Coaching FAQ's

Put simply, a health coach is a behavior change expert. As a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, my job is to help you adjust your thoughts and behaviors so you can create better habits that will allow you to achieve your ideal vision of health and wellness.

When we work together, we’ll get clear on just what that ideal vision is. Where are you now vs. where you actually want to be? What are your goals? What’s stopping you from reaching those goals? And, ultimately, how do we close the gap through simple, attainable steps?

I believe everyone has the ability to achieve lasting, positive change. I also know that change can be really hard. My role as a mental health coach is to help you anchor your big “Why” to achieve lifelong wellness.

Coaching sessions are safe and supportive places to work through challenges, find creative solutions, and build on past successes to help move you forward.

A holistic approach to health takes into account your body and your mind, as well as your present and your future. When we work together, we’ll begin by identifying what's most important in your life. We’ll get clear on where you are right now and where you want to be. We’ll identify the root causes of your challenges and use evidence-based strategies to get you feeling your best and reaching your goals!

As a holistic mental health coach, I use the principles of functional medicine to guide our work together. This model of care looks for root causes of disease and discomfort, instead of treating just the most obvious symptoms.

Functional medicine takes into account all of the different dimensions of wellness: nutrition, sleep/rest, movement/exercise, stress, relationships, self-care, and resilience. Together, we’ll assess how each of those things is showing up in your life, and we’ll develop an action plan for adjusting anything we need to.

Throughout my career in mental health and public education, I have personally and professionally felt the pervasive ripple effects of unmanaged stress and burnout among high-achieving women. Since the pandemic, I have seen a huge uptick in professional women struggling with carrying the mental load of doing all the things- both at work and at home.

So many of my clients over the past year especially came to coaching with a goal to achieve better work-life balance. When we pull back the layers, we find that the root cause of poor work-life balance typically stems from lack of confidence in setting healthy boundaries, people-pleasing, and perfectionism, among other internal and external factors.

On top of what I’ve seen within my career and coaching practice, I also suffered and recovered from two debilitating burnout experiences, one of which required a 10 week leave of absence to put myself back together. I absolutely understand the overwhelm, the pressure, and the passionate desire to do good and feel good. And because I got here, because I figured it out, my passion has become helping others do the same.

In order to be successful in meeting your specific goals, it’s important that you commit to attending sessions and completing the action tasks. Coaching is its own unique process that draws upon strategies for goal attainment, yet ultimately, you are in the driver’s seat and the real “magic” happens outside of the coaching sessions when you implement the strategies learned.

I’ve coached hundreds of clients using the exact strategies within my coaching methodology, and they’ve reported transformative results. My coaching program works for you because it’s a holistic approach based on positive psychology, functional medicine, cognitive behavioral therapy, community, connection, accountability and high-touch support.

My coaching programs are structured in such a way that even if you only have 20 extra minutes a week, you can make progress and see results. Also, if time is a major barrier I would suggest setting up your Time Audit session right away so you can uncover ways to free up your time- not just for the program, but for all the other things you desire to do!

Creating the life you want with a coach will always involve an initial decision to take action, and it’s natural for that to feel scary! Your brain may try to find reasons to delay, or come up with reasons why now is not the right time. Yet delaying makes your challenges worse… If you’re able to start making small incremental changes when life is busy- without it taking up much additional time in your day- then you gain confidence and realize you can do this for the long haul. Consistency and support create momentum, and action leads to motivation.

Over the past several decades, science has revealed more and more about the ways in which our diet affects our physical and mental wellbeing, and it’s become nearly impossible to deny that nutrition plays an enormous role in how we feel every day. The same can be said for regular movement and exercise.

Although I do not specifically prescribe a one-size-fits-all, specific diet plan or exercise regime, we can absolutely work together to adjust your diet and lifestyle in a manner that meets your unique needs and goals.

Everything in the program is customizable for where you’re starting from. Lessons are delivered in short, easily digestible pieces with clear action steps to put your new knowledge to work immediately, so that you can begin to see results right away.

The program supports (virtual client community, weekly group sessions, private email support, one-on-one sessions) are there for your benefit, so you can get coached, ask questions, get feedback, and more.

Everything in the program is customizable to meet you where you’re at- whatever level that may be.

The cognitive-behavioral techniques, mindset strategies, and time management hacks provided in the program are highly beneficial for all individuals.

Even if you work in the mental health or healthcare industries, we all need support and ongoing practice to shift our mindset, use healthy coping skills for stress management, and keep work/life balance in check.

Burnout can sneak up on you, and so can the internal thoughts and habits that lead to burning out (people-pleasing, overthinking, conflict avoidance, perfectionism, etc). My coaching framework will provide you with the structure to confidently set and hold boundaries to protect your time and energy, stick to the healthy habits that allow you to release the mental weight, hold you accountable to the goals you set for yourself, and provide the high-touch support to course correct when things fall off track.

As a private health coach, I do not partner with insurance companies at this time. Health coaching services from a Board Certified provider (such as myself) may qualify as eligible expenses under Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Since every plan is different, your particular HSA or FSA administrator can help guide you on whether you’ll be able to utilize these funds for coaching. I’m happy to provide my license number upon request for reimbursement, just ask!

The National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching continues to work diligently towards reimbursement for health and wellness coaching, moving toward being able to bill for insurance in the near future. This is yet another reason to work with a Nationally Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, because when insurance reimbursement for health coaching is approved, it will only apply to Board Certified providers.