Narrative-collaborative group coaching develops social capital – a randomised control trial and further implications of the social impact of the intervention

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of narrative-collaborative group coaching on career development, self-reflection and the general functioning of young sports talents with the goal of achieving integration of their sports careers, educational demands and private lives. The intervention was based on a narrative-collaborative approach, with the intention of inviting the participants to share with and learn from each other. The randomised control design was based on 77 participants (questionnaire measuring recovery/stress, motivation and action control). A qualitative interview study included six participants. The group-coaching intervention had a significant effect on the scores for social recovery and general well-being. The qualitative study showed that group-coaching participants valued the shared process of meaning-making as especially valuable. Narrative-collaborative group coaching can be understood as a community psychological intervention that helps to support the development of durable social networks and the increase of social capital.

Keywords

• group coaching,
• narrative coaching,
• collaborative practice,
• social constructionism,
• appreciative inquiry,
• social capital,
• community psychology,
• randomised control study,
• qualitative research,
• talent development