Our modern world can make living a healthy lifestyle, a real challenge. From the plethora of credible and not so credible information online to ultra process foods being promoted at every turn, the drip feed of stress from social media and the news plus energy, financial and time pressures, it’s often hard to make healthy choices even if we want to. Chronic conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease and Dementia are diseases of this modern life and are on the rise.
Health coaching is about helping people get back in touch with their health and supporting them to take ownership of their health in the face of these challenges. Health coaches help bridge the gap between traditional health education, where you are informed of what to do and the realistic and meaningful action required to improve and optimise lifestyle behaviours for improved health and quality of life. Health coaching does not look towards quick fixes but long-term sustainable action that works for you and your life. Health and happiness are something everyone deserves.
So what is health coaching?
Health coaching is where a health coach works in a collaborative partnership with an individual, helping them to develop realistic and sustainable positive health behaviours. Commonly health coaches work with people on things like sleep, stress management, healthy eating and movement however as health coaching takes a holistic approach, any aspect of health and wellbeing can be addressed. Family, fun, spirituality, work, smoking and alcohol often come up for discussion and action too. Where psychology and counselling often focus on working through past experiences, coaching holds space for the past, but the emphasis is on positive action now and the future.
Health coaches do not tell people what to do, rather they ask questions and help the individual discover their own answers and next steps; we are after all experts in our own life. Using evidence-based techniques health coaches will help build your motivation for change, help you create a plan to make it happen and provide some accountability if you want it. The path forward is rarely straight, progress may come in leaps and bounds, sometimes you may feel like sometimes you are going backwards, sometimes it will feel slow and perhaps it will click and you glide forward. This is all normal and health coaches do not judge your experience but help you learn what works for you so you can plan and activate the next step.
Individuals usually commit to a 6 – 12 week program of weekly sessions to work toward a goal or set of goals that truly matter to them. The first one or two sessions is about getting an understanding of who you are, what matters to you and why, what is already working well in your health and well-being and where your challenges and struggles lie. By asking you questions your coach will help you identify any areas of your life where you would like to make changes. Together you will create an area of focus and a direction to move towards.
For example, strength training for longevity, bone health and energy may be top of mind and something someone has considered for a while. Through discussion, they decided they want to take action and work towards doing some kind of resistance training, 3 times a week most weeks. They might be completely unsure of where to start, how to fit it into a busy schedule and work around some knee pain; will it be at a gym, in a class, at home? Through conversation with the coach they work towards figuring out the first step. Together they co-design a specific goal to work on during the first week, nutting out the tiny details of what, how and when it will happen. Potential barriers and how to navigate them are explored and strengthened and they develop a plan that the person is confident they can accomplish. These are the small, realistic steps that will create sustainable change. So for the person wanting to do some strength training, an example of their goal could be spending 1hr on Tuesday afternoon researching local personal trainers and calling one of them to ask what they offer and how much it costs.
Each week health coaches help individuals reflect and explore their experiences, what went well, what didn’t, what was learnt. All this information helps reveal the next step. As goals and experiments are achieved it helps increase self efficacy which is the belief in their own ability to complete a task or goal and therefore take control of their own health and well-being.
A quick note on motivation and willpower. Health coaches do not rely on motivation and willpower. Both can wane when we are tired or stressed, when life throws us curveballs big or small and when our environment tries to sabotage us! Instead, health coaches work with individuals on creating strategies, routines, environments and accountability structures that help us make the choices we want to make for our health and well-being. Over time we develop strong and familiar habits that become the way we live and who we are, we can thrive not just survive.
Working with a health coach can be a fun and fulfilling experience. All that is needed is openness to explore things, willingness to give things a go and curiosity about what possibilities there may be for you moving forward.
Health Coaching is accessible through the Put a Spring in Your Step (SIS) Program and GROW Program at Springs Medical. For more information visit https://springsmedical.com.au/heath-coaching/ If you are looking for improved health and well-being and need support, please get in touch. sis@springsmedical.com.au
Submitted by Millie Gellatly, Certified Health Coach and Wellness Nurse at Springs Medical.
