Copyright © 2015 IJIRES, All right reserved 472 International Journal of Innovation and Research in Educational Sciences Volume 2, Issue 6, ISSN (Online): 2349–5219 Life Coaching: A Method for Enhancing Patients’ Emancipation Dr. Ivan Traina Abstract – This paper presents a case study conducted as part of a PhD Thesis on testing Life Coaching as a learning method for fostering emancipation in vulnerable groups (adult patients), using a participatory-action-research approach. The lessons learnt provides empirical insights on the implications for the implementation of non-medical methods that could allow a shift from a situation of passivity (patient care) to a new one of participation to the definition of new objectives or projects of life (active citizenship). This paper was conceived to fulfil an identified need to study and test innovative and non-medical methods for fostering adult patients’ self-determination. Keywords – Active Citizenship, Emancipation, Life Coaching, Self-Determination, Vulnerable Groups. I. INTRODUCTION In this paper I will explore an empirical case study concerning the experimentation of Life Coaching applied in a medical context at the UOSi Multiple Sclerosis Unit of IRRCS Neurological Sciences Institute of Bologna 1 as a non-medical approach aimed at supporting processes of change and enabling patients’ learning and emancipation. This case study - realized with the voluntary participation of four patients and personally conducted by certificated Coach 2 - allowed the testing of Life Coaching, a method of intervention where the role of the person involved is central to the definition of her/his approach to life. It highlights the role of the coaching in a different field, not only for corporate business or sports organizations, as well as the importance of sound coaching research able to be applied also in other contexts (e.g. medical) with different targets (e.g. vulnerable groups). When I refer to the “vulnerable groups” I assume the definition provided by the Social protection and Social Inclusion Glossary of the European DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion 3 . This definition – also adopted also by the European Quality Assurance reference framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) - considers as vulnerable “groups that experience a higher risk of poverty and social exclusion than the general population. Ethnic minorities, migrants, disabled people, the homeless, those struggling with substance abuse, isolated elderly people and children all often face difficulties that can lead to further social exclusion, such as low levels of education and 1 Available at: http://www.ausl.bologna.it/isnb/chi- siamo/lorganizzazione/le-unita-operative/riabilitazione-sclerosi-multipla 2 ACC Certification provided by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Available at: http://www.coachfederation.org/ 3 Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/spsi/vulnerable_groups_en.htm unemployment or underemployment” (EQA VET, unpaged) 4 . The method tested turned out to be more maieutic than rehabilitative, mo re educative than medical. It demonstrated effective support in the processes of changing, learning and emancipation. This experiment covered a period of six months (from September 2013 to February 2014), starting with the identification of participants until the final evaluation of the experience. Participants in the experiment represented a specific population, and not a sample representative of any conditions - or part - of vulnerable groups [11]. For this reason, the realized and observed study considers mainly the processes that people have directly lived and judged. This is especially in relation to the questions about “how and “how much” emancipatory approaches can make the processes of learning easier for vulnerable groups and improve their quality of life despite their health conditions. The intention was to explore how persons in vulnerable situation can face everyday issues, through a non-medical method that focuses on each person’s commitment, learning and level of activity in their role (capability), with a central focus on their needs, desires and objectives. The analysis conducted was organized on three different levels: 1. The first level of analysis involved the development of a theoretical understanding of emancipatory approaches through a deep literature analysis. 2. The subsequent second level of analysis focused on formulating assumptions within an inclusive research approach, including: - A focus on the shift from a system based on the medical model of interventions with vulnerable groups, towards a model based on the Civil and Human Rights approach to disability [15]. - The rejection of deterministic beliefs about disability and associated ideas that exclude the possibility of patients achieving their goals, and therefore shifting from a situation of passivity, sickness and patient care to a new scenario based on the person’s commitment to learning and the elaboration of his/her own project of living. 3. The third level was characterized by interviews, focus groups, formal and informal meetings, coaching sessions and observations. These levels of analysis were used to support a deductive approach to the preliminary analysis of the data [6]. Subsequently a further iterative process was used to reflect on practice through the lens of developing theoretical ideas. This combined a more inductive approach, involving further ideas and concerns relating to 4 Retrieved from: http://www.eqavet.eu/qc/gns/glossary/v/vulnerable- group.aspx