32 The Coaching Psychologist, Vol. 17, No. 1, June 2021 Article Exploring the need for an indigenous coaching psychology for the Middle East: A panel discussion at the International Psychology Conference Dubai (IPCD) Silvia King, Christian van Nieuwerburgh, Lucy Bolton, Alia Al Serkal, Lina El Assaad & Maya Mattar Is coaching different in the Middle East than in the rest of the world and, if so, do we need an indigenous coaching psychology (CP) for the region? The answer of a panel discussion at the IPCD conference in Dubai was ‘yes, and’. Several distinct differences in the coaching process emerged from the conversation. Some of these differences centred on how trust and safety are created in the regional culture. Another part contrasted regional and Western understanding of coaching itself. All members of the panel indicated the need for coaches to increase their awareness for the coachee culture and the role of cultural facets in the creation of the coaching relationship. A general outline for future directions for CP in the Middle East emerged around education of coaches and coachees, understanding their lived experiences, creating an evidence-base for the coaching in region and ways to evolve coaching research and practice. Rather than simply serving a cultural ‘niche’, such developments have the potential to enrich global CP. Keywords: Middle East; coaching; indigenous; coaching psychology; culture. I NCREASED awareness of diversity and inclusion globally raises the question of the appropriateness of a predominantly Western (see Abbott & Salomaa, 2016) coaching psychology and practice in non-‘WEIRD’ contexts (i.e. not Western, educated, industrialised, rich and demo- cratic; Henrich et al., 2010) and whether more culturally sensitive approaches might be needed (van Nieuwerburgh, 2016). One approach proposed for psychology is that of indigenous psychology (IP; for an over- view see Allwood, 2018). At the Interna- tional Psychology Conference Dubai (IPCD) 2020, hosted virtually and supported by Heriot-Watt University Dubai, four panellists and two co-moderators discussed if indig- enous coaching psychology (CP) is needed for the Middle East. To that end, the state of play of coaching in the region and future directions for coaching psychology practice and research were explored. The theoretical basis of the discussion The concept of IP is not without criticism (e.g. Jahoda, 2016), not least because – as also proponents suggest – no single defini- tion appears to exist (Sundararajan, 2019). However, for the purpose of this panel, IP was considered as a culturally appropriate psychology for and from the regional culture through a process of indigenisation (Adair, 2006) of non-regional coaching practice and research through adaptation from without and within. For then implies building on existing knowledge from around the world and customising it; from implies that practi- tioners and researchers from the Middle East