This is a great book if you want to understand coaching from a wide variety of psychological perspectives and treatment methods. Examples of coaching two clients from a variety of methods is particularly and enlightening.

I would highly recommend this to someone who want to know what life coaching is, and how it is done.This is a great value which touches on all the major issues and questions. Also.the questions are great.

The classic life coaching book written by the founders of the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). It is very practical. Personally, I don't think the ideas are quite as well articulated as in my top choices, but the coactive method is still the most influential life coaching method.

This is an excellent book for career coaching by the founder of a career coaching school. Very accessible and, in my opinion, more comprehensive than the classic "What Color is My Parachute."

Like her work on Coaching Business Development,"Coaching Yourself to a New Career" is filled with insight and encouragement. If you are searching for an ideal career or calling, or just trying to glean more meaning out of where you are, this is a great place to start.

Nice, practical workbook on life coaching by one of the leaders of CTI. Some good exercises. Sees coaching as evolving out of the the self help movement. It Does do a good job on differentiating between therapy and coaching.

Very readable and fine tuned book on corporate variants of the life coaching model. If someone wishes to get into the most lucrative side of coaching, then this is a great place to start.

More from the pop psych side of coaching, but very helpful in identifying and neutralizing self sabotaging thoughts and actions (i. e., gremlins) that keep us from happiness and success. The illustrations are great.

This is a very approachable and practical work on the use of emotional intelligence. There are several well done case studies. This fleshes out the more theorical and research oriented "Emotional Intelligence" book by Daniel Goleman. It is a valuable addition to any coaches toolbook, and also very helpful to the general reader who wants to improve the quality of his life.

Wilber has written widely on psychology, philosophy, and new age, and other, spirituality. He is quite charismatic. This, and other of his books and lectures, espouse a holistic and humanistic worldview, which provides a theoretical and practical foundation that underlies much of the coaching profession.

A major disciple of Carl Rogers, and a former professor of mine, Gendlin enhanced client centered psychology tremendously. His focusing method encapsulates the reflecting techniques that is used in most of the better coaching methodologies (e. g. Pat William's Work; Coactive Coaching).

Seligman is the father of the relatively recent Positive Psychology movement, as well as major luminary in Cognitive Psychology. Positive Psychology is akin to coaching and the self help movement. However, Positive Psychology adds an additional layer of theoretical (and scientific) rigor that many coaching initiatives lack.

I was a student of Csikesentmilzmalyi when he was developing his flow theory at the University of Chicago (an exciting time!). Flow's emphasis on intrinsically rewarding experience, and related attitudes underlies much of the best coaching.

This thought provoking and superb book was suggested to me by the very innovative New Venture's West. It is much deeper and more theoretical than most of my suggestions. It's main thesis is that, unlike scientific rationalists and religious moralists, we should not fear our passions but embrace them and let them lead us to a more fulfilling life.

Karen Horney was an excellent writer and psychoanalyst. In this work she gives examples of transference and counter transference, which refers to a an analyst, or analysand, projecting issues or ideals on to each other . This process is universal, and is particularly potent in coaching, although rarely understood.