Health coaching….What is it?
HEALTH COACHING
In our February issue, Tess Wood wrote of her personal experience of supporting a loved one with Alzheimers. This month she writes in her professional capacity as a Nutrition Health and Wellness Coach to explain how coaching differs from counselling and therapy and the typical reasons people consult a coach.
This is my no-nonsense definition of coaching, using as little jargon as possible.
Primarily, coaching is a partnership. Unlike therapy or counselling, which is often focused on the past, coaching is focused on you in the present moment and on your future. A coach works with you to help you identify goals and plan the best ways for you to achieve them. Whatever your unique situation and abilities, a coach can help you recognise any barriers to change and help you with this.
Many of us find it difficult to make changes in our lives, even when we know they are important to our health and well-being. Just think of all the well-intentioned New Year’s resolutions you’ve made over the years! Initially we’re fired with enthusiasm, but very quickly when we get busy the intention fades away.
Having a coach helps you stick to your intentions and keep working towards achieving them.
Your coach is your cheerleader.
He or she encourages and supports you. But coaching also includes an element of accountability. Goals plus accountability is what keeps you focused and helps you get better results.
A coach can help with all sorts of personal challenges……
Perhaps you are finding it difficult to begin making the lifestyle changes your doctor has recommended to improve your health? Perhaps you have aches and pains that make it hard to keep motivated to exercise in the way you know you should? Or perhaps you have difficulty sleeping or maintaining social connections to others? Perhaps you’ve reached a new stage in life and you don’t quite know what to do next?
These are just some of the reasons that people seek the support of a coach. When life throws us a curve ball, a coach is the ideal person to help you withstand the storm, and find a way to a better future, physically and emotionally.
In my next column I‘ll be explaining what happens in a typical coaching session.
Columnist: Tess Wood.
Tess Wood has a Bachelor of Teaching and Learning, an Advanced Certificate of Nutrition and Health Coaching and is a Cancer support Coach. Her goal as a Nutrition Health & Wellness Coach is to help clients to “live their best lives” supporting improvements in their physical and emotional well-being.