Ana Paula Nacif

Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2023

188 Pages. Paperback £29.99

ISBN-13: 978-0335251902

Reviewed by Petra Walker, AFBPsS, CPsychol


Coaching for Wellbeing is currently an area of growth as more organisations recognise the impact poor wellbeing can have on their employees’ Key Performance Indicators. This can be seen from the increase in programmes at the Master’s level, which focus on positive psychology, and the shift towards a narrative of personal development within the workplace.

Ana Paula Nacif is a lecturer in the Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology programme at the University of East London in England and, in producing this book, has recognized the need to create a practical ‘how to’ guide to operationalizing applied positive psychology within the coaching context.

While this book is now on the syllabus of this programme, Nacif has also recognized that it will be read by practitioner coaches who have a limited understanding of positive psychology. She has, therefore, split this slim volume into three:

Part One summarises some key concepts and theories from positive psychology. She sets the scene by defining wellbeing and how it fits in within the workplace before moving on to discuss key models and concepts such as Psychological Wellbeing, the PERMA Model, Flow and Self-determination Theory. While this is not new for experienced practitioners, for the coach who is new to evidence-based approaches to wellbeing, it provides a firm base to work from.

Part Two builds on this base as it moves on to describe how a coach can operationalize these ideas and contains a mix of explanations, tools, and short case studies, which illustrate how these tools can be utilized in real work situations. It suggests the coach starts with creating a vision of what flourishing might look like for the client, to give them a more defined goal to work towards, then introduces some case studies to illustrate the use of the tools and models she has included. One of the questions I am asked in my professional life by other coaches looking to apply positive psychology coaching is how to operationalize models such as Seligman’s (2012) PERMA model. Nacif does this deftly before moving on to how a client’s self-efficacy can affect their ability to keep going, introducing the concepts of micro-actions and goal theory.

Nacif looks not only at making short-term changes to people’s well-being but also focuses on how coaches can create longer-lasting shifts in their clients, introducing DiClemente and Prochaska’s (1998) Transtheoretical model of change and how it can be applied in coaching.

Chapter Five looks at how coaches can move into wellbeing coaching and tackles the important boundaries a coach may face when being asked to coach in this area. She examines the question of negative mental health and how a coach may approach recognizing this in their clients and determining whether this lies within the coach’s ability. She covers this clearly and concisely, giving the reader tools to use to evaluate a client’s mental health along the way and espousing the benefits to the coach of regular supervision.

Part Three introduces Nacif’s BeWell Coaching for Wellbeing Model, which was originally developed for use in group coaching sessions but which she introduces initially here as a model for coaching one-to-one. This model is situated within Cognitive Behavioural Coaching’s third wave.

The model has a wellbeing focus with three main pillars: Be, Relate and Act, situated within a framework of positive psychology and cognitive behavioural coaching. The three pillars are described in detail, with key points for the coach to consider and understand. The model is designed to be delivered in four phases of coaching: exploring well-being, meaning-making, creating self-awareness and making choices, and a final phase of consolidation and celebration of success. While this would initially appear to be a linear model, Nacif describes it as being flexible, with the coach and client being able to hold it lightly, moving between phases as topics emerge, therefore staying very client-led. Exercises for each phase are suggested and illustrated where appropriate.

Chapter 7 focuses on the subject of group coaching: what it is, where a coach may encounter it, and the factors a coach should keep in mind when working in a group setting within an organization. To aid the new group well-being coach, Nacif has included some sample group coaching guidelines and tips for success both for in-person coaching and virtual group coaching. The comment that a dress code should be covered for virtual group coaching, as she had experienced one participant turning up in a dressing gown, made me smile, as I have had a similar experience in the past and had to deal with it in the moment.

Nacif completes the book with an Appendix, which contains some useful, ready-to-use tools for the new wellbeing coach, including a list of values, a proforma wellbeing plan, and some well-known PPIs.

At 127 pages, ‘Coaching for Wellbeing’ is jam-packed with information, models, and explanations for any coach who wants to get a taste of what it is like to coach for well-being. It is a great resource and more than achieves the three stated aims of bridging the gap between theory and practice, containing real-life case studies and examples, and providing a Toolkit for coaches.

While referencing is light compared to some other books, such as Green and Palmer’s (2018) Positive Psychology Coaching in Practice, Nacif’s book is far more accessible and practical in style for the practitioner coach and deserves a place on any coach’s bookcase if they are interested in developing their practice to include wellbeing.


BOOK REVIEWER

 

Petra Walker is the founder of Petra Walker Coaching, which offers positive psychology coaching, leadership coaching and coach supervision. She is a Chartered Coaching Psychologist, an EMCC Senior Practitioner and is accredited as PCC by the ICF.