coaching

Inhoudsopgave Had ik dit maar eerder geweten over ACT & Hoogbegaafdheid

Theoretische achtergrond

45-werkvormenboek

Een prikkelend boek dat je laat begrijpen, voelen en ervaren dat hoogbegaafdheid niet altijd een prettig label is om te krijgen. Op basis van de nieuwste wetenschappelijke inzichten neemt Larinda je mee in de wereld van de slimste, de beste en de knapste, die eigenlijk misschien het liefste wel, net als iedereen, gewoon als mens behandeld wil worden. –­Gijs Jansen, ACT opleider en auteur

Dit boek is inspirerend als je meer wilt weten over de life-struggles van mensen met kenmerken van hoogbegaafdheid. Ervaringsverhalen uit Larinda’s coachpraktijk én haar eigen levenservaringen maken dat je direct aan de slag kunt met de koppeling van theorie naar praktijk. Op weg naar meer zelfinzicht en een waardevol leven, ongeacht je achtergrond of levensvisie. Larinda schrijft zoals ze is: deskundig én menselijk. – Cécile de Bruin, Coach/psycholoog met specialisatie ACT

Dit boek bestaat volledig uit niet alleen maar interessante, maar ook leerbare, herkenbare en tot zelfreflectie leidende informatie die mij na dit gelezen te hebben volkomen logisch en tegelijk ook van onschatbare waarde lijkt. Ik zou dit boek zeker aanraden aan iedereen die er interesse in zou tonen omdat iedereen er baat bij heeft. – Sil Noordstrand

This paper makes the case for a theoretically-driven approach to coaching using principles derived from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Mindfulness based Acceptance and Commitment Coaching (ACC) is goal-focused and addresses psychological barriers which hinder performance and exacerbate stress. The approach reduces emotional reactivity and increases acceptance.

This thesis presents a programme of research designed to examine the impact of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) informed performance and development coaching. A preliminary repeated measures study tested the impact of a brief ACT-informed coaching intervention on coachee general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, life satisfaction, intrinsic motivation, goal-directed thinking, goal attainment, and psychological flexibility with 53 UK adults. Data were collected at four time points over 5 weeks. Analyses revealed significant increases in general mental health, life satisfaction, goal-directed thinking, and goal attainment. A randomised controlled trial (RCT) study tested the impact of a more substantial ACT-informed coaching intervention on coachee work performance, general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, job satisfaction, job motivation, goaldirected thinking, goal attainment, and psychological flexibility with 126 senior managers in the UK Civil Service. Participants were randomly allocated to either an ACT-informed coaching intervention (n = 65) or a waitlist control condition (n = 61). Data were collected at four time points over 13 weeks. Analyses showed significant increases in general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, goal-directed thinking, goal attainment, and psychological flexibility in the ACT group compared to the control condition. Consistent with ACT theory, analyses indicated that increases in psychological flexibility mediated improvements in general mental health, generalised self-efficacy, goal-directed thinking, and goal attainment. A final parallel mediation study compared the effects of psychological flexibility and working alliance (a plausible alternative mediator) using data from the coaching arm of the RCT study. These analyses revealed that significant increases in psychological flexibility mediated increases in generalised self-efficacy, goal-directed thinking, and goal attainment. Despite significant increases in working alliance over time, no mediation effects for increases in study variables were found. Overall, findings suggest that ACT-informed coaching is an effective approach to performance and development coaching, and psychological flexibility mediates the beneficial impact of the ACT coaching intervention. 

