Wellness Coach

Hours: 290 / Access Length: 12 Months / Delivery: Online, Self-Paced

Course Overview:

Wellness coaching is a specialization that builds on expertise in areas related to health, wellness, and fitness while relying on relevant theories and methods from the coaching field.  Wellness coaches may work with clients who have specific health, wellness, and fitness goals, as well as those who have broad goals in the areas of health and wellness.  This course will provide a comprehensive overview of wellness coaching and the specific skills and strategies that are used by wellness coaches.  Students will learn about the different coaching models and paths of change, as well as the methods used to establish an effective coaching relationship.  Students will also learn communication strategies, as well as how to listen and ask appropriate questions.  Upon completion of this course, the student will be fully prepared to begin working as a wellness coach.

Curriculum Developer Biography:

Willow Nolland is an expert in education and eLearning, with more than ten years of experience in curriculum development and instructional design. She has worked in higher education for over twelve years, and has developed numerous courses and has been involved in curriculum development across disciplines. She has experience with academic program development and coordination, curriculum development, student learning outcomes, educational partnerships, and student development. In addition, she has developed and administered professional development programs for various groups, including teachers, counselors, healthcare workers and members of private industry. She is a certified Quality Matters Reviewer and has taken graduate courses in online course development. She designs and teaches online courses at the college level and is proficient in a variety of course management systems. She has helped educators redesign their courses to transition them from a face-to-face format to an online format, and has provided course editing assistance to others. As a freelance instructional designer and curriculum developer, her projects have included course editing and redesign of online continuing education courses for nurses, CEU curriculum development for healthcare workers and teachers, and course review and editing for various colleges and universities.

Course Outline:

Lesson 1: Overview of Wellness Coaching

In this lesson, you will receive an overview of wellness coaching.  You will learn about the different types of wellness coaching, as well as the job duties of a wellness coach.  You will also learn about the role of wellness and wellness coaching in the healthcare system, and the common needs of wellness coaching clients.

Lesson 2: Coaching Models and Paths of Change

In this lesson, you will learn about the different types of coaching models used in wellness coaching.  You will learn about the theoretical models of coaching, as well as the models and methods involved in the change process.  You will also learn how to apply these theories and models to your own coaching practice.  Upon completion of this lesson, you should be starting the process of developing your own coaching style.

Lesson 3: Establishing an Effective Coaching Relationship

In this lesson, you will begin to explore the importance of the coaching relationship.  You will learn about different methods for establishing a coaching relationship, as well as strategies for ensuring the relationship is healthy and supportive.  You will learn about the specific characteristics that are part of a coaching relationship, and you will begin to develop your own strategy for establishing and maintaining a coaching relationship with your clients.

Lesson 4: Listening and Asking Questions

In this lesson, you will learn about the importance of listening and asking the right questions in the wellness coaching process.  You will learn about active listening and its role in coaching.  You will also learn how to develop different types of coaching questions to best help your client.  You will learn about generic questions as well as more specific questions that can be tailored to specific clients.  Upon completion of this lesson, you will have a thorough understanding of the importance of listening to your clients and asking the right questions.

Lesson 5: Direct Communication

In this lesson, you will learn about the importance of direct communication in the coaching process.  You will learn how to communicate with clients in a way that fosters an open and honest dialogue. Effective communication is an essential component in the coaching process, and improper communication can be detrimental to the relationship between the coach and the client.  This lesson will provide you with the skills you need to ensure you communicate effectively and appropriately with all of your clients.

Lesson 6: Awareness, Action, and Future Growth

In this lesson, you will learn about the importance of developing and action plan and preparing for the future.  As a Wellness coach, your role is to help your clients identify their goals and create a plan to achieve those goals.  Thinking toward the future and developing a solid action plan is essential to reaching those goals.  This lesson will provide you with the tools necessary to work with your client to identify goals and develop an action plan that extends into the future.

Lesson 7: Coaching as a Path of Change

In this lesson, you will explore the concept of coaching as a "path of change."  You will learn about the need for lifelong learning as a wellness coach, and you will establish goals for your future practice.  This lesson will provide you with the opportunity to prepare for your role as a wellness coach and create your own action plan for your future.

All necessary materials are included.

System Requirements:

Internet Connectivity Requirements:

• Cable, Fiber, DSL, or LEO Satellite (i.e. Starlink) internet with speeds of at least 10mb/sec download and 5mb/sec upload are recommended for the best experience.

NOTE: While cellular hotspots may allow access to our courses, users may experience connectivity issues by trying to access our learning management system.  This is due to the potential high download and upload latency of cellular connections.   Therefore, it is not recommended that students use a cellular hotspot as their primary way of accessing their courses.

Hardware Requirements:

• CPU: 1 GHz or higher
• RAM: 4 GB or higher
• Resolution: 1280 x 720 or higher.  1920x1080 resolution is recommended for the best experience.
• Speakers / Headphones
• Microphone for Webinar or Live Online sessions.

Operating System Requirements:

• Windows 7 or higher.
• Mac OSX 10 or higher.
• Latest Chrome OS
• Latest Linux Distributions
  

NOTE: While we understand that our courses can be viewed on Android and iPhone devices, we do not recommend the use of these devices for our courses. The size of these devices do not provide a good learning environment for students taking online or live online based courses.

Web Browser Requirements:

• Latest Google Chrome is recommended for the best experience.
• Latest Mozilla FireFox
• Latest Microsoft Edge
• Latest Apple Safari

Basic Software Requirements (These are recommendations of software to use):

• Office suite software (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, or LibreOffice)
• PDF reader program (Adobe Reader, FoxIt)
• Courses may require other software that is described in the above course outline.