What is Wellbeing Coaching for Young People?

At Worth-it we specialise in coaching young people to develop wellbeing and resilience using positive psychology and strengths approaches. This is known as Positive Psychology Coaching (PPC), we believe that PPC provides a helpful early intervention to support the prevention of mental health problems in young people.

Coaching for Wellbeing and Resilience

You may not have considered coaching as an intervention for young people especially to help with mental health and wellbeing. In this article, we're going to clarify what coaching is, some of the theories underpinning our approach and how coaching can help young people develop wellbeing and resilience. Helping you consider coaching as a helpful way to support the students or young people you work with either as a teacher, youth worker or practitioner.

Defining Coaching with Young People

One key definition within the coaching industry and one of the most famous definitions is by Sir John Whitmore. He says ‘coaching is unlocking a person's potential to maximise their own performance, it's helping them rather than teaching'. Supporting young people develop wellbeing is key unlocking potential to supporting them improve performance.

Another definition that's important to consider and explains why and how coaching helps young people is from Tony Grant, who says, ‘coaching is about helping [young] people find real-life solutions to real-life problems.’ Young people often aren’t given space and time to think about how they can help themselves. Coaching offers that opportunity, enabling the young person a chance to be objective about the solutions and resources they have available to them with a supportive and trusted adult.

This was also reflected in my published research. When asked the young people participating in my grounded theory study how coaching helped them said the same thing themselves. They said coaching ‘was a chance to remove yourself from situations to think about the solutions’. It's this idea that coaching helps you step out of situations and find your own objective solutions that really is why coaching is important to provide as an early prevention strategy for young people.

To define coaching in a nutshell, it is about increasing awareness and personal responsibility. This helps develop autonomy, and self-efficacy which is essential for wellbeing and resilience.

How Wellbeing Coaching Helps Young People

Coaching for young people is an empowering, forward-focused process that equips individuals with the practical tools they need to navigate life's challenges. Rather than simply giving advice, this supportive approach uses positive psychology to help young people build deep self-awareness and strong emotional regulation. By guiding them to reflect on their own strengths and find their own solutions, coaching fosters the genuine confidence and resilience required to overcome obstacles and achieve their personal goals. Ultimately, it provides a safe space for young people to take ownership of their personal development, giving them the independence and mindset to truly thrive.

Coaching Young People for Personal Development

The method within coaching psychology that we're using here at Worth-it is developmental coaching. Typical coaching approaches in the workplace, for adults you may have come across tend to focus on performance coaching, helping people move towards achieving a goal or performing better at a task. Whereas developmental coaching is about creating the right conditions and psychological space for reflective learning with a young person. This means the coaching process and relationship itself enable young people to develop self-awareness, self-regulation and confidence all essential for the development of wellbeing and resilience.

‘It's through the experience of that developmental coaching approach that young people develop accountability and awareness and increased choice and control over their thoughts, feelings and behaviour’

How Wellbeing Coaching In Schools Aligns with Ofsted EIF

Wellbeing coaching for young people aligns perfectly with the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (EIF) by providing clear, actionable evidence of personal development and proactive pastoral care. When teachers and support staff learn these practical skills, schools naturally increase their capacity to deliver targeted, effective support for students with a diverse range of educational and emotional needs. Ultimately, coaching allows you to step away from reactive problem-solving and confidently guide vulnerable young people through their unique challenges so they can truly thrive.

Our Approach to Coaching Young People

Our approach to coaching young people to develop wellbeing and resilience is the integration of developmental coaching psychology and positive psychology wellbeing interventions. These are applied through three elements of coaching: the coaching process, coaching skills, and the coaching way of being.

The coaching process helps young people to develop wellbeing and resilience through learning and practising skills and strategies with their coach during the coaching sessions. It is also through experiencing a coaching relationship with a trusted adult who believes in them that can help encourage and motivate young people to apply wellbeing and resilience strategies that they can use to manage their emotions, cope with stress, overcome challenges and setbacks. Something we all agree most young people would benefit from.

Coaching Psychology and Positive Psychology for Young People

Research confirms that coaching is highly beneficial for young people, helping them develop skills that prevent mental health problems from emerging. This is supported by over 25 years of research in coaching psychology—the foundation of our approach—which has been proven to reduce stress, improve wellbeing strategies, and build resilience in both adults and teenagers.

This evidence-based practice is also instrumental in helping schools meet the outcomes required for the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (EIF), particularly in the areas of Personal Development and Wellbeing. By integrating coaching with positive psychology, we create a powerful framework for personal growth. Coaching acts as an 'amplifier' for positive psychology techniques such as gratitude, optimistic thinking, and character strengths. Through this process, young people put these strategies into action, forming sustained habits that enhance their wellbeing.

This proactive approach equips students with the essential life skills and wellbeing habits that not only protect their mental health but also directly support the character development and resilience that Ofsted looks for. Ultimately, coaching empowers young people to thrive, providing them with the tools they need to navigate challenges and build a positive future.

Find Out More about Coaching Young People

If you are interested in learning more about our approach to coaching access our Introduction to Coaching Young People Free Training. Want to learn how to coach young people? Check out our Coach Training Course. Or work in partnership with us and we can provide coaching for young people you work with and support.