Invited Paper: Telephone-coaching while walking during the Pandemic
Julie McCall with Dr Zelda Di Blasi and Prof Stephen Palmer
Reviews of studies evaluating telephone coaching have found these to be effective for perceived health. We found walking and coaching sessions be helpful in increasing feelings of vitality and self-efficacy.
The current pandemic has had serious consequences on mental health due to social isolation and various life-style restrictions. Combining telephone coaching support with walking in nature is a promising approach to integrate several factors that have been shown to improve health and creativity.
The aim of this study was to look at the perceived effects on wellbeing and creativity of telephone coaching sessions during Covid-19. Participants received 4-6 telephone coaching sessions while walking. Their coach also walked during each session. The telephone coaching sessions took place in the South of Ireland in green and blue zones and each session lasted approximately one hour.
Julie McCall is a Positive Psychology coach, trainer, and facilitator. She specialises in Positive Leadership, strengths team development and Positive Psychology. Julie has a Masters in Positive Psychology and is an accredited Strengths, Emotional Intelligence and Health and Wellness Coach. Her work has taken her to the US, Europe, Asia, and South Africa. Prior to her training and coaching career, she had 25 years corporate experience working in the IT, Finance and Call Centre sectors in senior management roles. She has been a panel guest as a Positive Psychology specialist on the RTE Today show in Ireland. Julie lectures at University College Cork (UCC) on the Masters in Applied Psychology (Positive and Coaching Psychology) Programme.