With the “rediscovery” of the mind by psychology, the topic of learning took on more importance in understanding why we do what we do. Based on earlier perspectives, learners were passive recipients of teaching. As an emerging pillar supporting coaching, adult learning theory took the lead in shifting the emphasis from a passive to an active, participating learner. During the last part of the 20th century, the teacher became more a facilitator or guide or encourager—more like a coach. Students were encouraged to bring their own experience to the classroom and to take responsibility for setting goals and proactively moving toward them rather than reacting to or merely taking in a predetermined curriculum.

With the neuroscience platform taking shape, this shift continues toward making it possible for coaches and leaders to understand how the brain makes connections, makes decisions, and solves what may sometimes seem to be intractable problems.

Before we begin, we want to make an important point. Many people confuse psychology with psychotherapy. Like biology and medicine, the two fields are related. However, psychology and biology are scientific disciplines. Their adherents conduct research and develop theories to explain their subject matter. Psychotherapy and medicine are applications of those sciences, plus others. Understanding how and why people behave as they do, as in psychology, is not the same as being able to treat a person’s mental illness, as in psychotherapy. There are many psychologists (clinical or counseling psychologists) who practice psychotherapy, just as many physicians, social workers, psychiatric nurses, clinical counselors, and people who call themselves “psychotherapists” do. The practice of psychotherapy has its own history, research, and theory, rooted as much in medicine as in psychology. Therefore, psychotherapy is discussed on its own in part IV.