This is a guest blog from Hannah Draboczy, on behalf of the Health Coaching Academy, a provider of PCI-accredited training. In her blog, Hannah outlines principles of health coaching and its role in personalised care, along with offering practical tips and case studies for integrating the approach in various settings.
Despite its growing importance, many healthcare professionals are still unclear about what health coaching is, and the real potential it has when integrated into personalised care plans to enhance patient outcomes.
What is Health Coaching?
Health coaching is a process which can be used to reverse and prevent lifestyle-related chronic diseases. It involves working with people to help adopt new lifestyle habits that can lead to positive changes in diet, sleep, energy levels, exercise routines, stress reduction, time management, pain relief, life satisfaction and overall wellbeing.
Now clinically proven as an effective approach to enhancing health, health coaching offers promising avenues in various settings, including private practice, with doctors, chiropractors, psychologists, at health centres and clinics, within the corporate sector and at wellness retreats. It can also be the perfect additional skill set for those already working in healthcare, fitness, or nutrition.
What Role Does Health Coaching Play in Personalised Care?
As the name suggests, personalised care is all about tailoring healthcare services to meet the unique needs of every patient. That means considering that each and every individual is different, with their own circumstances, medical history, preferences and health goals.
Likewise, health coaching also focusses on the unique individual and looks at the person, beyond their medical condition, including things like their motivations, strengths, values, limiting beliefs and barriers that get in the way of them achieving their health goals.
These go hand in hand, and support partnership working between patients and health care professionals, to co-design care plans that are not only clinically appropriate but align with the patient’s overall health and wellbeing vision.
This approach leads to improved patient communication, better adherence to treatment plans, and ultimately, improved health outcomes.
The Impact of Health Coaching in Healthcare Settings
At Health Coaches Academy, a significant number of our students and graduates come from healthcare backgrounds. Just weeks into our Level 5 Diploma in Health & Wellness Coaching, we often see students applying their newfound coaching skills and knowledge and eagerly sharing the impact that they’ve seen on patient outcomes.
Below are some powerful examples:
Sonia’s Story: The Power of Listening
Current HCA student, Sonia is a nurse by profession and has noticed a real difference in the connections that she has with her patients since applying some of the coaching skills that she has learned during the HCA course so far.
She shares, “As a nurse, I’m listening to people’s stories and experiences more – I am learning from my patients. When you listen like that, you are in tune with them and they are in tune with you. You can feel it. They are more open and honest with you. As a result of deep listening and forming therapeutic relationships, I have even been able to reduce medication in some cases.”
Penny’s Progress: Transforming Primary Care Through Health Coaching
HCA Student, Penny, a Nurse Practitioner with over a decade of experience in Primary Care, has also witnessed the profound impact that health coaching can have on patient care. She shares:
“I have been a Nurse Practitioner within Primary Care for over 10 years now, and since starting to study with HCA, I have now developed knowledge, skills and tools that have transformed my consultations and benefited the patients and the practice hugely. I have increased patients’ motivation to self-manage and adopt healthy behaviours by listening to them and empowering them to choose and live healthier lifestyles.”
Kate’s Transformation: From Frustration to Fulfillment
After 30 years working as a health professional, as a homeopath, nutritionist, and personal trainer, HCA Graduate Kate, used to feel frustrated when clients struggled to follow through on the action plans she prescribed. That frustration disappeared when she discovered health coaching:
“When I came across coaching, I was hooked! It has equipped me with the knowledge and skills to ask the right questions to make clients feel empowered. As a result, those I work with feel more involved and accountable, leading to sustainable habits and higher commitment levels.
The key difference is that they now feel actively involved in their own journey. They have an intrinsic understanding of what works for them and just need the right support and space to achieve it. Coaching has enabled me to unlock this potential.”
Become a Professional Health & Wellness Coach
Integrating health coaching into personalised care is more than just improving patient outcomes – it’s about changing how healthcare is delivered. By focusing on asking the right questions, listening carefully, encouraging self-reflection, and taking a holistic view, healthcare professionals can make a more meaningful and lasting difference in their patients’ lives.
At HCA, we would love to see more healthcare professionals becoming catalysts for change in their communities. Our PCI accredited, part-time Diploma in Health & Wellness Coaching training course will teach you everything you need to know to become a highly skilled, professional Health Coach in just 12 months.
Find out more by joining a free introductory webinar with the HCA team: https://www.healthcoachesacademy.com/free-health-coach-webinars
More personalised care education and training
As the home of personalised care education, we have a vast selection of resources designed to equip health and care staff with skills in health coaching, facilitating self-management and shared decision making. These range from our free 30-minute eLearning modules to multi-day accredited courses provided by excellent third-party institutions.
See our full resource list at: https://www.personalisedcareinstitute.org.uk/pci-resources-menu/