If you want to improve your employees’ health and well-being, consider adding a health coach. They’re proven to reduce absenteeism, increase productivity and boost employee morale. Aside from helping employees, having health coaches in your workplace can help you attract and retain top talent because potential employees are drawn to wellness programs and want to be part of one.
Client-centered approach
The client-centered approach on having certified health coaches is designed to support the individual clients’ values, preferences, and needs. It aims to empower clients with self-awareness, self-management, and accountability toward healthy behaviors.
Unlike the biomedical model of care, where physicians are experts and can be seen as controlling, the client-centered coaching model of support promotes a partnership that collaborates with the client to achieve their goals for better health. In addition, the coach uses a guidance (questioning and conversing) approach to coaching rather than a directed (pointed and telling) model, which can be seen as restrictive and ineffective.
As the coach learns more about the individual client and their health goals, they can progressively tailor their approach to meet their specific needs. In the case of weight loss, for example, they may reduce their level of guidance during the early phases of behavior change to allow the client to make more decisions regarding diet and exercise over time.
Support
Whether you’re a physician or practice administrator, supporting health coaches is essential. They can help improve patient engagement, reduce costs, and allow physicians to focus on patients’ care needs.
To ensure your health coaching program is successful, you should evaluate it regularly to see how well it’s working and make changes as needed. A visual display of results, such as a run chart, can help you and your team see quickly whether the program is moving in the right direction.
Many people in our society face challenges with their health and are searching for ways to change this, leading to a more positive lifestyle. But this is only sometimes easy to do with proper support.
Health coaches are trained to have the right temperament and knowledge about chronic disease, ensuring they can support their patients and be interested in partnering with them to achieve their goals. However, they must also be self-aware of their health and wellness to guide their clients best.
Accountability
Whether you work one-on-one with clients or collaborate closely with a clinician, health coaches have a responsibility to help their clients achieve their health goals. This can include assessing client-specific challenges, developing goal plans, and periodic check-ins to evaluate progress.
Having a solid sense of accountability can save you time and money in the long run. It helps you avoid making costly errors or missing deadlines because of a lack of attention to detail.
Accountability also safeguards company resources, as employees are more likely to treat them respectfully. They know mistreating company assets can have serious consequences, so they only do their tasks unprofessionally.
Accountable employees know their roles and understand the company’s expectations and KPIs. They also value management and take pride in their work. This is why managers should create an environment of accountability within their teams.
Education
Health coaches receive primary education in psychology, physiology, and human anatomy. Then they train to help people change their lifestyles through simple yet effective coaching techniques.
These professionals can work as self-employed or for fitness centers, but they often decide to further their training by earning a bachelor’s or master’s degree. A higher-level degree can help health coaches advance and land jobs at medical institutions, corporate wellness teams, or insurance companies.
For example, the American Council on Exercise offers a comprehensive, self-paced health coach certification program. Its curriculum covers evidence-based techniques for helping clients achieve their health goals, and the organization also provides a network of alums.
Similarly, the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC) has partnered with the National Board of Medical Examiners to standardize the training and certification for health coaches to be incorporated into various clinical and non-clinical settings. This alliance helps to ensure that all health coaches adhere to a standard code of ethics, education, and credentials. In addition, it makes the health coach career path more attractive to employers and clients alike.
Specialization
Health coaches are trained to support their clients in developing personalized plans for physical fitness and nutrition. Depending on their needs and existing medical conditions, these plans differ from client to client, but most focus on exercise and other healthy habits that promote overall health.
One of the most important aspects of a health coach’s career is her ability to motivate and encourage clients to make changes. A coach who can do this by utilizing techniques like motivational interviewing can create a spark to help clients overcome their self-imposed barriers and obstacles.
The skills a health coach must have included connecting with her clients personally and explaining complicated concepts in easy-to-understand terms. She also needs to be solution oriented.
Many health coaches choose to work in various settings, including private practice and collaboration with clinics or Functional Medicine practitioners. For this reason, a coach’s training program must include professional development and tips on how to build up her business and collaborate with other professionals.
