Functional Medicine Newport Beach

Health Coaching

Posted on February 1, 2024

The Value of a Health Coach On a Collaborative Care Team: Written by Sandra Scheinbaum, Ph.D., IFMCP

Why Have a Health Coach? 

Coaches bridge the gap between your recommendations and carrying them out.

“A coach inspires passion and purpose in others.”Fredrick Hudson, Hudson Institute of Coaching

Your Patients’ Personal Cheerleader

7 Ways that a Functional Medicine Health Coach Supports Patients

  1. Listen to their story
  2. Identifies and adds character strengths to their story
  3. Asks questions to identify meaning and purpose
  4. Addresses lifestyle factors
  5. Resolves ambivalence and establishes realistic goals
  6. Facilitates problem- solving and self- management
  7. Provides emotional support

Five Ways Health Coaching Helps Primary Care Providers support Patients 

  1. Ensures that patients understand plan of care
  2. Increases patient trust in your practice
  3. Improved chronic disease
  4. Coaching Improves Physical and Emotional Health (Cook et. al., 2017)
  5. “Health and Wellness Coaching (HWC) is now a respected discipline … and HWC for patients with chronic conditions has demonstrated the potential to positively change behaviors and health outcomes.” (Boehmer et. al., 2019)
  6. Obstacles to Patient-Initiated Healthcare; Potential for confusion, Lifestyle changes hard to initiate and sustain

 

References:

Cook, A. & Scheinbaum, S, Functional Medicine Health Coaching: A Path to Improving Patient Health. Poster Presentation at Stanford Medicine X, April, 2017.

Boehmer, K, et al., (2019). Capacity Coaching: A New Strategy for Coaching
Patients Living with Multimorbidity and Organizing their Care. Mayo Clin Proc. 94(2):278-286.