It’s a career path that’s also incredibly diverse. You can focus on weight loss, strength training or nutrition, or specialize in a disease or spiritual practice, or a combination of anything. You can join a growing health technology startup or start your own business. You may serve a broad demographic or help a specific age or health group.
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Whatever path you choose, you can help people build happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives. This, in turn, can make every day of work interesting and enjoyable. for you.
You may be wondering: Isn’t a health coach the same thing as a personal trainer? We’ll explain the differences between them and the job requirements for the former.
What is a health coach?
A health coach helps and empowers people to achieve their personal health and wellness goals through behavior changes, lifestyle changes and self-awareness, says Christina Corsetti, National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) and founder Balanced and updated wellness coaching.
When Corsetti was 30, she was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease and celiac disease, which inspired her to help others facing the same problems. Her work, like that of all good health coaches, is a “client-centered process”: “We work with clients to help them understand and simply overcome psychological barriers,” she says, adding: “It’s more than just physical barriers. »
A typical day for a health coach may involve meeting with clients in person or via video to discuss their goals, developing a program aimed at achieving those goals, and reviewing and changing said goals over time.
Health coaches who run their own practice may also spend most of their time on administrative work such as marketing, billing, writing reports for clients, and staying up to date with developments in the field. “If you are lucky enough to partner with a physician in whatever practice you work with, then you communicate with them about the progress of the client or patient,” adds William MerrickNBC-HWC at medical technology company Optispan, which also hosts clients on its own from time to time.
Certified Health Coaches
A board-certified health coach is a trained health coach who may work with a health care team, work in digital health, or help clients through a community program or small business. They have completed skills-based training and worked hours that meet their criteria National Council for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) to provide coaching to clients with internal or external health and wellness issues.
NBHWC is one of the most respected companies in health coach certification, primarily because it partners with the National Board of Health Examiners, which oversees physician certification, to ensure that coaches meet high standards of education, training and professional integrity. Since the partnership began in 2016, NBHWC has graduated more than 100,000 health and wellness professionals.
Not every health coach is board certified, but this certification gives you more legitimacy to your practice. “I deal with people’s lives. I deal with their mental capacity,” Corsetti says, adding, “And being part of something like the National Council and having those standards and ethics, it shows that I stand by it and I’m going to do the best I can.” for the safety of the people I work with.”
On his websitethe organization lists available programs at colleges, medical schools, and medical centers that allow students to apply and complete NBHWC National Board Certification Exam. Test requirements include a certificate of completion, a practical skills assessment, and proof of hours of coaching or work experience. If the participant passes, they are assigned NBC-HWC status.
“As part of maintaining our NBC-HWC credentials, it is mandatory for us to engage in ongoing professional development by completing 36 hours of continuing education every three years“adds Corsetti. “This requirement ensures that we, as coaches, remain at the forefront of health information and coaching trends, allowing us to provide the most relevant and practical support to our clients.”
What is the difference between a health coach and a personal trainer?
While personal trainers focus primarily on the physical aspects of health and wellness—exercises, workout plans, stretching, and maybe even diet—health coaches take a more holistic approach. “We are trained to understand the wide range of factors that influence a person’s health and well-being, including the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of a person,” says Corsetti. This may depend on sleep, alertness, diet, exercise and movement, medical history, or stress.
Corsetti adds that health coaches who have moved into this field and have had the most success in it tend to have backgrounds in nutrition, psychology or nursing. On the other hand, a personal trainer may have expertise in anatomy, physiology, or biomechanics.
What personal trainers and health coaches have in common, aside from some training and qualifications, is a client-focused mentality. Both tailor their services to each individual and prioritize the individual’s unique fitness level, mental state, personal goals and experience. “It’s not about my input or what I think is best for the clients,” Corsetti says. “The client knows what is best for him. I’m just a guide on the side.”
Personal trainers and health coaches also do not work in isolation, and sometimes one can refer a client to the other. “I’m not going to run with you or really provide motivation for the day,” Merrick says. “I’m going to talk to them about what motivates you and how can we use that?”
“We’re both committed to responsibility and we’re both dedicated to helping people feel better,” he adds.
What skills do you need to become a health coach?
To become a health coach, you should hone some or all of the following skills:
Motivational interview: You can’t change behavior without first understanding what drives it. Motivational interview gets to the heart of the client’s motives and encourages him to take steps to discover and use them. “It’s up to them to decide what they want for themselves. Extrinsic motivation doesn’t last, says Corsetti.
Active listening: To create a plan that truly produces results, health coaches must clearly understand each client’s wants, needs, and obstacles—and they are best able to do this when they actually listen and process what they are told. said.
Sympathy: Health coaches who can empathize with where their clients come from are able to build a strong bond based on trust and respect. This skill is especially important when working with clients who have unique situations, such as chronic illness, mental health issues, or addiction.
Setting goals: SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound) goals are the health coach’s secret weapon. But coaches also need to know how to break down a client’s big goals (like losing weight or running a marathon) into smaller, more manageable ones, and then be able to give the client the confidence to achieve them. “That’s the hardest thing, getting them to believe in themselves and see that it’s possible,” Corsetti says.
General knowledge of health and wellness: Whether you’re new to the field or making a major career change, getting some training in the health and wellness field can help you figure out where you want to specialize and better prepare you for the NBC-HWC exam. Corsetti, for example, worked in public health and received a master’s degree in health and wellness coaching from the University of Maryland Integrative Health.
Previously, Merrick was a licensed massage therapist and fitness instructor and supplemented his certification with training in Institute of Integrative Nutrition And Wild Health Precision Medicine Fellowship. Other credible options, according to Merrick, include: Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Program And Institute of Functional Medicine.
You may also consider taking a course or set of courses on motivational interviewing, coaching philosophy, body systems, or specific health conditions such as diabetes or addiction.
Conclusion
Health coaches are guides for people in overcoming or treating illness, pain, mental blocks and other health-related problems. Personal trainers are a niche category in health coaching, focusing primarily on physical challenges and capabilities. Health coaching requires empathy and a strong ability to listen and set goals—skills you can acquire through certifications and training programs.
“It’s fun. It’s very dynamic. The information is constantly changing. So if you also consider yourself a lifelong teacher, this could be a really good choice for you,” Merrick says of the benefits of becoming a health coach.
Of course, this work is not without its challenges. He cites potentially long or strange work schedules (such as evenings or weekends) and difficulty finding clients when self-employed as potential downsides. It is also not as lucrative or in-demand as fields such as physical therapy or occupational therapy.
But Merrick adds: “It can be very rewarding when you see the difference you can make in someone’s life. It’s hard to put a monetary value on this.”