Coaching Psychology International. © Society for Coaching Psychology, 2009.
Coaching and Coaching Psychology in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Igor Krnetic, MA, MSCP, AEI Associate Fellow & Certified RE&CBT Supervisor
Keywords: coaching, coaching psychology, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
P A G E 1 5
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1
Coaching is still mostly an unrecognized profession in Bosnia
and Herzegovina (BiH), and coaching psychology is an unde-
veloped field. Psychology is generally a very young profession
and scientific area of study in BiH.
BiH got its first MA in psychology in 1975. The Departments of
Psychology were opened at the University of Sarajevo in 1989,
and at the University of Banja Luka in 1994. Before this, the
only psychology training was a joint pedagogy/psychology BA,
taught at the Faculty of Pedagogy. Many see this late start due
to the Communist Party’s suspicion of psychologists’ abilities to
effect personal
change, promote
freedom and self-
determination, and the belief that they supported political reform
(Adler, Mueller & Ayat, 1993; Milosavljevic, 2002; Krnetic &
Pasic, 2005; Corkalo-Biruski, Jerkovic, Zotovic & Krnetic,
2007).
At the beginning of the nineties, after the breakdown of the So-
cialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, psychology in BiH has
started to develop intensively. This especially referred to crisis
interventions with acutely traumatized persons caused by war
loss and work on overcoming prolonged traumas with refugees
and persons with PTSD. After the war, NGOs developed and
implemented numerous psychosocial projects and the first pri-
vate psychological practice began with work in Banja Luka in
2004 (Krnetic & Pasic, 2005).
Considering the fact that psychology in BiH is a relatively young
profession compared to the other European countries, it is not
surprising at all that seeking the psychological help and support
– such as for treating psychopathology (psychotherapy) or cop-
ing with emotional and interpersonal problems (couns