Press & Publications

Executive Coaching : A Psychodynamic Approach
by Catherine Sandler (McGraw-Hill, 2011)

This book explains one of the key influences on Catherine’s coaching practice, and that of the Sandler Consulting team. The psychodynamic model emphasises the importance of emotions and the unconscious mind in driving human behaviour. The book is packed with examples and case-studies that describe her proactive, practical approach and illustrate how she helps clients overcome longstanding but unhelpful patterns to transform their leadership effectiveness.

The book has attracted considerable interest in the UK and worldwide as executive coaches increasingly seek to work at greater psychological depth and deliver tangible results for clients and their organisations. The book has sold more copies than any other coaching text in the McGraw-Hill list and is recommended reading on most UK coaching training courses.

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Articles by Catherine Sandler

'The 4 D’s’

Click here to read Catherine’s article written in response to a high level of work overload among her current coaching clients. This handout contains a practical model which can help anyone who is struggling with their workload to reset their To Do list and escape from the ‘hamster’s wheel’ of endless activities.

‘Can healthcare leaders provide emotional containment for their staff as COVID-19 levels fall?’
Click here to read. Catherine was asked to write a blog for this online journal which addresses issues relating to leadership in the healthcare sector, BMJ Leader, 3rd June 2020

‘The psychological role of the leader in times of crisis’
Click here to read. The original model shared in this article was originally published in the 2009 journal HR Strategic Review during the economic recession. It has been updated to apply to leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘Developing female leaders: helping women reach the top’
Click here to read this article based on Catherine’s experience of leading Sandler Consulting’s Senior and Talented Women’s Impact Programmes, Journal of Industrial and Commercial Training, 2014

This article received Emerald Publishing’s Literati Outstanding Paper of the year award

‘The new alpha male: working harder than ever, and cracking up’
Click here to read Damian Whitworth’s article featuring Catherine’s coaching of male executives experiencing work-related stress in The Times, 2014

‘Techniques to tackle the workplace bully: understanding the psychology and countering the behaviour’
Click here to read this article, Human Resource Management, 2013

‘Andy Street, the brain behind the rise and rise of John Lewis’
Click here to read profile on Andy Street with comments from Catherine, his executive coach, The Times Magazine, 2013

‘The Emotional Profiles Triangle™: working with leaders under pressure’
Click here to read about Catherine’s model for coaching leaders with different neurological and behavioural responses to stress, Strategic HR Review, 2012

‘Psychodynamics in Practice’
Click here to read this article in Coaching Today, 2012

‘Tackling the explosive bully’
Click here to read this article, HR Magazine, 2012

‘This way out: overcoming unconscious resistance to change’
Click here to read this article in Coaching at Work, 2011

‘How to respond when the truth hurts’
Click here to read Stefan Stern’s column in the Financial Times outlining how John Lewis implemented Catherine’s ‘Diamond Model’ of leadership during the recession of 2009-10

‘How to help leaders manage anxiety’
Click here to read this article, People Management, 2010

‘The psychological role of the leader in turbulent times’
Click here to read this article explaining Catherine’s ‘Diamond Model’ of leadership, Strategic HR Review, 2009

‘Support your leaders in turbulent times’
Click here to read this article in Training & Coaching Today, 2009

‘When the going gets tough, the coach gets going’
Click here to read this article quoting Catherine in Coaching at Work, 2009

‘Give me shelter’
Click here to read this article in Coaching at Work, 2009

Book chapters by Catherine Sandler

‘A psychodynamic approach to coaching’
Chapter in Professional Coaching: Principles and Practice, editors Susan English, Janice Manzi and Philip Brownell, Springer Publishing Company, USA, 2018
For Amazon page click here

‘The use of psychodynamic theory in coaching supervision’
Chapter in Coaching and Mentoring Supervision: Theory and Practice, editors T. Bachkirova, P. Jackson & D. Clutterbuck, Open University Press, 2011
For Amazon page click here

Other articles

‘Resistance vs Acceptance – Managing your Emotional Energy’
Click here to read Rachel Goodwin’s article. Click here for more information about Rachel Goodwin.

  • Catherine's book on executive coaching is part of the Coaching in Practice series published by McGraw-Hill (Open University Press).

  • Catherine's article on the 'Diamond Model of Leadership' in Strategic HR Review outlines the crucial psychological and emotional role that leaders must play during periods of change and uncertainty if they are to optimise the morale and performance of their workforce.

  • This webpage contains information about Catherine's book, articles, interviews in national newspapers and book chapters on a wide range of coaching and leadership-related models. They give readers insight into Sandler Consulting's approach to executive coaching as well as addressing a range of critical issues.

  • 'Developing Women Leaders', Catherine's article on this important issue, won Emerald Publishing's Outstanding Paper award in 2014.

  • Catherine has presented her 'Emotional Profiles Triangle™' model at conferences, coaching training workshops and client events. It identifies three specific ways in which leaders struggle to manage their own emotions and behaviour under pressure and how they can be helped to improve.

  • Bullying at work continues to be a problem in the workplace, impacting individuals and teams and creating a toxic culture. Catherine's articles on this topic shed light on the dynamics involved.

  • Catherine Sandler's book is by far the best and most readable coaching book I have read for quite some time. It provides a unique insight into the actual coaching process with a very clear analysis of what is going on for coach and client at each stage. The explanation of the concepts driving the coach's work makes for a very accessible and practical guide to coaching. The case studies bring the work to life. I would recommend it highly.

  • Executive Coaching: A Psychodynamic Approach is an excellent book and one which I will refer to time and time again in my own practice. Catherine has managed to make a complicated approach very understandable and this is unique in this field. The case studies were very well done and fascinating - we all have clients we recognise in those - and these allowed me to reflect on my own similar clients and what I would do next time to be more effective and take the work to a different level…It will appeal to coaches at all levels.

  • Relx
  • Alix Partners
  • citadel
  • US Rowing
  • Google
  • Channel 4
  • Triton
  • Unilever
  • Elsevier
  • AB World Foods
  • EDF