Why health coaching?
Most doctors give us a prescription, sometimes a handout and send us on our way. Despite the best of intentions, health care providers typically aren’t allowed much time to personalize care with patients. Medicines support us, but deeper, lasting changes in health often rely on the hundreds of little choices we make each day. We live in a world of convenience that demands our attention at every turn. How can we move from surviving and getting by to thriving and deep alignment with our lifelong health aspirations? Enter health coaching.
What is health coaching?
Health coaching is a non-hierarchical relationship for behavior change. It’s an expansive exploration of goals, priorities and creative ideas discovered and clarified through inquiry and listening. Health coaches work collaboratively with clients in a warm, supportive and empathetic environment to co-create small but meaningful steps toward one’s ideal health vision. Meeting as often as is helpful to the client, health coaches provide encouragement and accountability in a way that feels good to each client. Health coaches can work collaboratively as part of a team with health care providers or independently with clients on their goals, staying within the health coaching scope of practice.
What is health coaching NOT?
Health coaching is not giving advice or “shoulding.” As the client, you are the best expert on your life. Health coaches help clients connect to their own truth, wisdom and power.
Health coaching is not prescribing or diagnosing. Health coaches are not licensed to prescribe or diagnose, but can share information.
Health coaching is not therapy. It can be therapeutic and it is affirming and empathetic. It may involve mining your past for wins or lessons learned, but is largely oriented toward building the future we want through the present moment. In instances where a client may benefit from therapy, a referral can be made.