How to show empathy as a coach: The effects of coaches’ imagine-self versus imagine-other empathy on the client’s self-change and coaching outcome

Cognitive empathy, expressed as either imagine-self (imagining oneself in the other’s situation) or imagine-other (imagining the other person in his/her situation) empathy, is essential for self-change and satisfaction in coaching. In two studies, we investigated the difference between coaches’ imagine-self versus imagine-other empathy. In a survey study ( N 1 = 242), we found that the more important coaches perceived the client’s self-change,...