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Welcome to the first blog post at Eos Holistic Wellbeing!
For today's post - I'm going to give you the 101 on the following:
What exactly is a Health & Wellness Coach?
What can a Health & Wellness Coach do? What can't they do? (aka. scope of practice)
DISCLAIMER: The health and wellness coaching industry is currently unregulated, which means not all coaches are held to the same professional standards. As a Certified Master Health & Wellness Coach through AFPA and a member of the Health Coaches Australia and New Zealand Association (HCANZA), I adhere to a recognized code of ethics and a defined scope of practice, which will inform the information I impart below.
What exactly is a Health & Wellness Coach?
A Health & Wellness Coach is a professional who works with clients to empower them to make sustainable changes to improve their overall wellbeing. Rather than offering prescriptive advice, coaches partner with clients to explore their personal goals, motivations, and obstacles. Through a collaborative process, the coach helps the client identify areas they want to work on, such as stress management, physical health, or emotional wellbeing, and supports them in creating actionable steps to reach those goals.
Coaches focus on the whole person, taking into account the interconnectedness of mind, body, and lifestyle. This holistic approach helps clients cultivate balance in all areas of life, fostering long-term health and resilience. Health & Wellness Coaches can work in a variety of settings, from private practices to healthcare clinics, and may collaborate with other health professionals.
Each Health & Wellness Coach may define their role slightly differently, depending on their training, the behaviour change theories or coaching techniques they employ, and the areas they choose to specialize in. A good way to understand a coach’s approach is to explore their website, where you'll find details about their values, coaching specialties, ethical guidelines, and scope of practice.
What can a Health & Wellness Coach do? What can’t they do? (aka. scope of practice)
Below is bullet-point list adapted from the HCANZA website that demonstrate a Health & Wellness Coaches scope of practice:
Health & Wellness Coaches do:
Listen and empathise
Honour the client in the driver’s seat
Affirm the client’s strengths
Elicit their goals, motivations, and ambitions
Hear from the client’s past success, projecting those resources into their future
Create lifestyle change through conversation
Move the client toward actions and goals
Grow the mindset for change and the resilience advantage
Share evidence-based facts and health education, if asked or given permission by the client to do so
Refer to an expert when required
However, Health & Wellness Coaches do not:
Diagnose syndromes or illnesses
Coach on sports programs unless co-qualified
Act as therapists or counsellors to their clients unless co-qualified
Give a ‘prescription for health’ or nutraceutical supplements
Design a workout or a diet plan
Administer expertise and give advice outside of their scope of practice, and/or share without permission from the client
Share their personal wellness practices
Reference Link: https://hcanza.org/about/what-is-coaching/
To view the HCANZA Accredited Health Coaches Scope of Practice document, click here.
Hopefully this post helps you feel more informed about what the role of a Health & Wellness Coach is, as well as their scope of practice.
To see my coach approach, as well as my core values and mission statement, check out my about page here.
In wellness,
Nat
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