FAQ
A mix of questions about clean processes and questions about the services we offer. If you have a question that's not listed here, please contact us. We're happy to help.
Topics
General
- What is the ICF and how does it relate to clean coaching?
- What is Symbolic Modelling?
- What is Clean Language?
- What is Clean Space?
- What is Systemic Modelling?
- What is Emergent Knowledge?
- What is the Whirly Gig?
- Who was David Grove?
- What is Clean Feedback?
- What does the ‘clean’ in Clean Language stand for?
- Who are Penny Tompkins and James Lawley?
- Can Clean Language be used for things other than coaching or therapy?
Training
- I want to come on a course, but the dates don’t work for me.
- Can I learn Clean Language in French or German?
Coaching
Payments
What is the ICF and how does it relate to clean coaching?
ICF stands for International Coaching Federation, a leading global organisation for coaches
and coaching. The ICF is dedicated to advancing the coaching profession by setting high
standards, providing independent certification, and building a worldwide network of trained
coaching professionals.
The ICF defines coaching as: “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative
process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential. The
process of coaching often unlocks previously untapped sources of imagination, productivity
and leadership.”
What is Symbolic Modelling?
Symbolic Modelling was created by Penny Tompkins and James Lawley when they worked with and observed David Grove over several years, to discover what he was doing to achieve his phenomenal results. They combined David’s ideas with ideas from the fields of cognitive linguistics, systems thinking and NLP to produce a model which could be taught to others to enable them to achieve the same kinds of results as David.
What is Clean Language?
Clean Language is a simple set of questions developed by counselling psychologist David Grove. These questions are used with a person’s own words to direct their attention to some aspect of their own experience. Asking these questions in the right context often results in an interesting new insight or the recognition of some new possibility. And if that new possibility is then questioned using Clean Language, the result can be quite profound. Clean questions invite people to consider their experience from different perspectives and they are often surprised by their own capacity to generate new, powerful and useful ideas about their own experience.
What is Clean Space?
Clean Space is a facilitation process that emerged out of David Grove's continued search for a way to facilitate clients effectively and efficiently to do the personal work they need to do with the least possible interference from a facilitator.
In a Clean Space session, the facilitator invites the client to find different physical spaces (usually in a room, although it can be anywhere) to represent different aspects of their thinking. The client moves from space to space, pausing in each one to consider what they know there. In this way, they build up a network of connections between the many thoughts, feelings and ideas in their mind and body.
What is Systemic Modelling?
Systemic Modelling is an approach for supporting groups to use clean questions and metaphor models to better understand one another and to develop the skills and capability to collaborate meaningfully.
What is Emergent Knowledge?
Emergent Knowledge is one of the last processes developed by David Grove before his untimely death in 2008. It is a process of self-discovery which involves the iterative use of clean questions.
What is the Whirly Gig?
The Whirly Gig is actually a gyroscope with a seat that can be moved through 360°. It was devised by David Grove as a way to enable people to orient themselves at any position within 3D space and find out what they know there. David postulated that experiences and traumas are laid down in the body, and that therapies which involve sitting and talking do not allow the body access to those memories, because the body is not in the right position.
Who was David Grove?
David Grove was the creative genius who developed Clean Language, Clean Space and Emergent Knowledge - the clean approaches upon which the entire field of ‘clean’ has been built.
What is Clean Feedback?
Clean Feedback is a way of giving someone (or yourself) feedback that is likely to be acted upon. This is because it separates out what actually happened from what you are making up about that event and from the impact it is having.
What does the ‘clean’ in Clean Language stand for?
When people first hear the term 'Clean Language', they often think it means 'no swearing'. But 'clean' actually refers to the intention of a facilitator to keep their assumptions to a minimum. We achieve this by making sure everything we say and do is related to what a client has said or done.
Who are Penny Tompkins and James Lawley?
Penny Tompkins and James Lawley are the developers of Symbolic Modelling, an outcome-based approach to working with individuals using Clean Language to encourage the conditions for change.
Can Clean Language be used for things other than coaching or therapy?
People in all kinds of professions are using Clean Language to: foster better relationships; get clear about project requirements; run meetings more efficiently; listen well; and so on. To give you an idea, here are just a few of the things that have happened in the twenty-five years since David Grove's book, Resolving Traumatic Memories, was written:
I want to come on a course, but the dates don’t work for me.
You can sign up for our newsletter to hear about new dates. Or get together with a group of 6 or more others and email us or call us on 023 9221 5355 to find a suitable time for us to come to you and tailor the course to your needs.
Can I learn Clean Language in French or German?
If you would like to learn Clean Language in French or German, please contact us to discuss your needs (for example, whether you wish to learn Symbolic Modelling, Clean Coaching or Systemic Modelling) - and we’ll put you in touch with the relevant trainer.
How many clean coaching sessions will I need?
We encourage our clients to decide for themselves how many sessions they need, as they go along. We work from the premise that everyone is different and that what works for one person may not work for another - including the number of sessions you need and how often.
How soon can I start my coaching?
It depends on our schedules. If we’re away training or working on a project, it may be a week or two before you can start your coaching sessions. But we may be able to fit you in within a few days. So please contact us to find out our availability.
Can I pay by instalments?
Yes, you can pay by monthly instalments. Please email Emily Edwards via our contact form to arrange this with her.
Can I pay by BACs?
Yes. If you'd like to do this, we will send you an invoice for the event you'd like to book which will have our account details on it. Please email Emily Edwards via our contact form providing your name, address, phone number and the event you would like to book.