Mental Health/Wellness coaches and Psychotherapists both work with the art and science of facilitating change in their patients and clients. While the evolving field of health coaching and the established disciplines of clinical or counseling psychology share major areas of overlap, there are also significant distinctions between the two fields.
Psychotherapists focus on mentally-based conditions listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V (DSM-V) and are trained in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of mental disorders. However, effective mental health is holistic and includes health coaching and health education. Since Mental Health is on a spectrum, traditional psychotherapy may not be the best behavioral health option for your specific needs and challenges. Mental health coaches work with those unique needs and challenges by creating specific strategies, coaches target your unique skills and gifts. By helping you to make the most of your strengths, coaches provide the support you need to achieve long-lasting change.
Traditional Psychotherapy has its limitations and the main one is not addressing the omnipresent human need for goal attainment, self-discovery and personal development. That is how and why professional health coach training itself emerged in the last 10 to 15. Facilitating a client’s self-discovery and process of learning is central to coaching.
Mental Health and Wellness coaches help people to make progress in their life in order to attain greater fulfillment. They help to establish and to enhance the self-identified health and well-being goals of their clients.
So, what is a mental health coach? They’re specially trained professionals who help people develop greater self-awareness, implement tools to better manage their lives, and pursue specific mental health goals. Coaches can help people with a range of conditions, from stress, burnout, and anxiety to those who need support through life transitions, tough feelings like anger, or relationship issues. Mental health coaching is designed to get you back on track when you’re feeling stuck and help you create a more rewarding life.
The field of health coaching has become increasingly sophisticated as it draws from a growing body of evidence-based coaching psychology, positive psychology, adult learning theory, motivational interviewing (MI), and new findings in neuroscience.The training and education for health coaches tends to concentrate on more than 50 years of research in social psychology, health promotion, organizational leadership, behavioral and positive psychology, and the latest findings in neuroscience and the workings of the brain.
Coaching, as a methodology for facilitating intentional positive change, has apparently become a permanent fixture in contemporary Western society and, as a certified Wellness Coach, I am here to inspire, clarify and and support you in your journey of self-discovery and self-betterment.
