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The Coaching Voice of Asia Pacific Vol. 3 • Issue 2 • 1 April 2011 www.apacoaches.org Message from Coaching in China – the President thoughts from the psychoanalyst’s couch Dear Fellow Coaches, by Edith Coron Exciting news: APAC is starting to plan for the Second Asia Pacific Coaching Conference lels between the two approaches. (APCC2012) to be co-organized with ICF Singa- Fifteen years ago, the first psychoanalyst in China, Huo Q: After a relatively slow start in pore in the latter part of 2012. This is an oppor- Datong, introduced thethera- China in the early 1900s, psychol- tunity to consolidate and build on the success of peutic cure developed by the ogy was totally forbidden for many APCC2010—also held in Singapore—which saw French psychoanalyst decades. So, how are there now the participation of 300 coaches hailing from all Jacques Lacan to his native several thousand China-based psy- over Asia Pacific. Many helping hands are Chengdu, Sichuan province. chotherapists? needed, so feel free to contact us if you are will- A self-described “young A: Psychotherapy is growing but it ing to participate. red guard” in the early years is still a new phenomenon. The Through our Research & Development of the Cultural Revolution (in history of psychoanalysis and psy- committee, headed by Dr. Ajay Nangalia from the mid 1960s), Huo studied chotherapy is different in the West and in China. In the West, chrono- India, APAC is keenly interested in understand- history and had a passion for scientific theory. He read vo- logically, psychoanalysis came first, ing the distinguishing features of Asian coaching. raciously: the Chinese Clas- then came psychotherapy. In China For example, Asians have traditionally been re- sics, Western philosophers it is the other way around, first luctant to visit psycho-therapists, but we don’t and novelists, and the Marxist psychotherapies were introduced. yet know whether or how this disposition affects canons. His thirst for knowl- Psychoanalysis, which is a lengthier acceptance of coaching in Asia Pacific. Our lead edge and his interest in Freud and more complicated approach, article in this newsletter begins to look at this (whom he first discovered in came later, and even today there an abridged version smug- are only about 15 psychoanalysts area. Chinese traditions of talking, confiding and seeking The APAC Newsletter is our members’ gled clandestinely from Hong advice are different from those in the West in China. voice. It is circulated to the membership and, for Kong) eventually brought him Major cultural differences between East and West also come into play. To talk with a those who have an interesting Asian coaching, is to Paris, France. There he studied psychoanalysis and underwent therapy himself, without which he stranger about one’s intimate problems is still not com- available on our website: www.apacoaches.org . could not be a practitioner. Back in China since mon practice in Asia. In Europe, in the West, there is a We always welcome your comments and feed- 1996, not only has he opened the first psychoana- long tradition whose origins we can arguably trace back back, which will be used to improve our newslet- lytical training centre in China but he has also un- to the Christian tradition of talking with the pastor, the ter and our organisation. dertaken to adapt the theoretical basis of psycho- confessor. In Asia, when we enter a temple, being Bud- Woraphat Arthayukti analysis to suit China. dhist or Taoist, we do not talk about our intimate prob- lems with the monks. Our tradition is to keep our prob- APAC President Coaching, also a Western model of individual development, is gaining ground fast in Asia, par- lems to ourselves. [email protected] ticularly in China. Huo Datong reflects on the paral- Q: What are the other reasons people are still reluc- The Coaching Voice of Asia Pacific We welcome ideas and submissions for future editions Vol. 3 • Issue 2 • 1 April 2011 of the APAC newsletter www.apacoaches.org Please contact [email protected] tant to consult a therapist? Q: How, as coaches, can we take this into account A: The Freudian and Lacanian theories highlight when working with Chinese professionals who bear this the importance of the father. It is the image of family and social pressure? Congratulations to God. They look for the cause of problems in the A: You must ask people why they have this strong APAC member, relationship with the father. In China we do noth- desire for success. Through the understanding of what ave these beliefs, our founding- motivates their desire for success Frank Bresser, myths are different. So I am they can find solutions in their work. inventing a new interpretation Your