How health coaching can help you tap into your own self-knowledge, strengths and values to set health goals and implement doable action sets to move toward your optimal health vision.

Have you ever had a health care provider tell you that you need to make changes in your lifestyle or habits in order to have better health, or even to prevent a bad health outcome? And you’re left to deal with doubts about your ability to make those changes? Or maybe you don’t want to make them at all! Perhaps you want to make changes and have tried in the past and you failed, so now you are reluctant to try again?

These are the types of situations where health coaching can be a game changer.

So, what is health coaching? Health coaching is a client-centered partnership in which you work with a supportive coach to clarify your own optimal health vision, set your own health goals and take a series of doable action sets to move toward achieving your optimal health while holding accountability for your changes.

Health coaching is a relatively new addition to the health care professions. Many people are surprised to learn how health coaching is different than a typical healthcare provider/patient relationship, a sports coach/athlete relationship or most types of mental health therapies.

First and foremost, health coaching is based on the belief that it is the client who holds the highest level of wisdom and knowledge about themselves and what has worked and not worked for them. The coach is not regarded as the “expert” who will prescribe a regimen and tell the client what to do. Rather, the coach helps you tap into your own self-knowledge, strengths and values so you can gain clarity about your own optimal health vision, formulate behavioral goals and carry out action steps.

The coach provides a safe and comfortable place for self-discovery, accountability during habit change and education. It is a client-driven process that is respectful of your wants. Typically, clients find the experience motivating, empowering, enjoyable and very helpful.

The techniques used in health coaching have research-based evidence to support their effectiveness and include aspects of positive psychology and mindfulness (among others). The coach uses active listening to gain understanding of your desires, needs, strengths and values. The coach then reflects back those insights so you gain increased clarity, motivation and confidence. The coach may also employ strategies to help you visualize your deepest desires for your own health journey so you can formulate and achieve goals that are personal and relevant to you.

Health coaching is a relatively new profession. States do not license health coaches or restrict who can call themselves a health coach as they do with other types of physical and mental health professionals. Also, the quality of training programs may vary widely. Some programs require only a weekend seminar, others are rigorous and may take 1-2 years to complete. Coaches also vary dramatically in their pre-coaching work experience and professional background.

If you are considering working with a health coach, ask about their training and experience, their references, their areas of specialization, and what types of strategies they usually use with someone in your situation. Also, respect your own sense of whether this is a person you would trust and connect with.