People turn to health coaches for help in making lifestyle changes stick.
On the field, sports coaches help athletes perform at peak levels.
In a similar manner, various types of coaches help everyday people navigate problems or issues in different areas of life—including ways to make lasting lifestyle changes designed to promote better health and well-being.
Nowadays, there seem to be coaches for everything: Life coaches who help people set and achieve goals in their professional and personal lives; business coaches who help people set and achieve the vision for growing or improving their businesses; and financial coaches who help people learn to change their behaviors regarding money to save more and reduce their debt. This explains why the estimated market value for personal coaching was $1.02 billion in 2016, compared with $707 million in 2011.
One fast-growing area of coaching involves helping people implement the types of lifestyle changes that promote better health.
Part of this growth is being driven by an increasing emphasis on preventative measures as a way to hold down healthcare costs. Changing demographics also plays a role: There are now more than 70 million Baby Boomers in the US, people who have reached the age when trying to stay healthy becomes an increasingly important priority.
If you’re thinking about using a health coach, it’s important to know what they provide and what they don’t, what credentials they should have and how to find someone who meets your needs.
Health coaching isn’t the same as wellness or life coaching.
“Wellness coaching is guidance and inspiration provided to otherwise ‘healthy’ individuals who desire to maintain or improve their overall general health status, which often includes smoking cessation, increased physical activity, eating well, and general weight management,” says health coach Melinda Huffman, BSN, MS, CCNS, CHC, who practices in the Chattanooga area.
Helping clients focus on the positive aspects of change is crucial.
Health and wellness coaches are needed more than ever. More than three-quarters of all clinic and hospital visits are attributed to unrelenting stress and the impact of poor lifestyle choices, according to Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, CWP, ACC, NBC-HWC, who chairs the Integrative Health Studies program at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco.
Healthcare costs in the US and worldwide are skyrocketing due to the prevalence of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Huffman believes that in response, the healthcare system is transitioning from a focus on the treatment of illness to an increasing emphasis on wellness and prevention.
Besides such settings in which healthcare practitioners dominate, Jordan says that health coaches are also working in private practice, wellness centers, nonprofit community centers, digital health platforms, insurance companies, chronic care management firms and senior centers, as well as in educational and training programs.
While a governing body that oversees health coaching certification doesn’t currently exist, the ICHWC aims to hold the profession to a standard.
“At this time, anyone can call themselves a health coach, although not all health coaches have been certified,” notes Leigh-Ann Webster, NBC-HWC, the ICHWC’s executive director.