Coaching on HopeNow is client-led, forward-looking, and distinct from counselling or therapy. These guidelines set the standards every coach is expected to uphold — on competence, ethics, safety, and commercial conduct.
Framework alignment — Informed by the ICF Code of Ethics · EMCC Global Code of Ethics · DPDP Act, 2023 · India's consumer protection and tele-consultation norms
Coaching is not crisis care. Stay on the call, escalate to emergency services (112) or a crisis helpline, and refer on. See section 3 for the full protocol.
Open the crisis helpline pageSection 1
Coaching is not therapy. Know the line, name it for the client, and refer when the presentation crosses it.
Coaching on HopeNow is defined as a structured, client-led partnership that supports a client in setting goals, generating insight, and taking action. It is not treatment for a mental disorder. Coaches who blur that line — however well-intentioned — expose clients to harm and themselves to liability.
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A useful working rule: if the work is about healing from the past or managing a mental disorder, it is likely therapy. If the work is about moving towards a chosen future, it is coaching. When you are unsure, refer — HopeNow's Referrals feature makes this easy.
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Section 2
Every engagement starts with an explicit written agreement — scope, fees, confidentiality, and the limits of both.
The coaching agreement is your professional anchor. It says what you do, what it costs, what the client can expect, and what lies outside the engagement. A weak agreement is the single biggest source of coaching disputes.
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Section 3
Coaching is not crisis care. Know the signs that warrant referral, and what to do if a client is in acute distress during a session.
Coaches are not trained to hold clinical risk. When a coaching session reveals more than the engagement can safely hold, the professional response is to pause, name it with the client, and refer.
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Section 4
Keep the coaching relationship clean — no dual relationships, no personal contact outside sessions, no exceptions.
The coaching relationship carries its own power dynamic, especially in executive and performance contexts. Boundaries protect the client's autonomy and your professional integrity.
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Section 5
Online delivery has its own obligations — verification, environment, tech, and what to do when things fail.
Tele-coaching is the default on HopeNow. These standards apply to every video, phone, or chat session.
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Section 6
Client data stays on HopeNow. The DPDP Act makes you a data fiduciary with real obligations.
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, treats personal information shared in coaching engagements — including goals, work context, relationships, and any health details — as personal data. Coaches are data fiduciaries.
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Section 7
Coaches who don't get supervised drift. Maintain supervision and demonstrable CPD.
Coaching looks easier than it is. Ongoing supervision and CPD are what keep a practice sharp, safe, and honest.
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Section 8
Transparent pricing, on-platform payments, clean referrals, honest marketing.
Coaching is a commercial relationship. The way you handle money signals how you handle everything else.
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Section 9
Clients have a right to complain. HopeNow has a process. Engage with it in good faith.
How you respond to a complaint tells HopeNow and your clients more about your practice than how you respond when things go well.
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Start in your coaching supervision, then bring it to our practitioner support team. We'd rather talk it through early.