In today’s fast-paced world, the pursuit of health and wellness has become a top priority for many. As a result, the field of health and wellness coaching has emerged, promising to help individuals unlock their full potential and achieve their well-being goals.
However, as the popularity of health coaching skyrockets, concerns about the dark side of this industry have begun to surface. With unqualified coaches, unrealistic expectations, and exploitative practices, it’s easy to dismiss health and wellness coaching as yet another fleeting trend destined to leave behind a trail of disillusioned clients and tarnished reputations. And yet, when executed with the right foundations and ethical guidelines, health and wellness coaching has the potential to create a transformative, lasting impact on so many lives.
By Alexandra Carter
When set up appropriately, coaching can become a game-changer for individuals who are healing their relationship with food and improving their body image.
Coaches offer personalized guidance and support, helping individuals navigate the complexities of their disordered eating while addressing the underlying emotional factors contributing to these conditions. Through an empathetic, non-judgmental approach, coaches establish strong therapeutic relationships that cultivate trust, allowing clients to openly discuss their struggles and progress.
At Redefine Wellness, we highlight what makes coaches great while sharpening what is often lacking or overlooked in the coaching world.
How Does a Coach Effectively Fit Into Disordered Eating Recovery?
Coaches work alongside registered dietitians (RDs) and licensed therapists to help prevent relapse, transform lives, and keep disordered eating from becoming a full-blown eating disorder. Coaches also prevent relapse by working with clients as a step-down from treatment.
With a different focus and skillset, a coach can complement the work of RDs and therapists. Our coaches are like a breath of fresh, anti-diet air. They don’t teach nutrition or hand out meal plans. Instead, they teach you the skills to live an anti-diet life in a culture drowning in fad diets and unrealistic body expectations. They work alongside dietitians by providing a lifeline for recovering from diet culture.
Similarly, coaches work alongside therapists to put change into action and support long-lasting healing. Therapists help clients address underlying psychological and emotional needs. While coaches support clients with their emotional needs, therapists work using clinical modalities.
Coaches support clinicians by providing additional support in between sessions. A single professional can’t do it all. It would be ideal to meet with a dietitian or therapist multiple times per week, but most clinicians’ individual schedules can’t accommodate that level of support. When clients work with a team that includes clinicians and a coach, they are able to receive well-rounded support in multiple areas.
Picture this: You have a shiny new car with all the bells and whistles, but you need help figuring out how to use that fancy GPS. That’s where our coaches come in—they’re like the user-friendly manual that helps you get the most out of your car (AKA your recovery journey). Coaches assist RDs and therapists; they do not replace them. They bring a unique perspective and set of skills that complement the work of clinicians.
We’ve all heard the horror stories of health and wellness coaches who push diet culture, but our coaches are different. They go through training that is rooted in an anti-diet and weight-neutral framework. Plus, we screen applicants for readiness, ensuring that only those who are aligned with our mission and values join the Redefine Wellness team.
How Do Intuitive Eating and Anti-Diet Coaches Prevent Relapse and Change Lives?
Here are three key ways:
Emotional Support: Our coaches provide a safe space for clients to express their thoughts, feelings, and fears without judgment. They help clients navigate the emotional roller coaster of recovery, providing a consistent support system.
Skill Development: Coaches teach clients the skills needed to live an anti-diet life, from setting boundaries to practicing self-compassion. These skills help clients take charge of their recovery and actively cultivate a more positive relationship with food and their bodies. Redefine Wellness client programs also prevent relapse. Working with a certified coach serves as a fantastic step-down from eating disorder treatment so clients can continue gaining the skills to have lasting recovery.
Collaboration: Our coaches work in sync with RDs and therapists, ensuring a harmonious client environment. This collaboration creates a powerful recovery team that can adapt and respond to each client’s unique needs and impacts their recovery journey.
Redefine Wellness coaches are vital players in the next evolution of supporting clients and preventing eating disorders. They complement the work of RDs and therapists, providing unparalleled support for clients on their journey to true wellness. By preventing relapse and changing lives, these coaches are redefining what it means to be well in a world obsessed with diet culture.
Ready to work with a redefine wellness coach?
Reach out to us today!
Meet Alexandra
This post was written by Intuitive Eating | HAES Content Creator, Alexandra Carter (she/her).
Alexandra Carter is a professional actor, turned certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and Health and Wellbeing Coach, turned Content Creator. After moving to NYC for her undergraduate degree in Musical Theater, Alexandra spent 10 years working all over the world as an actor/singer/dancer. Through her own healing journey, Alexandra found her way to the anti-diet space and went on to gain coaching and counseling certifications, in addition to starting her own coaching business. It was there she fell in love with content creation as a way of sharing ideas, genuinely connecting with people, and affecting powerful change. Alexandra is thrilled to be on the team at BALANCE, combining all her skills and passions to foster authentic healing.