Acceptance and commitment theory (ACT) and positive psychology are deeply aligned despite their development in different traditions, as both focus on human flourishing and wellbeing. This chapter provides an overview of ACT, highlighting how the theory is applied to coaching in the workplace as acceptance and commitment coaching (ACC). A summary of research demonstrating the impact of ACT-based interventions in the workplace is provided, so practitioners can see the workplace outcomes ACC has an effect on. The chapter outlines the six behavioural processes for building psychological flexibility: Values; committed action; present moment awareness; self-as-context; defusion; and acceptance. The reader is given examples of how to apply the behavioural processes within the framework of ACC. The distinct features of the practitioner stance within ACC are presented, such as disrupting existing behaviours which allows the coachee to develop new, more effective behaviours aligned with their values. The chapter closes with an illustrative case study and discussion points to help the reader reflect on how they can apply ACC in their coaching practice.

Objective
To report the theoretical basis and design of a novel digital Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention for people with chronic pain, the Pain Tracker Self Manager (PTSM), which had promising efficacy in a recent pilot trial.

Methods
Content development by a multidisciplinary panel of experts in psychiatry, clinical psychology, nursing and social work, with feedback from a group of patients with chronic pain and their providers. Materials included paper-based sketching of a story character, visual metaphors, and a series of stories designed to deliver the theory-based components of our behavioral intervention.

Results
This development and design process resulted in 4 digitally delivered clinical modules that combine visual and verbal cues. In addition, it generated a series of novel ACT metaphors specifically tailored to patients with chronic pain: Pain: Injury vs. Threat, Life Navigation System, The Fog of Pain, and Get Rhythm. Consistent with ACT theory and the contextual behavioral science framework, PTSM utilized: perspective-taking, values clarification, acceptance strategies, and nursing and psychological care recommendations.

Discussion
Reports of the design and theoretical basis of digital health interventions are highly needed to increase the rigor of their development process and more progressively advance our body of knowledge. This pilot study developed and tested a series of ACT metaphors that can be readily used by ACT clinicians working with this population.

Conclusion
PTSM is a novel digital ACT intervention for patients with chronic pain with features directly linked to ACT processes and theory.

To find the full text version of this article and others (as well as download a full text .pdf.), ACBS members can visit the ScienceDirect homepage here.

Mobile apps are promising for teaching how to practice psychological skills in high-risk and in vivo momentary situations, but there has been minimal research on the immediate effects of app-based skill coaching on mental health in-the-moment. This study analyzed the mobile app data in a non-clinical sample of 39 adults participating in a larger randomized controlled trial, with participants randomized to an acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) mobile app that tailors skill coaching based on in-the-moment variables (n = 17) or an app that provides randomly selected skill coaching (n = 22). Data were collected before and after each ACT skill coaching session on proximal outcome (depression, anxiety, and engagement in meaningful activity) and ACT process variables. Multilevel models indicated significant immediate improvements on average following ACT skill coaching sessions on all proximal outcome and ACT process variables, although with relatively small effects ranging between 0.17 and 0.27 SD units change. Larger immediate pre-to-post effects from ACT coaching sessions were found for anxiety, experiential avoidance, and cognitive fusion in the tailored app versus random app condition. Overall, results suggest that an ACT app can have immediate, in-the-moment effects on psychological functioning, which may be enhanced by tailoring skills to current context.

As coaching psychology finds its feet, demands for evidence-based approaches are increasing both from inside and outside of the industry. There is an opportunity in the many evidence-based interventions in other areas of applied psychology that are of direct relevance to coaching psychology. However, there may too be risks associated with unprincipled eclecticism. Existing approaches that are gaining popularity in the coaching eld such as dialectic behavioural therapy and mindfulness enjoy close af liation with Contextual Behavioral Science (CBS). In this article, we provide a brief overview of CBS as a coherent philosophical, scientific, and practice framework for empirically supported coaching work. We review its evidence base, and its direct applicability to coaching by describing CBS’s most explicitly linked intervention – Acceptance and Commitment Therapy/Training (ACT). We highlight key strengths of ACT including: its great exibility in regard of the kinds of client change it can support; the variety of materials and exercises available; and, the varied modes of delivery through which it has been shown to work. The article lays out guiding principles and provides a brief illustrative case study of contextual behavioural coaching.