Chapter 7 200 cravings occurred, potentially identifying discernible patterns from those experiences. This recognition has the potential to prompt individuals to make alternative choices when experiencing cravings. Emotional eaters seem to be receptive to virtual coaching, without the intervention of a face-to-face therapist, but possibly its impact is greater if emotional eaters are provided with the opportunity to increase their self-management skills. This would enable them to work more autonomously on their concerns with the support of a virtual coach [11]. In summary, the likelihood of success regarding developing a virtual coach for emotional eaters has been increased by the fact that the target group seems to be accessible, and open to being coached online. Emotional eaters demonstrated the ability to perform selfmanagement exercises. The need for support and guidance Emotional literacy Emotional eaters are in high demand for coaching in general. From the previous studies (Chapters 4, 5 and 6), the picture emerged that emotional eaters have limited understanding of their own emotions, poor emotion regulation skills, and have little selfknowledge. In the studies conducted in Chapter 4 and 5, we explored participants’ identification with the presented personas and their preferences for specific coaching strategies. The findings highlighted a clear need for emotional eaters to develop awareness of their emotions and their impact on eating behaviour, enhance their emotion regulation skills, and gain a deeper understanding of their emotional eating behaviour. This aligns with their preference for the dialectical coaching strategy, which can be customized to accommodate varying levels of emotional awareness and individual emotion regulation skills. Chapter 6 highlighted that the online exercises focused on emotion regulation skills aided participants in attending to their physical sensations and finding positive elements within negative experiences. However, the exercises were perceived as challenging. The diverse range of insights gained through the exercise participation suggests a need for knowledge and comprehension within the target group. However, for some participants, the need for such support was not as prominent, as indicated by their reactions to the body scan exercise. They were unable to make the
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