Blended recovery and burnout coaching for small-business copreneurs.

The purpose of this article is to present and evaluate a blended couple coaching for small-business owners and their spouses (copreneurs) to help them psychologically detach from work, which is a particularly powerful recovery experience, and ameliorate emotional exhaustion, which is the core dimension of burnout. Blended couple coaching was chosen because of the high workload of small-business owners, the frequent involvement of their spouses in their entrepreneurial venture, and the influence of spouses on behavior change, recovery, and well-being. The coaching was based on the neuroscientific Zurich Resource Model (ZRM). We combined realist evaluation with a quasi-experimental design and process evaluation using mixed methods. Copreneurs of small craft businesses (N = 32) were approached through trade guilds in their regional networks. Compared to the control group and after controlling for pre-test scores, ANCOVAs showed an effect on detachment of η2 = .28 (p = .004) 3 weeks after the final coaching session, and effects of η2 = .13 on detachment (p = .061) and η2 = .12 on exhaustion (p = .072) 4 months later among the intervention participants. Spousal social support during coaching was the mechanism of change that predicted both coaching satisfaction 3 weeks after the final coaching session (p = .004) and goal attainment 4 months later (p = .007). Somatic markers also predicted goal attainment (p = .004). Working alliance between the coach and client did not play the ...
Source: Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research