Online group coaching: the experience of postgraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

Since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been an increase in the use of online platforms across different sectors and industries. Coaching has been no different, with clients and coaches swapping face-to-face for online sessions. The existing literature concerning online and group coaching remains scarce and there is no existing research into online group coaching used as a pastoral intervention for students in higher education. As the need for online support arose during the Covid-19 pandemic, this qualitative research was set up to explore the experience of postgraduate students taking part in such a programme. The study was conducted using interpretative phenomenological analysis to further the understanding of how postgraduate students experience, and potentially benefit from, online group coaching. Four group coaching sessions were delivered weekly, with the first session lasting one hour and the remaining three lasting one and a half hours. The analysis identified four main themes: experiencing a safe environment, connection with the group, self-awareness, and considering different perspectives. Coachees reported that the online group coaching was useful as it provided a supportive and safe environment for them to share and work through the challenges they were facing. Participants also noted that the emotional connection with the group allowed them to feel heard and able to express their individual (and sometimes difficult) experiences, which they found beneficial. This study expands the existing body of knowledge on group coaching, specifically adding to the understanding of how online group coaching can be a useful intervention to support postgraduate students.

KEYWORDS:

• Group coaching
• coaching
• online coaching
• higher education

Implications for practitioners

This contribution has direct relevance for coaching practitioners and those interested in group work. It allows practitioners to better understand how postgraduate students experience and benefit from online group coaching programmes, which could be useful as an addition to existing services provided to support students.

Tangible implications:

• Helping the group to create a safe environment is a key aspect of the group process.

• Online group coaching can help postgraduate students, regardless of their location, develop connections with their peers and foster a sense of belonging, which may support individual and social wellbeing.

Working in groups helps students to increase self-awareness, which may have implications for self-development and growth.

Introduction

Group coaching has the potential to support individuals and organisations across sectors and in a variety of contexts. Studies show that it can be an effective intervention for fostering connection and collaboration, whilst being scalable and cost-effective. These factors can influence the reach of coaching across a wider population, making it more sustainable than individual coaching alone (Armstrong et al., 2013; Nacif, 2021).

Despite emerging evidence pointing to the advantages of group coaching, empirical studies remain scarce, including those that explore the experience of coachees taking part in online coaching groups. Although virtual coaching is not a new phenomenon, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the use of online platforms in coaching (Passmore & Evans-Krimme, 2021), as it did in both people’s professional and private lives (Office of National Statistics, 2022).

The current study aims to further the understanding of how postgraduate students experience and benefit from online group coaching as a pastoral intervention, provided as a non-directive and open space that students can use to discuss anything they need to help them navigate personal challenges and/or achieve their goals during the Covid-19 pandemic. The coaching programme was offered to postgraduate university students as an additional support service as they progressed through their studies during the trying circumstances that the pandemic brought about. It was recognised that students needed extra support as they faced new stressors around their mental and social health (Bouchey et al., 2021). The objective was to provide an open space for students to explore and work through their personal challenges and aspirations. There was no pre-determined outcome attached to the coaching programme, and each individual had freedom to use the coaching space to suit their needs.

One of the difficulties in studying group coaching is the lack of consensus in the literature about the definition of group coaching, a term that has been used to describe a range of distinct interventions, from facilitation, training and peer-to-peer coaching, to small group processes (O’Connor & Cavanagh, 2017). Considering the limited empirical evidence available in this area, those engaged in researching this topic explain the nature and format of group coaching for their studies. For the purposes of this paper, group coaching has been defined as ‘a collaborative and time-limited small-group process in which a professionally trained coach uses coaching principles and approaches to work with a group of individuals on their own personal goals and/or outcomes’ (Nacif, 2021, p. 172). Accordingly, in this study, the group coaching programme was delivered to two different groups who took part in four weekly sessions led by one qualified coach, whose role included holding the collective space for participants to explore their experience, whilst deploying coaching techniques to support the group process (Van Dyke, 2014) and the individuals in it.

This approach is distinct from interventions which are more similar to learning sets, one-to-one coaching in a collective environment where clients take turn being coached, and/or are too short to allow the group process to be established. These interventions would be more suitably explored under a different category, such as group work.

