IAC IBC Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Informed consent in coaching

The client's voluntary agreement to coaching after understanding purpose, process, fees, confidentiality and its limits, and the right to withdraw at any time.

Coaching versus therapy boundary

Coaching works with present and future functioning and client-generated action; therapy treats clinical conditions and is delivered by licensed mental health professionals.

Conflict of interest disclosure

Revealing any secondary interest, such as a referral fee or personal tie, that could bias coaching judgment, then removing or managing that influence.

Confidentiality limits

The defined exceptions to client confidentiality, typically imminent risk of serious harm, legal compulsion, and agreed supervision disclosure, stated during contracting.

Core competency groups

The four clusters of coaching competency: ethical practice and mindset, co-creating the relationship, communicating effectively, and cultivating learning and growth.

Dual relationship risk

Holding another significant role with a client, such as employer, family member, or business partner, which can impair objectivity and requires disclosure or referral.

Coaching agreement elements

The written terms covering roles, goals, logistics, fees, confidentiality, cancellation, between-session contact, and conditions for ending the engagement.

Scope of practice statement

A practitioner's declared boundary of competence and service, describing what coaching addresses and when referral to another professional is required.

Three-way contracting

An arrangement where a sponsor pays for coaching while another person is coached; it clarifies what information is shared with the sponsor and what stays confidential.

Referral trigger

A signal that coaching should pause, such as disclosure of clinical symptoms, trauma, or substance dependence, requiring referral to a licensed professional.

Psychological safety

A relational climate where the client can disclose uncertainty, emotion, and mistakes without fear of judgment or consequences from the coach.

Trust repair sequence

Naming the rupture directly, owning the coach's contribution, inviting the client's view, and re-contracting how the relationship will work going forward.

Empathic reflection

Returning the client's underlying meaning or feeling in the coach's words, then checking accuracy, rather than sharing a parallel personal experience.

Presence as trust behavior

Sustained full attention with minimal distraction, consistent timing, and follow-through on commitments, which signals reliability to the client.

Global listening

Attention to the client's whole communication, including tone, pace, emotion, body signals, and what is conspicuously not being said.

Open question design

Questions beginning with what or how that invite exploration and client-generated answers, avoiding why-questions that tend to imply judgment.

Paraphrase structure

A concise return of both content and emotion the coach heard, followed by a check question to confirm accuracy before continuing.

Purposeful interruption

A transparent, named redirection used when continuing would not serve the client, such as halting a repetitive spiral to surface a pattern.

Summarizing function

Consolidating themes and language at openings, checkpoints, and closes to confirm shared understanding and mark movement in the conversation.

SMART goal criteria

A checklist for goal quality: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, applied flexibly rather than as a rigid template.

Outcome versus process goals

Outcome goals name the desired end state; process goals name the recurring behaviors that produce it, and both are needed for sustained change.

Client-generated reframe

A new interpretation of a limiting situation produced by the client through coach questions, preserving ownership rather than imposing coach insight.

Learning zone calibration

Adjusting challenge so the client stretches beyond comfort without tipping into overwhelm, keeping the work productive and safe.

Implementation intention

An if-then plan linking a specific cue to a chosen response, pre-deciding the behavior so follow-through requires less in-the-moment willpower.

Client-owned accountability

Holding the client to commitments the client chose, with the coach asking what support is wanted rather than prescribing obligations.

Setback protocol

Treating a lapse as data: examine the cue and context, adjust the plan, and re-commit without shame or blame.

Small wins strategy

Sequencing early actions to be low-cost and high-probability so quick evidence of progress builds self-efficacy and momentum.

Feedback structure

Describe observed behavior, state its impact, invite the client's perspective, and ask what the client wants to do with the information.

Reflective practice cycle

A repeating sequence of experience, observation of what occurred, analysis of its meaning, and a planned experiment for the next attempt.

Supervision versus therapy

Supervision develops coaching quality and ethical practice through case review; it is not personal therapy and not a performance appraisal.

Outcome measurement design

Agreeing evaluation measures at contracting, such as goal attainment or behavioral indicators, so coaching results can be reviewed against a baseline.

Continuing development portfolio

A documented record of education, supervision, peer practice, and reflective learning used to maintain competence and support credential renewal.