What is Health Coaching?

Health Coaching

Doctors can help to identify, treat the symptoms, and offer advice on what to change, but there’s only so much they can do for a patient with their limited time and bandwidth. A health coach comes in and picks up where the doctor may have left off with developing goals, making changes, and helping people achieve their best health. Health coaches can help clients change their lifestyles to help lose weight, quit smoking, have more energy, or lower stress. (We can do much more than just those!)

 

Health coaches work with clients on specific goals, through identifying motivators, determining where the client is in their desire to change, and what their long-term goals are. They will work with them to create a change and guide them to be successful in their lifestyle changes. The client- health coach relationship is viewed as a partnership where the client is the expert on their own life and goals. The coach is there to assist with discovery, clarify, and hold the client responsible and accountable. Health coaches will help clients meet their short- and long-term goals and ultimately improve their health.

 

Why Should I Get Health Coaching?

• Health coaches focus on your whole being. This includes not only your physical health but also your mental health. We want to help you understand emotional, physical, and other lifestyle factors that are needed to improve your overall health and well-being. 
• As mentioned above, health coaches and their clients form a partnership. We work to form a bond to help allow for a successful and effective relationship. The more we understand all aspects of you as an individual, the more we can help. 
• We work together to set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals. We want you to succeed! By getting to know your personal interests, past successes and failures, a health coach can work to establish SMART goals to help you improve your health. These goals are revisited every time you meet with your coach to adjust them as needed. 
• Life happens, and health coaches want to help overcome barriers you may be experiencing. Environmental and lifestyle factors can serve as external barriers for people in many of their goals. Internal barriers such as low self-esteem can also prevent one from achieving their goals. A health coach will work with you on your skills to be successful and overcome these barriers and future ones. 

Ultimately, health coaches want to help you get to the point of making it a lifestyle. We work with you to value your health and form a positive relationship with it. Health coaches want you to feel empowered and create lasting lifestyle changes to help you enjoy your everyday life more!

 

 

Written by Elizabeth Pamperin, MercyCare Wellness Program Consultant