How Having a Health Coach Improves Mental Wellness

While health coaches do not specialize in treating complex mental concerns or conditions, they are unique health professionals who encourage, motivate, and teach their clients to enhance physical activity, choose healthy nutrition habits and manage emotional stress effectively (American Council on Exercise, 2013). However, hiring a health coach can do more for an individual than simply help him or her change health-related habits. Rooted in the science and psychology of behavioural change, health coaching can directly and positively impact a client’s mental wellness.

What is Mental Wellness?

Mental wellness is a specific piece of the larger personal wellness puzzle; it is one of many aspects of health that make a person “well” or “whole.” The World Health Organization (WHO) defines mental wellness as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities; can cope with normal stresses of life; can work productively and fruitfully; and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”

The client-centered health coaching process allows inviduals to deeply examine the intricacies of their behaviours and determine whether these behaviours contribute to or detract from their overall state of wellness. As the process evolves, clients develop a greater sense of who they are, why they make certain choices and how their daily choices can lead to an improved state of mental and physical wellbeing.

Individuals who engage with a health coach will experience greater fulfillment in all the dimensions that encompass his or her existence, including mental wellness.

Why Individuals Should Seek a Health Coach

Individuals often seek the service of a health coach after encountering a health-related concern. As a result, many have a singular focus: the health problem. A health coach provides an avenue for self-discovery and helps him or her shift the focus from the problem to the solution and holistic lifestyle change.

In turn, developing self-efficacy, confidence and self-reliance, which support their journey of change.

Mental Wellness Benefits

Solution and Strength-oriented Mind Shift

Lee Jordan, a wellness consultant, ACE Health Coach and Personal Trainer, educator and national presenter, cautions us about the downside of becoming too “problem-oriented.” He explains, “Clients arrive to us very focused on their health problem, and therefore we, naturally, are also focused on their health problem. This is a trap that can lead to us playing the ‘expert’ and launch our effort in a way that leads our client into an even deeper focus on the ‘problem.’ A cascade of potential counterproductive events is now set into motion, not the least of which is a client mindset that is hyper-problem/solution-focused. Additionally, ‘all-or-nothing’ mentality may take over with client's expectation of a linear path to change that does not occur and diminishes opportunities to build resilience. Resilience is critical to all behaviour change.”

The purpose of health coaching is not to direct, but to guide individuals toward their own solutions and help them recognize that they are the experts of their own lives. Jordan further illustrates this process by sharing that “experienced certified health coaches can partner with individuals that seek us out due to a health-related problem in a way that enhances their mental wellness and their capacity to transform through the principles of appreciative inquiry.” Appreciative inquiry is a strengths-based approach that facilitates strengths as a path forward, rather than focusing on a problem and sets the table for hope and optimism (Moore and Charvat, 2007).

The classic analogy is one of a gardener who only pulls weeds (problems) rather than providing the needed nurturing for plants to grow. No weeds exist but there are no flourishing plants either. “Our client’s mental wellness is priority number one for positive change to grow,” argues Jordan.

In short, working with a health coach provides an oppotunity to discover and develop your inner strength and take charge of your life fully engaged in positive, sustainable and consistent lifestyle change.

Improved Self-efficacy

Central to the health coaching process is the concept of self-efficacy, or the individual’s perception of his or her ability to transform or perform specific behaviours (American Council on Exercise, 2013).

As someone moves through the various stages of transformation, the health coach actively works to help develop self-efficacy. As self-efficacy increases, the individual experiences enhanced confidence and self-esteem. Individuals with higher levels of self-efficacy often experience lower levels of anxiety with a reduced risk for developing depression (Singh and Bussey, 2010). There is a fundamental link between self-efficacy and mental wellness .

Motivational Interviewing for Self-discovery

A third mental wellness benefit to health coaching is self-discovery and self-reliance through motivational interviewing (MI) techniques. MI is used to ignite individual behavioral change efforts. A coaching process that is rooted in MI has been shown to improve both the individual physical and mental health status (Butterworth et al., 2006).

MI allows the person to explore his or her individual barriers to change and progress. When the health coach engages someone in MI, the client gains a deeper understanding of what he or she needs to successfully transform as well as how he or she will make those changes. Again, confidence grows and so, too, does the capacity to transform.

While the primary emphasis in health coaching is health-related behavioural transformation it is often accompanied by improved physical fitness; learning to make sound nutritional choices; employ effective stress-management techniques; and enhanced mental wellness is a welcomed side effect. Health coaching, therefore, provides a pathway to a more fulfilling life.

Health coaching is a professional practice that specifically focuses on the psychology of health behaviour change as it relates to an individual’s state of wellness and health-related behaviours.

Health coaches understand the holistic nature of wellness and recognize a person’s behaviour and choices are rooted in the complex interconnectedness of emotional; behavioural; physical; nutritional; exercise and lifestyle habits (American Council on Exercise, 2013).

References

American Council on Exercise. (2013). ACE Health Coach Manual. San Diego, CA: ACE

Butterworth, S. et al. (2006). Effect of motivational interviewing-based health coaching on employees' physical and mental health status. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 11, 4, 358–365.

Moore, S.M., and Charvat, J. (2007). Promoting health behavior change using appreciative inquiry: Moving from deficit models to affirmation models of care. Family and Community Health, 30, S64-S74.

Singh, P. and Bussey, K. (2011) Peer victimization and psychological maladjustment: The mediating role of coping self-efficacy. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 2, 420–433.

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