The career path for a health and wellness coach is relatively new. It’s so new in fact that the definition of it is still evolving, but essentially it can be thought of as a discipline that takes a client-centred, collaborative approach to helping people make long term, sustainable lifestyle changes. The goals for a health and wellness coach are typically set by the client themselves, who often has an issue they’d like to work on or a change they’d like to make. The goals are usually chosen by the client, because they know themselves and their own lives best. A great health and wellness coach is there to lend their skills and expertise to help the client achieve their goals.
How are they different to other coaches?
The biggest difference between a health and wellness coach and other professional services is the facilitative approach they take in helping the client to make changes, rather than a prescription approach which places the responsibility on the client.
Where is it used?
Health and wellness coaches are useful in many different kinds of situations. At certain points it’s very useful for prevention, helping people to maintain their current health status and stick to good habits. It’s often used for instance to deal with issues like smoking cessation, nutritional eating, fitness and body weight. It can also be used to help solve problems. Health and wellness coaches for instance are popular with those who suffer from chronic illnesses. Health and wellness coaches often work in medical centers, educational facilities, gyms, hospitals and many other settings.
Where do these kind of coaches come from?
Professionals who choose to go into this area come from varied backgrounds. People who go into health and wellness coaching are often from medical backgrounds like nursing, exercise physiology and allied services. They might also be nutritionists and dieticians, human resource managers, social workers, community health workers, counsellors, meditation professionals, chefs and much more.
Most people who choose to work in this profession are excited to help people make good life changes and want to improve their own health.
Is there science behind it?
This type of coaching is backed by many disciplines and studies. It draws from a lot of different fields like self-determination theory, psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness.
Does it work?
Studies and research into the field seem to suggest that it can be quite effective, although it is a very new field so not a lot is known yet about the long-term lifestyle impacts of completing coaching programs.
Where do you look for one?
If you want to find someone to help you improve your well-being, you should start by looking around for specialists in your local area. Recommendations from friends and family can be a great way to find someone, but you should also check out reviews online or speak to your doctor or another trusted professional to see what they suggest.
Local health centres and fitness centres can be a great way to find coaching services, as can medical centres. Look around your area for specialist private practices as well as they are often able to provide a great level of service.
Getting coaching in this field can be well worthwhile and could change your life for the best. If you’ve had an issue that you’ve been struggling with our you want help maintaining good habits then you should definitely give this a try. It’s a great way to improve the level of happiness in your life and to make sure you enjoy a long, healthy, happy life.