job as a coach is also to give recipient of the of Freud and Lacan. people personal support. In China The relationship between- personal relationships are important; ‘Global HR Excellence parents and children is different the closeness between the coach and Award 2011 ’ in the West and in the East. For the coachee can be anchored in the example, in the West a child is Chinese tradition of strong relation- Frank is an organisational coaching consultantS, spe- left on his own in a room at a ship building. I believe that in this cialising in the implementation and optimization of very young age; in China chil- personal relationship, people can coaching programmes. He received his prize in the dren sleep with their parents Coaches cannot simply refer open up. You bring them a personal, category ’Strategic Leadership’ at the World Human until they are around 6 years private support they badly need. Resources Development Congress in Mumbai on 11 old. The matrimonial relation- to Western work models… Q: In a recent survey we conducted Feb 2011. ship is also perceived differ- (EUCC- APAC) we found that most ently, it is dominant in the they have to be coachees in China expect, to some de- According to the jury, “his leadership and contribu- West, in China it’s the filial rela- combined gree, that the coach will play the role tion is well-known. The position that he occupies in tionship that prevails. of adviser/mentor. This runs against the fraternity is strategic and iconic. As a thinker and In his book “China on the with traditional the Western model of the role of the doer he is a role model and a believer in change.” couch” (published in French by coach, what do you think about that? Plon, Paris, 2008 as “La Chine Chinese models. A: Chinese society is a society in tran- sur le Divan, entretiens avec sition. Western work models co-exist Dorian Malovic”), Huo explains with traditional models, and many people are lost. They HELP APAC G-R-O-W… how the universal myths of Oedipus and Narcissus come to you as coaches to ask for help. It is necessary to do not resonate fully in China. Huo defines the combine both models. Today, we Chinese are neither • A global voice for Asia’s myth of birth, the myth of the Son of the Sky as Westerners nor traditional Chinese, we find ourselves in coaches the founding myth in China. many work situations that are totally new, we do not • Unique regional community Q: What is the impact on individuals of the know what to do. As coaches, you cannot simply refer to • Professional development & support rapid transformation of China, its Westernization, Western work models, even in the coaching relationship. • Research & development to a certain extent? They have to be combined with traditional Chinese mod- insights A: There is a double phenomenon: the one child els. It has to be re-invented and somehow that is also policy and the social pressure for success. Why do your responsibility as coaches. Chinese society is in the Share the benefits; sign up your I want to succeed? Why is it so important? For midst of shaping this model and coaches have to be part colleagues today! whom do I have to succeed, for myself or for my of it. parents? Nowadays all the parents’ hopes are Contact: transferred and concentrated on one child. Edith Coron, ACC—edith.coron@ eoc-intercultural.com KF Tang on [email protected] The Coaching Voice of Asia Pacific We welcome ideas and submissions for future editions Vol. 3 • Issue 2 • 1 April 2011 of the APAC newsletter www.apacoaches.org Please contact [email protected] will be to others, and lays out the action for Serenity in the Midst of Chaos us to take. Often narratives can best be ex- by James Flaherty pressed in metaphors and I am suggesting two that may help explain our current state. This article is an expansion of an APAC teleconference on this A top – always moving and spinning, falling if it topic that took place 16 February 2011. stops for even a moment. A runner – dashing full speed toward a mirage that always recedes into the distance. No coach, consultant, executive or manager needs What personal identity, social relationships and ac- evidence showing that their world is fast moving, tions would follow from these narratives? Here are some complex, unpredictable and full of dynamic change. consequences that I’ve found from these narratives: The confluence of communication technologies and Our practices wear us out the global marketplace—which fosters intense com- - Juggling many things at once petition, 24-hour work cycles and relentless - Not fully engaging in, or disengaging from, what travel—leaves many of us with lives that can feel we’re doing. overwhelming, out of control and chaotic.

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