Our Approach
Health & Wellness Coaching applies positive psychology, behavior change, and self-management in the process of empowering clients to envision a better life and develop the goals and tools needed to live it.
- Physical fitness & activity
- Cognitive fitness
- Nutrition
- Sleep
- Stress management
- Chronic condition management
- Psychosocial wellbeing
Instead of the traditional concern with what's broken in a person, Martin Seligman and colleagues developed positive psychology, which identifies how positive emotions enhance wellbeing. Inner strengths are tapped to nurture those emotions. Meanwhile, evidence shows that the more autonomy one feels in the behavior change journey, the more durable the positive impact on health and wellbeing. These core concepts drive the coaching process.
What does this look like in practice? If a tennis coach tells you to raise your elbow two inches, follow through a further four inches, and make 10 other changes to the mechanics of your swing, you'll be more concerned with meeting an abstract ideal than trusting your natural ability to succeed. If, on the other hand, the coach notes you hit the ball into the net 50% of the time and invites you to explore the causes, you'll start problem-solving on your own. Say you find the problem, now the coach may encourage you to explore ways to improve your technique. They'll offer guidance when you're stumped, but sparingly, staying grounded in their role of helping you develop the skill autonomously, not giving orders for you to robotically follow, only to fall apart in your next match. If this analogy makes you think of W. Timothy Gallwey's, "The Inner Game of Tennis," well done. His book was groundbreaking and its influence persists.
The same principles apply to health & wellness coaching:
- Exploration of values, strengths, challenges, and desires.
- Envisioning one's best self and life (what do both look like to you?).
- Behavior change goals for well-aging and strategies to meet them.
- Applying strategies independently as the individual sets out on their own.
- Periodic or ongoing check-ins as needed.
At Integrative Aging In Place, a clinical background in occupational therapy addressing health- and age-related challenges provides a knowledge base that enhances services when guidance is needed. However, the coach's role nurturing autonomy and self-management is foremost. You are the expert on yourself and your wellness vision is uniquely yours. Work with a coach to be the person you want to be and find fulfillment and joy in every life stage. We're here to help.