Group coaching

Group coaching has proven to have a positive impact in various settings, such as health (Whitley, 2013), social care (Chenoweth et al., 2016), education (Fettig & Artman-Meeker, 2016; Torbrand & Ellam-Dyson, 2015) and leadership development (Bonneywell, 2017; Flückiger et al., 2017; Ward, 2008). Some of these studies used a similar approach to the one proposed in this paper. In other words, the coaching was delivered to a small group over a number of sessions, using the group process and coaching techniques to support individuals to achieve personal goals and/or outcomes. Other studies were based on shorter group interventions, such as a one one-hour coaching session (Mühlberger & Traut-Mattausch, 2015), or a one-day session (Ward, 2008).

Among the studies that used a similar approach to this research are Chenoweth et al. (2016), Whitley (2013) and Stelter et al. (2011). In Chenoweth’s study (2016), the group coaching was delivered over ten 2-hour sessions by dementia carer support nurses and social workers who received training in carer coaching. Whitley (2013) investigated a group coaching intervention designed to support people with long-term health conditions, which was delivered in two-hour stints over five sessions. Stelter and colleagues (2011) used a narrative-collaborative group coaching model in a programme delivered in eight 90-minute sessions over a period of 12 weeks, to groups of four to six people led by a trained coach. The results of their research point to significant positive impact on the scores for social recovery and general wellbeing of participants. In fact, mental health and wellbeing are recurrent themes in the extant group coaching literature (Grant, 2003; Gyllensten et al., 2020; Stelter et al., 2011; Varley, 2021). Studies have demonstrated the positive impact of group coaching on the wellbeing of specific client groups, including individuals going through gender transition (Grajfoner, 2009), young people (Barry et al., 2017; Stelter et al., 2011) and paramedics (Barody, 2016).

All the aforementioned studies were delivered in person. An example of an online intervention is the study of a six-month online group coaching aimed at reducing burnout and increasing self-compassion among female resident physicians (Thurmon et al., 2022). The results of this randomised controlled trial of 101 participants showed a statistically significant reduction in the emotional exhaustion subscale of burnout compared with the control group. This was a hybrid online programme, which included twice-a-week group coaching sessions online, a forum where participants could write and ask for written support from a coach, and self-study modules on topics such as goal setting, growth mindset, receiving critical feedback, impostor syndrome, and perfectionism.

Organisational literature

Gyllensten et al. (2020), who conducted a study into executive group coaching, found that levels of anxiety and stress decreased more in the coaching group compared to the control group. This was a quasi-experimental study where participants in the coaching group (N = 16) attended a different number of group sessions, varying between one and a maximum of ten sessions (p. 81). The emerging themes from Gyllensten et al.’s research also included self-awareness and courage, taking different perspectives, space for reflection and creativity, and group engagement. The latter can be explained by universality (Yalom, 1995), a concept that helps people understand that they are not alone, and, particularly, that other people have similar experiences to theirs, which has also been highlighted in other studies (Nacif, 2021; Varley, 2021). This sense of not being alone can be supported by the power of shared narratives (Jackson & Bourne, 2020; Nacif, 2021) and by fostering psychological safety (Edmondson & Lei, 2014), which gives coachees a sense of connectedness (Jackson & Bourne, 2020).

Group coaching has also proven to be an effective tool to support leadership development (Bonneywell, 2017; Florent-Treacy, 2009; Flückiger et al., 2017; Kets de Vries, 2005; Kets de Vries, 2014; Reid, 2012; Ward, 2008). Bonneywell’s original research (2016) investigated the impact of both one-to-one and group coaching interventions. Reid’s study (2012), which investigated the impact of group coaching on leadership effectiveness in South African women managers, revealed that the main effects of group coaching were ‘an increased awareness of self (and what matters to self); learning through external input and feedback; sharing and support (through safety, empathy and identification); and a sense of direction or ‘game-plan’’ (p.80). A recent study (Sutton & Crobach, 2022), which set out to evaluate the impact of group coaching on self-awareness and work engagement, showed that ‘group coaching resulted in substantial improvements in the positive outcomes of self-awareness (reflective self-development, acceptance of self and others, proactivity at work) as well as reductions in emotional costs’ (p. 43).

Group coaching in higher education

Only three studies specifically designed to investigate group coaching as a support mechanism for postgraduate students were identified, none of which were delivered online. The most recent one (Varley, 2021) tested the effects of group coaching on PhD students’ progress and wellbeing. The results showed increased self-thought leadership, self-efficacy, self-compassion, and hope in participants, whilst reducing stress levels (Varley, 2021). The programme was delivered over six sessions by a qualified coach. Participants reported increased self-awareness and positive change in mindset, developed through reflections and new perspectives.

