Could coaching become the next profession to transform public wellbeing?

When people think of pro bono work, they tend to picture lawyers offering free legal advice or doctors volunteering their expertise. Coaching rarely enters the conversation.

Yet thousands of professional coaches donate their time each year to support people navigating some of life's biggest challenges, from carers and NHS staff to community leaders and individuals rebuilding their lives after trauma. Despite its growing impact, pro bono coaching remains largely invisible.

Dr Judie Gannon, from Oxford Brookes University's International Centre for Coaching and Mentoring Studies, wants to change that.

Judie’s Institute of Coaching funded research explores how pro bono coaching is evolving as the coaching profession matures. Based on interviews with coaches, educators, supervisors, charities and professional bodies, the study reveals that giving time freely is not simply an act of generosity. It also plays an important role in professional development, widens access, and strengthens communities.

For new coaches, offering free or reduced-cost coaching provides valuable experience while building confidence and professional accreditation. More experienced practitioners, however, often choose pro bono work for different reasons. Many deliberately seek opportunities outside their usual client base, working with charities or communities whose experiences challenge their assumptions and broaden their practice.

Rather than seeing pro bono work as separate from their careers, many coaches describe it as some of the most rewarding and professionally challenging work they do. But the research also highlights significant challenges.

Unlike medicine or law, coaching remains an unregulated profession with multiple professional bodies and varied routes into practice. Charities that provide coaching often rely on short-term funding, making services hard to sustain. At the same time, coaches need appropriate supervision and training when working with people who may have experienced trauma or significant disadvantage.

The study argues that making coaching more accessible cannot rely on goodwill alone. Instead, professional bodies, universities, and community organisations need to work together to create sustainable models that protect coaches while ensuring high-quality support for those who need it most.

Perhaps the most striking finding is that coaching is not something done to people but with them. Rather than solving problems on someone else's behalf, coaching helps individuals identify their own strengths, resources and direction.

As demand for mental wellbeing, personal development, and community support continues to grow, Gannon believes coaching plays an increasingly important role. The next challenge is ensuring that access to those conversations is not limited by income or opportunity.

Because sometimes, the most powerful intervention is simply having someone ask the right question.