Are you considering working with a health coach? If so, well done! Health coaches take a holistic approach to helping individuals make important lifestyle changes to improve their physical and emotional well-being.
A coaching relationship requires a commitment on your part and open communication between both parties. Knowing what to expect from your health coach will go a long way toward assuring you have a successful experience.
Health coaches are non-judgmental accountability partners
A health coach helps you create long- and short-term goals based on the changes you want to make in your life, explains Addie Spaller, a senior marketing specialist and former Sharecare coach manager in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Goals are meaningless, however, unless you take steps to reach them.
“We’re here as accountability partners to really support clients and aid them in creating healthy lifestyle behaviors so they can not only reach their goals, but also maintain good health for the rest of their lives,” Spaller says.
Flavia Magoba, a senior health coach with Sharecare in Silver Spring, Maryland, says a common misconception of coaching is that a coach will tell you what to do and give you a specific plan. Not necessarily.
“We like to empower clients,” Magoba says. “Furthermore, we don’t judge. We start every coaching session with a clean slate. We’re here to be a support and another resource for individuals.”
Health coaches provide helpful resources
Coaches don’t direct clients, but they do offer resources, such as tips and recipes, to help them reach their goals. They also point clients to approved and vetted online sources of health information—such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Diabetes Association, or the American Heart Association—where they can learn more about their particular health challenges.
It's believed that people who have chronic conditions have better outcomes when they have disease-specific knowledge and skills. Furthermore, coaching encourages patients to take an active role in their own care.
Health coaches maintain a structured (but flexible) format
Whether your session is in-person or on the telephone, health coaches set an agenda for each appointment that respects each other’s time constraints.
Generally, the first order of business is to follow up from the last appointment, to see where the client has done well, and to identify areas where they can continue to improve. Then, it’s on to discuss where the client wants to go next.
At the end of each consultation, coaches typically hone in on goal-setting. They'll not only discuss next steps the client would like to take, but also the strategies that can help make those changes happen. The goal is to set clients up for success.
At Sharecare, for example, most coaching calls take place about every four weeks. If a client needs more frequent contact (or less), that’s okay, too. If they need to adjust the length of a call, which averages about 15 minutes, that’s also workable. Coaching should be flexible enough to accommodate clients’ specific needs.
Health coaches will listen
Coaches find that clients often want someone to vent to, says Kelsey Eischeid, client onboarding lead with Sharecare and a former health coach manager. Eischeid recalled a coaching client who felt discouraged because of several challenging circumstances in her life.
The health coach asked this particular client, “If your friends gave you a medal for something, what would it be?” The client reflected for a moment and then listed several of her strengths.
That simple exercise gave the client a new perspective and something to feel good about. Sometimes, a simple mindset change can be just as life-changing—and good for your health—as a tangible goal, such as losing weight.
Health coaches ask the right questions
“When we talk about weight loss, healthy eating, and such, we also talk about all the lifestyle factors that might be roadblocks to behavior change,” says Magoba. Often, clients are surprised to find that stress or lack of sleep (or both) is getting in the way of their achieving other goals. Coaches help you uncover obstacles you might not have been aware of. Once you’ve identified these roadblocks, your coach can help you identify steps to overcome them.
“People just don’t know how much lack of sleep affects their physical and mental awareness,” Magoba says. It’s the same with stress. Although a little bit of stress can be healthy, if you have a lot of consistent stress, it can contribute to chronic illnesses, like heart disease and diabetes.
Health coaches offer intangible benefits
Losing weight, eating right, and quitting smoking are among coaching clients’ most common goals, and they can make a profound difference in your overall health. But coaching clients enjoy other, less tangible benefits, as well.
The key is having open communication. When communication lines are open, a coach can help steer a client toward behavioral changes that may be more subtle than simple numbers on a scale. With the trust that comes from a strong working relationship, clients can develop more confidence, become more outgoing, and be more willing to try new and different things to benefit their health.
Sources: Thom DH, Wolf J, Gardner H, et al. A Qua... + 1
- Thom DH, Wolf J, Gardner H, et al. A Qualitative Study of How Health Coaches Support Patients in Making Health-Related Decisions and Behavioral Changes. Ann Fam Med. 2016;14(6):509-516.
- Grinspoon, Peter, MD. Harvard Health Publishing. Health coaching is effective. Should you try it? April 8, 2020.