Other empirical studies include research into a group coaching intervention based on solution-focused therapy (Grant, 2003) delivered to 20 graduate students. Findings showed enhanced mental health and quality of life among the participants. Another study (Kearns et al., 2008) explored the use of group coaching to tackle self-sabotaging behaviour among PhD students. The programme was based on cognitive–behavioural principles and it included a training element, making it a hybrid example that cannot be directly compared with group coaching interventions as defined by the current paper.

It is clear that, despite the limited body of knowledge, some strong themes and patterns are beginning to emerge from the extant literature on group coaching. When comparing the results of the empirical studies across different sectors and demographics, group coaching seems to increase self-awareness, help coachees consider new perspectives, and improve their mental health and wellbeing. Such benefits could be equally important for postgraduate students. Moreover, given the increased use of online environments in higher education, online group coaching can arguably add value to an existing suite of support services provided to students. Therefore, this first study into online group coaching as a pastoral intervention for master’s level university students seeks to explore students’ experiences of this particular coaching modality, with a view to understand its potential impact.

Methodology

A qualitative methodology using an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Smith et al., 2009) approach was chosen as being suitable to explore the experience of postgraduate students and the potential benefits of online group coaching during difficult times. IPA studies are concerned with understanding individual subjective experiences and are usually conducted among small research samples, with members of a similar background, to allow inductive learning (Hefferon & Gil-Rodriguez, 2011).

Participants

Coachees were recruited amongst students undertaking an MSc programme in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology at the University of East London (UEL). Students on the MSc programme received an email invitation to take part in the online group coaching programme delivered as part of this research. Eleven participants registered their interest and two coaching groups were formed, with six participants in one group and five participants in the other.

Procedure and data collection

Four co-researchers were involved in this study and took various roles during the research process, as per table below:

Table

Researcher A	Coached one of the groups Carried out initial coding Contributed to the analysis Contributed to the write-up of the paper
Researcher B	Coached one of the groups Carried out initial coding Contributed to the analysis Contributed to the write-up of the paper
Researcher C	Carried out all semi-structured interviews Checked coding Contributed to the analysis Contributed to the write-up of the paper
Researcher D	Checked coding Responsible for the analysis Contributed to the write-up of the paper

Researchers A and B, who are qualified coaches, led one coaching group each, using a positive psychology coaching approach. They had no prior contact or relationships with the participants. Their role included holding the collective space for participants to explore their experience, whilst deploying coaching techniques to support the group process. The coaching programme included four sessions, with the initial meeting lasting for 60 min and the subsequent three weekly sessions lasting 90 min. Participants were invited to participate in the semi-structured interviews following the completion of the programme and five agreed to take part, two participants from one group and three from the other group. This study used semi-structured interviews because they ‘allow the researcher and the participant to engage in a dialogue in real time. They also give enough space and flexibility for original and unexpected issues to arise, which the researcher may investigate in more detail with further questions’ (Pietkiewicz & Smith, 2014, p. 364).

These interviews were carried out by researcher C, who was not involved in the delivery of the group coaching sessions. An interview schedule, based on the participants’ experience of group coaching (‘tell me about this group coaching experience’), was used. The focus of the interview was to explore the lived experience of the participants (Hefferon & Gil-Rodriguez, 2011; Smith et al., 2009) and further prompts, including questions about participants feelings, personal objectives, what they found useful-less useful and/or beneficial, were used when necessary.

Data analysis

All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim to ensure rigour in the analysis process and the transcripts were imported into the qualitative research software NVIVO, which was used for the analysis. The research team met regularly to encourage the reflexivity of individuals and the group (Larkin & Thompson, 2012). A summary of the main contributions of the philosophers whose work underpins IPA, including Husserl, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty and Sartre (Smith et al., 2009), was created and shared to ensure that all researchers worked from the same point of reference. Data was initially coded by two members of the research team (researchers A and B) and their initial audit trail was checked by another two research team members (researchers C and D) to further develop the themes. All four research team members subsequently convened to discuss all themes in greater detail. This allowed a wealth of support in carrying out in-depth analysis and challenging implicit assumptions by individual researchers.

Findings

The study set out to explore the experiences of postgraduates involved in an online group coaching programme delivered during the Covid 19 pandemic. As participants described their experience of the group coaching programme, main themes emerged, which seem to reflect common perceptions of the work in the group. IPA interpretative analysis led to four main themes and one sub-theme being identified. Participants experienced a safe environment, provided by the group, in which to explore one’s life at that particular time. There also seemed to be a connection among group members, which supported self-awareness and the exploration of different perspectives.

