110 Chapter 4 he forgot that I was coming. But that happened a few times, one or two or three times, that he forgot." – coach 24. Some coaches described a situation in which they agreed to meet the patient at a certain place and the patient failed to show up. It should also be mentioned that one patient stated that the coach did not show up anymore after the initial meeting, which was considered an unpleasant experience. Communicational challenges were mentioned by coaches as well as patients. One patient mentioned that the coach had stopped responding to his WhatsApp messages. In response to these challenges, a flexible attitude by coaches towards appointments and contact was deemed important, which was demonstrated by many coaches. Coaches often maintained contact via their private telephone (e.g., via WhatsApp) to find out how the patient was doing and to make new appointments. On the other hand, multiple patients and coaches indicated that they had no communicational problems and were able to meet each other on a regular basis. "…I'm also fond of my freedom you know, so I'm an outdoor person [...]. We [have contact] by telephone [and] agree to meet and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, I also have my obligations, things you have to do you know. But we have contact fairly often." – patient 008. Both patients and coaches acknowledged that often coaches took the initiative in making contact and scheduling appointments. Patients indicated that they appreciated this effort by their coach. The fact that appointments were cancelled or did not take place caused some frustration in coaches, as well as a sense of guilt or inadequacy in patients. Some dyads who had established longer and regular contact indicated that they wished to continue the contact after completion of the intervention. Honesty and reciprocity Patients and coaches agreed that honesty and openness were important characteristics in a coach, which in part affected the development of the social bond. It was emphasized that coaches need to be able to listen, be curious, and understand or empathize with patients. This also includes not being judgmental; always being genuinely interested in, as well as trying to understand, the situation of a patient. The words honesty and openness were also used by participants to describe the bond between patient-coach dyads. Several
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