Episode 27: How to become a health coach with Simon Matthews
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Laurena and Vanessa finally reunited in this podcast! We warmly welcome Simon Matthews, a psychologist by training and also the CEO of WellCoaches Australia, a health coach certification program that is accredited by the NBHWC.

1. What is a health coach? Simon describes health coaching as the "engine room of lifestyle medicine". Content isn't sufficient to convince people to change their behaviour, but by being convinced that their personal values come to life when they engage in certain behaviours.

2. Skills of health coaching that are evidence-based, such as skilful conversation, motivational interviewing, appreciative enquiry

3. People make changes only when it has a personal meaning to them; also, a habit serves a purpose, so even if it appears to be "bad", we need to find another way to help them resolve the underlying reason for this habit and adopt more beneficial, healthier and sustainable options.

4. What are the pathways to becoming a health coach? Having some guidelines gives consumers confidence what they are getting, and also standardises the quality of health coaches that come from different backgrounds.

5. How to bring coaching into a clinical practice in a patient-centred approach, which is also a practitioner-rewarding approach!

6. What are the current challenges of bringing health coaching into our current healthcare system? We need to see a reform of how things are done now, to a model that encourages people to engage in healthier lifestyle choices.

7. Laurena's experience of running shared medical appointments on stress management in her clinic.

8. What people are suitable to become health coaches? Those with allied health background are in a great position if they want to be NBHWC certified later on, but those who are interested in health coaching (engineers, actors!) are also able to take these courses.

9. The million-dollar question - how do we make this financially viable for all parties involved? The user, the provider, the insurance etc.  All big journeys start with small steps!

To find out more about Simon, please visit his website WellCoaches Australia) , and to learn more about health coaching certification, please visit NBHWC)