Four main themes and one subordinate theme emerged from the analysis and are displayed in Table 1. Each main theme and subordinate theme will be presented in turn, showing participants’ quotes, using pseudonyms, and the researchers’ interpretative commentaries.

Table 1. Main themes and subordinate themes.

Main themes	Subordinate themes
Experiencing a safe environment	None
Connection with the group	Being part of
Self-awareness	None
Considering different perspectives	None

Experiencing a safe environment

This theme was highlighted by all coachees who took part in the semi-structured interviews. It pertains to their experience of the group as a safe space to share deeply and personally and to be able to show their vulnerability. Coachees described the space as ‘accepting’ (Julia and Sophie), ‘welcoming’ (Mary), ‘warm’ (Roberta) and ‘respectful’ (Nadia), remarking on ‘the dynamics of opening for people and therefore opening yourself’ (Mary). The group contracting at the beginning of the coaching programme, in which the coach and the group discussed how they wanted to work together, was mentioned as important for this safe space to be created. Nadia emphasised the trust they felt in the group, and the experience of a safe space contributed to coachees feeling ‘confident enough and safe enough to challenge’ and being able to express ‘difficult experiences’.

The experience of sharing deeply was echoed by the coachees’ appreciation for the vulnerability of others, whilst reflecting on their own perception of being vulnerable. Sophie explained: ‘I was wondering how it would feel to be vulnerable … that’s the only thing that I have missed about the experience.’ She added how they felt ‘humbled’ and ‘impressed’ by others sharing their personal stories. This perceived safe environment created opportunities for coachees to explore their experience of the group and themselves in it. ‘I’m just showing who I am’, said Mary. Another coachee, Julia, explained: ‘If I'm to learn something from it or discover something about myself during the process, I need to go – you know – like headfirst, basically just jump in and just put this extreme amount of trust you know in the hands of a group of people.’ Julia described the impact of this experience: ‘I actually feel pins and needles like these little shakes because like it has a big impact on me … I felt accepted.’

Connection with the group

The essence of this theme, highlighted by four out of the four interviewees, was the connection afforded by the collective experience and personal interactions, which supported a sense of togetherness experienced by the coachees. There was an element of surprise for some at how quickly the members of the group bonded and how they connected at a deeper level. As Roberta explained: ‘It was interesting how things went from very superficial conversation to deep connection’. Sophie spoke about the ‘humbleness’ and ‘strength’ of those bringing their topics to the group and how that ‘created the connections between us’. Describing a poignant experience of truly seeing another member of the group member in a moment of vulnerability, Roberta spoke about the space of ‘listening with intention to understand’ and ‘empathy’. Recalling the same experience, Sophie added that she reflected on the role of ‘positive regard’. She concluded: ‘It was a very high moment … for me, it was significant’.

Being part of

A sub-theme of connection with the group, emphasised by four out of five interviewees, captured the coachees’ sense of belonging, which is lived through interpersonal interactions that reflect the collective experience of, and desire for, sharing with one another. ‘ … We want to have that feeling of being part of a group and everybody in the same boat and listening and hearing others’ lives,’ Sophie explained. Mary described how, through being part of the group, they ‘noticed something that previously in my life I did not’. Coachees reported that, as a result, they felt an emotional connection with the group, describing how ‘people heard’ (Mary) and interactions that ‘made me feel good, it made me feel welcomed’ (Julia).

Self-awareness

This theme explored how coachees unveiled aspects of themselves in their interactions with others. ‘Something that I didn't fully acknowledge with myself or maybe I just didn't see it and the group showed it to me without showing me,’ Julia explained. Participants described how the relational aspect of the group could bring to the surface an understanding about the self through others. Roberta commented: ‘ … how other people look at you because you perceive yourself also from others.’ In addition, it encouraged reflecting on the group experience and reflecting on the self in the group experience, which coachees explained as ‘learning from the dynamics’ (Nadia) and ‘discovering something about myself during the process’ (Julia). She added that this process continued after the sessions: ‘It’s funny because it’s nothing that we have discussed at that time, it’s like on the backstage on my mind what is going … it's like ‘oh so maybe it's time to start acknowledging things that I didn't notice about myself, or I thought that maybe wasn't there’.’

An element of experimenting with different senses of being in the world was highlighted by Mary, who noted that through observing the flow of the group and how others show up, ‘I was observing the other ladies and I was thinking ‘It’s OK to be like that’, ‘So I can be like that’.’ Mary added: ‘I learned to see that, to open up to the group, to accept in order to change’.

