shaped you and how you feel about the goal. A session usually ends with a reflection or a small commitment, not a list of tasks.
A typical session follows this order:
- What you bring today. A decision, a doubt or something that keeps coming back.
- What lies underneath. Which values, fears or expectations hold that decision up.
- What changes once you see it. How the decision looks with that information.
- A next step. Something you try before the next session.
Some coaches who use this approach include attention, visualisation or silence exercises. Ask beforehand: if that format doesn't suit you, it's better to know in the first conversation.
When transpersonal coaching makes sense and when it doesn't
Transpersonal coaching makes sense when you have room to think and your doubt is about direction: what you want, what matters to you, why a goal no longer drives you. It doesn't make sense when you need a fast, concrete result, such as a job this quarter or getting ready for an interview on Thursday.
When to look for a different kind of help
Transpersonal coaching is no substitute for a psychologist. The International Coaching Federation (ICF), the international association of coaches, makes this clear in the definition of coaching published by ICF Spain: coaching is not psychology, advice, mentoring or consultancy. If your distress stops you functioning day to day, the first step is your GP or a psychologist.
Nor is it what you need if your priority is finding a job. At CompassHub, coaching is career coaching: CompassHub's team of coaches has more than 15 years in headhunting and works on your job offers and applications. To get started, you fill in the form, join the waiting list and a coach gets in touch when they can.
How to check a transpersonal coach's training
In Spain coaching isn't a regulated profession, and ICF Spain warns that today anyone can present themselves as a coach without the necessary training. That's why it's worth asking for a credential you can verify. According to ICF Spain, the ACC credential requires 60 hours of coach-specific training, the PCC 125 and the MCC 200, plus hours of practice with clients.
Training in transpersonal psychology is no substitute for training in coaching. If in doubt, we explain how to find a coach in Spain and check their credential in the ICF directory.