How to Find a Health Coach.pdf - RTD

How to Find a Health CoachBy Lynn Grieger, eHow ContributorHealth coaching is all the rage. Search online for "health coach" and you find over 300,000choices. Not only are there thousands of health coaches to choose from, there's no onesingle, agreed-upon certification or training program that helps you identify the qualitycoaches from the run of the mill. Follow these steps to find your perfect health coach, andstart on the road toward improving your health and wellness.Instructions1234Choose a health coach who is certified by one of these highly respectedorganizations: International Coach Federation (ICF) atCoachfederation.org/ICF/ or Wellcoaches at Wellcoaches.com. You can find ahealth coach through these websites.Ask about the coach's training as a health and medical professional. Somecoaches specialize in life or business coaching, but may not have a stronghealth, science or medical background. Both ICF and Wellcoaches train andcertify coaches who specialize in health and medical issues.Understand why you want to work with a health coach. If your goal is toimprove your blood sugar control because you have diabetes, make sure youwork with a coach who is also a certified diabetes educator. If your primary goalis to begin an exercise program, look for a coach who is also an exercisephysiologist or certified personal trainer. When you're in the throes ofmenopause and are looking for a coach to guide you through your options toimprove your health and well-being, look for a woman who's been throughmenopause herself or understands the numerous facets of this stage of life.Read through the potential coach's website to find out about her style andapproach. Browse several articles she's authored to get a thorough sense ofher expertise as well as the specific areas she's most interested in. If you enjoyher writing and find yourself drawn to her website, then you're alreadyestablishing a trusting relationship essential for coaching.

5Schedule a 15- to 20-minute telephone interview with two or three prospectivecoaches (make sure they don't charge for this; most don't). Develop a list ofquestions to ask each coach so you can compare their answers. Ask how theywork with their coaching clients, find out how long they anticipate your coachingprogram will last, and make sure that they have a friendly and pleasant tone.Tips & Warnings• Most health coaches recommend working together for at least 3 months to makereal progress toward your goals.• Coaches aren't magicians. Be prepared to put in hard work and effort to reachyour goals.Resources• International Coach Federation• Wellcoaches Corporation