Considering different perspectives

This theme was present in four out of five interviews. It reflected the nature of the group work in generating multiple perspectives and a ‘richer’ experience. The opportunity to consider different viewpoints, including those from different cultures, was also highlighted. As Sophie explained: ‘We all brought our angle to the discussion … made it super rich. I thought that was very powerful.’ Roberta remarked on the amplified learning experience: ‘ … benefit from the insights of other people, what they’re doing, what they’re learning, what they’re experiencing.’

For some, leveraging the group’s multiple identities, views and ideas seemed to contribute to flexible thinking. As Nadia put it: ‘ … there are so many different perceptions of the same problem or issue’. This view is shared by Julia: ‘ … it can be perhaps more prone to be more open-minded and have this opportunity to think about the same thing from many different angles’.

Discussion

This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of postgraduates of an online group coaching programme delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic. Overall, coachees reported having a positive experience of online group coaching, describing it as a ‘nice surprise’, ‘encouraging for the future’ and ‘online coaching works well’. These comments are aligned with the thematic findings of this qualitative study, which suggests group coaching supports connection among people, a sense of belonging, and a space to share deeply and explore perspectives.

Belonging

The main theme ‘connection with the group’ and its subordinate theme ‘being part of’ shows how the coachees’ experience of being connected seemed to enrich and support personal interactions. Such a connection arguably contributes to positive relationships in the group and to a sense of relatedness, which in turn can play a key role in supporting people’s wellbeing (Argyle & Crossland, 1987; Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Deci & Ryan, 1991). If that is the case, and considering that students’ wellbeing is a priority for universities (JISC, 2021), this study indicates the potential of online group coaching in supporting the wellbeing of postgraduate students. Previous research has already identified the positive impact of group coaching on coachees’ wellbeing (Grant, 2003; Gyllensten et al., 2020; Stelter et al., 2011; Varley, 2021). Partly, this stems from the social contact provided by this coaching modality. It seems that ‘ … in group coaching, the group becomes both the crucible and the repository of developing relationships between group members, each member and the collective group’ (Nacif, 2021, p. 176). In this current study, relatedness was experienced through deeply felt empathy, as expressed by one of the participants as ‘listening to understand’ and ‘a positive regard’. These experiences appear to be aligned with patterns emerging in the group coaching literature, which points to the uplifting influences of shared narratives and connectedness of individuals in the group (Jackson & Bourne, 2020; Nacif, 2021). This sense of connectedness enhances the functioning of the group, which arguably contributes to coachees’ social wellbeing (Keyes, 1998; Keyes, 2002). Keyes posits that there are five dimensions to social wellbeing: social coherence, social actualisation, social integration, social acceptance and social contribution (1998). The relational aspect of group coaching can contribute to some, if not all, of the dimensions. The emotional connection and ‘feeling heard’, for example, could impact one’s perception of being accepted in the group whilst participants engaging in deeply empathic behaviour (‘listening to understand’) can develop a sense of social contribution, which Keyes defined as ‘the evaluation of one's social value. It includes the belief that one is a vital member of society, with something of value to give to the world’ (Keyes, 1998, p. 122).

The sense of being valued is aligned to the subordinate theme ‘Being part of’, which can be interpreted as belonging, and in this present study emerges from individual’s experiences of sharing collectively. This personal sharing contributed to group cohesiveness and, in some cases, engendered universality (Yalom, 1995), which is illustrated by the comment ‘everybody in the same boat’. Members of a cohesive group often experienced a sense of belongingness and esprit de corps, which may empower individual group members to make positive changes (Armstrong et al., 2013, p. 96), an important factor for university students. In fact, coachees reported feeling empowered and having the ‘opportunity to grow’.

The emotional connection among coachees is only possible in a safe environment, which is partly achieved through effective contracting and the embodied experience of feeling secure. In this research, an informative email, with the group coaching contract, was sent to all participants to ensure that initial boundaries were established. ‘Trust building is one of the most crucial aspects of holding space,’ (Plett, 2020, p. 74) and participants commented that they felt ‘safe enough to challenge’ or ‘express difficult experiences.’ In addition to the cognitive assessment of safety by participants, this sense of safety can also be experienced through embodiment and interoceptive activity (Porges, 2017). Further research is needed to explore how people experience safety in online group coaching. However, being in their own space at home may have impacted how quickly participants felt safe and able to connect at a deeper level with the group.

