Health coaching
Health coaching, also known as wellness coaching, is a supportive practice aimed at helping individuals make meaningful lifestyle changes to enhance their overall health. Health coaches are trained professionals, not medical doctors, who guide clients in identifying areas for improvement and setting specific health goals, such as weight loss, healthier eating, and stress management. The rise of health coaching is largely attributed to the growing prevalence of chronic health conditions linked to unhealthy lifestyle choices. Because traditional healthcare often lacks the time and resources to address these lifestyle factors, health coaches fill a vital role by offering personalized support and motivation.
Typically, health coaches engage with clients through in-person meetings, phone calls, or online platforms, focusing on various aspects of a client's life, including diet, sleep, stress levels, and personal priorities. They assist in creating tailored action plans that promote sustainable change, though their ability to provide nutrition advice may vary by location due to licensing laws. Moreover, health coaches often emphasize positivity and encouragement, acting as cheerleaders for their clients as they work toward their health objectives. They may collaborate with other health professionals when clients face more complex health issues. Coaches can work in diverse settings, including medical practices, corporate wellness programs, or as independent consultants, with fees varying based on experience and location.
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Health coaching
Health coaching, sometimes called wellness coaching, is a relatively new practice. Health coaches are not doctors. They are accredited wellness experts who work with clients to help them make lifestyle changes. While some health coaches are also licensed in other areas such as physical training or nutrition, the work of a health coach is to help clients identify the areas of their lives that need improvement and assist them in working toward their health goals. Health coaches can help clients lose weight, improve their diets, maintain healthy habits, and manage stress.
Background
The need for health coaches has grown out of the prevalence of chronic health conditions brought on by poor lifestyle choices. Such conditions may include but are not limited to heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Poor lifestyle choices—such as smoking, overeating, lack of exercise, and extreme stress—can contribute to such conditions.
However, it can be difficult for primary care physicians to provide patients with the tools they need to either prevent chronic illnesses or manage their health conditions. Most physicians only see their patients for a few minutes a couple of times a year. While physicians are able to diagnose conditions and prescribe medications, they often do not have the time to help direct patients on clear paths that will help them attain their health goals.
This is where health coaches come in. Health coaches can provide patients or clients with the motivation they need to make healthy, sustained lifestyle changes. Some physicians have even added health coaches to their private practices to assist patients in meeting their health goals.
Health coaches are often not doctors or nurses. In some areas, it is illegal to provide nutrition counseling without a license. Therefore, health coaches in some states may also be registered dieticians.
Many programs and institutions provide accreditation for health coaches. One of these institutions is the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City. The institute, created by Joshua Rosenthal in 1992, claims to be the largest nutrition school in the world. Health coaching students at the institute learn about dietary theories, fitness, and wellness while also learning business skills to help them start their careers after graduation. Duke University in North Carolina also has a program for what it calls integrative health coaches. In the university’s foundation program, students learn about personal health planning and mindful awareness. In addition, they study the science behind behavior and learn what it takes to change patterns of behavior. Graduates of the foundation course can further their education by taking the university’s certification course.
These are just two examples of available programs in the United States. The International Consortium for Health & Wellness Coaching has a list of health-coach training programs provided by various universities, health institutions, and private organizations that meet the criteria that will allow graduates to take a certification examination.
Overview
In most cases, health coaches often do not tell clients what to do. Instead, they listen to clients’ health concerns and develop strategies that can help them make sustained lifestyle changes to improve their health.
Some coaches meet with people face-to-face. Others provide services via telephone conversations or Internet platforms, such as video messaging. The purpose of the initial meeting is for the health coach to understand what the client wants to achieve. This may involve losing weight, eating healthier, or learning to manage a health condition, such as diabetes. The health coach listens to the client’s concerns, and they discuss the barriers that have prevented the client from making sustained changes in the past.
The health coach will most likely ask the client about more than just his or her diet and exercise routine. The coach may also ask about sleeping patterns, family life, friendships, stress, and hobbies, as all of these factors play a role in a client’s total health and well-being. Once the coach has a good understanding of the client’s life and his or her health goals, the two work together to create a plan that will help the client meet these goals. The plan is tailored to fit the client’s life and needs. In some cases, the health coach may subscribe to the principle of bio-individuality. This looks at various factors, including a person’s activity level and heritage, to try to find a diet that works for each individual. However, as mentioned previously, some health coaches may be limited in the nutrition advice they can provide depending on the area where they practice. If focusing on diet is part of the client’s plan, then the coach may work with a registered dietician to find the best diet for the client.
Additionally, if the client has other health issues that the coach is not qualified to handle (such as depression or anxiety), the coach may be able to recommend other medical professionals who can help the client with these particular concerns.
Again, health coaches are not personal trainers or nutritionists. They are coaches, so their real work involves motivating and guiding their clients to make positive changes in their lives through self-directed actions. This often involves checking in with clients about how they are progressing toward their health goals. These check-ins may be in person or virtual. The coach and the client will discuss any issues that are preventing the client from reaching his or her goals. They may also reassess the plan they made together to make changes when the client is having difficulty sticking with an exercise routine or integrating a healthy habit into his or her life.
One of the most important aspects of being a health coach is positivity. Health coaches are their clients’ cheerleaders. They provide encouragement and believe that their clients have the power within themselves to make positive changes in their own lives. This allows clients to develop healthy habits that they can sustain for the rest of their lives.
Health coaches can work in a variety of settings. They may work for a doctor or within an established health care system. Some coaches start their own businesses and work with private clients. The amount that coaches charge for their services will vary by level of experience and location.
Bibliography
“About Integrative Health Coaching.” Duke Integrative Medicine, www.dukeintegrativemedicine.org/integrative-health-coach-training/integrative-health-coaching/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2018.
“About Us.” Institute for Integrative Nutrition, www.integrativenutrition.com/about-us. Accessed 18 Dec. 2018.
“Approved Training Programs.” International Consortium for Health & Wellness Coaching, ichwc.org/approved-programs/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2018.
Carson-DeWitt, Rosalyn. “Health Coach.” Consumer Health Care, edited by Brigham Narins, vol. 1, Gale, 2014, pp. 192–94.
Haskins, Sarah. “What’s a Health Coach?” U.S. News & World Report, 4 Feb. 2015, health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2015/02/04/whats-a-health-coach. Accessed 18 Dec. 2018.
Moore, Margaret, and Erika Jackson. “Health and Wellness Coaching.” The Complete Handbook of Coaching, edited by Elaine Cox, et al., 2nd ed., SAGE, 2014, pp. 313–28.
“What Is a Health Coach and How Do They Improve Your Life?” PartnerMD, 6 Jan. 2016, blog.partnermd.com/blog/what-is-a-health-coach-and-how-do-they-improve-your-life. Accessed 18 Dec. 2018.
Wischhover, Cheryl. “Does Anyone Really Need a Professional Health Coach?” The Cut, 10 Aug. 2016, www.thecut.com/swellness/2016/08/what-is-a-health-coach.html. Accessed 18 Dec. 2018.