Perceptions of stress and stress interventions in finance organizations: Overcoming resistance towards counselling

This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study conducted to gain further insight into the attitudes of finance organizations towards workplace stress and stress interventions. Semi-structured interviews were used and seven individuals, each representing their organization, participated in the study. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) (Smith, J., Jaraman, M., & Osborn, M. 1999 Smith J Jaraman M Osborn M 1999 Doing interpretative phenomenological analysis In M. Murray & K. Chamberlain (Eds) Qualitative Health Psychology London Sage [Crossref] [Google Scholar] was used to analyse the data. In M. Murray & K. Chamberlain (Eds), Qualitative Health Psychology. London: Sage.) was used to analyse the data. One main theme that emerged was “resistance towards counselling for stress”. This theme and several related sub-themes are discussed, and suggestions to reduce resistance to counselling for stress are presented in a model.     

Measuring Professional Ethics in Coaching: Development of the PISC-Q

Sport is commonly lauded as the ideal place for participants to learn life skills. However, concerns related to the “win-centered” sport culture has spurred research into ethical behaviors in sport. The purpose of the present study was to create a measure of professional ethics in coaching. Students enrolled in a collegiate coaching education course (N = 766) responded to a series of vignettes related to common situations in the coaching profession. Results indicate the Professional Issues in Sport Coaching Questionnaire is an acceptable measure of situation specific professional ethics. Conclusions and directions for future research are discussed.     

Professional learning as ‘diffractive’ practice: rhizomatic peer coaching

Acknowledging an abundance of technicist models for teacher continuing professional development (CPD), the authors draw from Deleuzoguattarian theory to frame peer coaching as rhizomatic practice. Rhizome theory enables engagement with the creative breaks and departures in peer coaching assemblages. Agentic and innovative teacher learning can occur when teachers can take lines of flight to think differently about their teaching practices. Deleuzoguattarian notions of rupturous lines signal teacher-generated possibilities for new initiatives. Located in an Aotearoa/New Zealand facilitated inquiry CPD context, the article explores how nine teachers engaged in a formal process of collaborative dialogue. A rhizomatic approach to dialogue encompasses a dynamic view of teacher learning. Openness to emergence can enable educators to theorise pedagogy creatively to potentiate a multiplicity of pathways forward.     

EVALUATION OF A SOCIAL INTERACTION COACHING PROGRAM IN AN INTEGRATED DAY-CARE SETTING

We used a multiple baseline design across teachers (with a reversal phase for 1 teacher) to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of a structured coaching procedure on the teaching behaviors of 3 day-care teachers. Structured coaching preceding daily caregiver routines resulted in (a) substantial increases in adult delivery of behavioral support of social interaction during group activities with 2- and 4-year-old children and (b) marked collateral increases in positive interactions of socially withdrawn children. Long-term maintenance effects were demonstrated by both the teachers and target children, and social validity measures indicated that the teachers rated coaching very positively on several dimensions. The results are discussed in relation to in-service training of day-care staff, the concept of coaching as a setting event, and the dissemination of teaching technology related to social interaction of young children.     

Intercontinental telehealth coaching of therapists to improve verbalizations by children with autism

This study examined the effects of intercontinental telehealth coaching on the mastery of therapists’ skills and improvements in verbalizations by children with autism, testing whether telehealth can be a solution for underserved communities in developing countries such as Georgia‐Sakartvelo in Eastern Europe. Three therapists delivering and three children with autism receiving early‐intervention services from the nongovernmental organization Children of Georgia in Tbilisi participated. Experimenters provided coaching from Virginia, USA to therapists in Georgia‐Sakartvelo. Observers in Georgia‐Sakartvelo and in Virginia conducted the behavioral observations. We used inexpensive communications technology to provide the coaching and a multiple‐baseline design across participants to evaluate the effects of the intervention. Therapists demonstrated improvements in two classes of behaviors: correct command sequences and positive consequences. The children demonstrated improvements with echoics and mands. The study demonstrated that telehealth can be a good model for delivering early‐intervention services to children with autism in underserved and distant regions of the world.     

Restructuring Metaphors: Using Mental Re-Mapping in Cognitive Coaching

This article outlines different aspects of dealing with metaphors within the cognitive coaching framework. It focuses on the connection between metaphor, language and perception. Metaphors are an intimate part of most linguistic expressions. Since coaching is a structured verbal interaction it involves the exchange of metaphors between a client and a coach. The cognitive coaching literature concentrates mainly on techniques that help clients to pinpoint logical inconsistencies in their thinking. Such techniques have proven to be very helpful, but not all clients have the ability to benefit from this traditional rational disputing. In these situations the coach can make use of another technique, which still derives from cognitive principles. The first part of the article focuses on the theoretical aspects of metaphors as linguistic expressions while the second part addresses a specific client case. Suggestive techniques on how to restructure metaphors are described in connection with the client case.

Three Books that are a Goldmine for Quality-of-Life Therapists

This is a review of three books related to quality-of-life therapy and coaching. The books are: (1) The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky, published by The Penguin Press, 2008; (2) Quality of Life Therapy by Michael Frisch, published by Wiley, 2006; and (3) Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman, published by the Free Press, 2002.     

A behavioral approach to coaching football: improving the play execution of the offensive backfield on a youth football team

Because of the emphasis on winning, the difficulties involved in assessing performance, and the lack of frequent and contingent reinforcement, a behavioral approach to coaching football was used. The players, all nine- or ten-year-old males, were members of an offensive backfield on a Pop Warner football team. Three frequently-run offensive plays were broken down into a series of five behaviorally defined stages, permitting construction of checklists suitable for observing the players during both game and scrimmage sessions. The intervention consisted of the presentation and explanation of the appropriate checklist, and frequent contingent reinforcement in the form of feedback and recognition for instances of desired play execution. Performance gains averaging 20% occurred for each of the three plays after, and not before, the staggered introduction of each intervention. The results suggest that behavioral specification and positive reinforcement of desired play execution is a viable approach to the coaching of football.     

Dimensions of Coaching Behavior, Need Satisfaction, and the Psychological and Physical Welfare of Young Athletes

Grounded in self-determination theory (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 2000), the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of dimensions of coaching behavior to intrinsic need satisfaction and indices of psychological and physical well-being among male adolescent athletes. Participants were 265 British soccer and cricket players (M _age = 16.44). Structural equation modeling analysis, using maximum likelihood robust method, showed athletes' perceptions of autonomy support, mastery focus, and social support from the coach to predict their satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, respectively. The satisfaction of the need for competence emerged as the most important predictor of psychological and physical well-being. The findings suggest that particular aspects of the social environment may be salient for fostering particular psychological needs. The results also underline the importance of perceived competence for the psychological and physical welfare of adolescents in team sports.