Exploring the self

Apart from the implications of the online group experience for coachees’ social and individual wellbeing, participants emphasised the role of the group in helping them become more aware of themselves and ‘discovering something about myself through the process’, which they found helpful in terms of their personal growth and understanding. This finding is consistent with Reid’s (2012) and Sutton and Crobach’s (2022) observations of the impacts of group coaching on self-awareness and learning through an external input, feedback and support, all of which can enrich the experience of postgraduate students and support self-development and growth.

Furthermore, group coaching seems to support participants in considering and experiencing multiple perspectives. In group coaching, coachees are encouraged to share their views and experiences. This multiplicity of perspectives contributes to the rich experience coachees described in the findings section of this paper. Whereas one-to-one coaching can facilitate the exploration of multiple points of views, in groups, different perspectives are borne not out of intellectual and cognitive effort exclusively, but from the lived experiences of others and, as such, seem to have an impact on those listening and sharing narratives. In this study, the geographic diversity of participants enriched group coaching conversations, enabling individuals to observe both similarities and contrasts within their own cultural expectations, contributing to a more inclusive experience.

Not only can the experiences and beliefs of different participants expand an individual’s perspectives, but they can also enable multiple facets of the self to be explored within the group setting. Rather than thinking of individuals as a ‘single, boundaried self,’ theories of multiplicity suggest there are multiple selves ‘which manifest differently in different contexts’ (Lawrence, 2018, p. 33).

Limitations and future directions

The sample of this research was a culturally diverse all-female university student group in a positive psychology and coaching psychology master’s programme. Their affinity towards coaching may have influenced how receptive they were. It would have been better to have a mix of male and female students. Although both coaches used a positive psychology coaching approach, it is likely that there were personal differences in how they worked with their respective groups, which can be considered another limitation of this study. Further research to explore online group coaching could consider different demographics. It would be also useful to design research to compare and contrast the impact of group coaching programmes delivered over different lengths of time and number of sessions.

Conclusion

The online group coaching programme delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic was perceived as a safe environment used by postgraduate students to share their experiences and forge emotional connections with each other. Students reported this group intervention as useful in raising self-awareness and amplifying learning through multiple perspectives. The analysis of the data also points to the potential of online group coaching as being beneficial to the individual and social wellbeing of students, and an intervention to facilitate students’ personal growth and development.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ana Paula Nacif

Ana Paula Nacif is a lecturer and module leader for the MSc Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology at the University of East London. She is an experienced executive and group coach, consultant and facilitator, who works with a range of clients in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Ana has extensive experience in coaching for leadership, wellbeing, and career transition. She is also a coach supervisor, with expertise in groups. She is the co-editor of Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal.

Andrea Giraldez-Hayes

Andrea Giraldez-Hayes is a chartered psychologist, coaching supervisor and consultant specialising in the use of arts and creative approaches to positive psychology and coaching psychology. She is the Director of the Wellbeing and Psychological Services Centre and Course Director of the Master in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology at the University of East London’s School of Psychology. Curious and passionate about learning and personal and professional development, Andrea is a person of many talents built throughout 30 years of experience. She has served in different roles within the arts, education, and coaching psychology sectors, having worked for universities, education departments, and international organisations in Europe, the United Kingdom, and Latin America. She has authored 20 books and contributed to many peer-reviewed papers and articles in positive psychology, coaching psychology, and arts education. Her last book, co-edited with Dr Jolanta Burke, is Applied Positive School Psychology (Routledge, 2022). Andrea is an associate editor for Coaching: An International Journal of Theory and Practice, International Coaching Psychology Review, and the International Journal of Coaching Psychology and co-editor of Philosophy of Coaching: An International Journal. She is also a member of the British Psychological Society’s Coaching Psychology Division committee.

Karen Finn

Karen Finn is an accredited coach and a Professional Doctorate researcher in Systemic Practice at the University of Bedfordshire. She is interested in the development of Earth-positive practices through group facilitation and has appeared on the British Psychological Society’s Division of Coaching Psychology’s podcast entitled How Do Coaches Work with Nature?

Elsa Valdivielso-Martínez

Elsa Valdivielso-Martínez is an accredited coach, facilitator and wellbeing practitioner. Her work focuses on leadership, career and personal development, mainly in the private sector. She also helps groups interested in climate change develop personal and professional projects that address the current global challenges. Elsa uses a nature-centred approach and holds her individual coaching sessions outdoors. She is an active member of the Climate Coaching Alliance and is currently conducting academic research exploring the potential links between nature connectedness, climate change and wellbeing in outdoor leaders.