General Discussion 197 7 At the start of my PhD project, I chose to investigate the creation of a virtual coach specifically designed for emotional eaters. Through my initial exploratory research, which involved conducting a contextual inquiry, developing personas, and outlining an architecture (Chapter 2), it became apparent that additional knowledge was required about how this target group of emotional eaters would experience online coaching. Developing a prototype was hindered by the limited understanding of suitable coaching approaches for addressing their needs. As previously discussed in the Introduction, having the ability to independently cope with emotional eating behaviour is of particular importance for individuals who struggle with emotional eating. Due to their feelings of shame, emotional eaters may not always seek help from their General Practitioner or confide in their close circle regarding their problem. Consequently, I focused my research on uncovering effective virtual coaching strategies tailored to the needs of emotional eaters. (Chapter 3). The aim of this thesis was therefore to gain knowledge to support emotional eaters to copewith emotional eating behaviour in a self-help virtual coaching setting. A setting that matches the right moment and is in line with their specific circumstances and personal surroundings. The main research question reads, “How can virtual coaching facilitate emotional eaters to cope with self-management of their emotional eating behaviour?” Our research approach encompassed a combination of experimental mixed methods research and exploratory investigation. This allowed us to employ a diverse range of research methodologies to gain a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Our main findings are that the target group was receptive to virtual coaching, as they appeared to be approachable, and they appeared to be able to cope with self-help virtual support. The target group requires coaching strategies due to their limited understanding of their own emotions and their lack of skills in regulating emotions. Virtual coaching Approachable and receptive One of the noticeable aspects that emerged from our research is the observation that emotional eaters are approachable for virtual coaching, without the intervention of a face-to-face therapist. They also displayed a notable ability to identify the suitable coaching strategy for themselves, and determine the optimal timing.
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