Why Health Coaching?
To define the role of a lifestyle, wellness and/or health coach one must first clarify the difference between preventative health services and population health promotion. In defining each these agendas, it will help explain why health coaching is a necessary methodology by including behavioral management, allow more effective integration of current health prevention and promotion efforts. Health coaching focuses on individual behavioral management to help people achieve and maintain their own optimal health and wellness goals. Health coaching is utilized as an emerging intervention by many healthcare entities and national organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) , and is rapidly becoming a highly effective method to help people better self-manage their chronic condition symptoms through sustainable lifestyle and behavioral changes, which decreases unnecessary hospital and clinic visits.
Health prevention services according to Healthy People 2020, focus on identifying diseases early and preventing the onset of illnesses by educating the public, scheduling routine examinations and staying up to date on their immunizations and providing early intervention to the public such as: wellness checks, colorectal screenings and other screening examinations.
Health promotion according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is the process of empowering people to take actions to improve their health, by looking beyond individual behaviors, refocusing on environmental and social influences and beginning interventions.
Health Coaching creates a supportive environment for clients to explore what health means to them. Health coaching communication techniques, utilize the science of evidence based clinical practices in addition to motivational interviewing techniques, to achieve the client’s desired health outcomes. According to a 2013 Clinical Health Coach Survey it was estimated that approximately 30-50% of patients leave their provider’s office visits without understanding, their treatments plans. Engaging an individual in collaborative communication, allows people to reflect and define their understanding of treatment plans and decide how to make needed changes. Clients are empowered and gain confidence, as they take small steps toward their own personalized health goals. As healthcare professionals, we may be tempted to give clients information and advice that aligns with traditional methods of patient education. Health coaches are trained to appropriately determine when and if they should share information, give advice or make suggestions. Recommendations should only be offered by the coach, after receiving permission from the client, to do so. Affirmation is another key element of coaching, providing positive feedback for an individual’s effort and willingness to make changes. Coaching techniques are learned through intensive health coach training certification programs offered by various organizations. According to the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) the health coaching profession is expected to grow over 15% over the next five years.
How to Become a Certified Health Coach
There are two certification pathways to achieve health coaching credentials those of a Certified Health Coach (CCP) or (CHC) or a Registered Health Coach (RHC) learn more at the Health Science Institute. There are various organizations that offer Health Coach training for multiple healthcare professional disciplines. It is important to select a training program that is approved by a national organization that your profession will be recognizing for your area of expertise.
To explore the CDCs’ recognized lifestyle coach training programs, for diabetes prevention programs for example: visit the National Diabetes Prevention Program home page select the tab “Training for Your Lifestyle Coaches,” or for online enrollment for the CDC’s Prevent T2 DPP curriculum go to the Prevent T2 training registration website at State of Wellness or visit the AADE Prevention Network for onsite or off site Lifestyle coach training enrollment options.
Currently lifestyle coaching is an emerging care management technique that will require ongoing skill building. Enhancing one’s communication skills and knowledge for health coaching may require that certified coaches seek ongoing professional training resources independently. The American Medical Association offers free CEU courses on the management of chronic conditions including prediabetes and diabetes education topics. The Iowa Chronic Care Consortium is working with the University of Iowa College of Nursing, Iowa Board of Nursing to provide continuing education credits for clinical professionals working with patients with chronic conditions. Iowa nurses will be awarded 42.6 credits or 4.2 CEUs for completion of the course in its entirety.
Achieving my CHC certification has been one of the most rewarding endeavors of my career. Coaching builds bridges from the healthcare setting to the client, helping individuals gain confidence through increasing their understanding about symptom self-management and disease prevention. Coaching requires meeting the client on their level and progressing forward at their pace, through elicited behavior changes, in step by step process toward client-centered health victories.
Written By Faith Hope Horpestad RN, CHC