Teen Health Coaching Defined

It’s not unusual for a Health Coach to be given a slightly puzzled look or a confused response when telling someone they’re a health coach for teens and young adults. It’s not a common role and still new to many people. But thankfully it’s growing in awareness and recognition as a powerful method for making positive health and wellness change.

The state of overweight and obese people in the U.S. sadly continues to grow every year and unfortunately that includes a growing percentage of teens and young adults. Our younger generations are growing up with health and wellness challenges that have the potential to impact their lives, long-term.

Much can be traced back to the introduction of processed and prepared foods since the modern industrial revolution making food readably available at any moment of the day. But what’s not revolutionary is the toll it’s taking on our bodies and our health. Food manufacturers have created quick, convenient, and easy to access foods that taste good but are primarily comprised of highly processed sugar and carbohydrates, sodium and fat. Ingredients that are proving to be detrimental to our health and well-being. Worse, despite the growing research and knowledge, manufacturers continue to reinvent products and create new foods to irresistibly appeal and keep us coming back from more. Even foods now presented under the guise of “healthy” are anything but. While more and more people are becoming aware, knowing nutrition facts and trying to transition away from these tempting foods is not so easy.

Add to that are the changes in social media, advertising and marketing to teens that has left them feeling worse about themselves and their bodies. Growing challenges with low self-esteem, low worth and increasing anxiety and depression are affecting teens and young adults in greater numbers.

It’s not surprising then, that it’s resulted in more teens with loss in confidence and increasing belief systems that they’re incapable of changing or overcoming challenges.

Creating a healthy body and mind requires an understanding of the current situation, what change is wanted and needed, and leveraging inner motivation and commitment to make lasting lifestyle changes. Not an easy task for a teen or young adult.

That’s where the value of Health Coaching comes in. It’s a combination of body and mind work. Health coaching not only aids teen clients in improving health through changes in eating, self-care and exercise, but also takes in account their mindset, beliefs and environment. It’s a whole-life approach. Coaching helps clients where they’re most challenged with their health and wellness, what’s causing or keeping them stuck, addresses their belief systems, and then makes progressive mindset, lifestyle and habit changes.

A health coach is different than a nutritionist by guiding clients to find what works best for them and their body. Not directing them to eat specific foods or creating pre-packaged solutions like meal plans that require adherence without intrinsic motivation or self-directed habit change.

Health coaching is also different than a therapist by focusing on change and action. Working together a health coach assists a client in identifying what’s keeping them stuck and then focuses on goal setting, implementing action, and making steady forward progress to get results.

Most of all, we assist clients in identifying what they truly want and need in their life, and then help discover solutions through non-judgmental and effective methods. The process creates a safe and encouraging setting to adapt, change and grow. Much of it is achieved through intrinsic motivation, action-oriented exercises, fostering positive emotions and beliefs, and setting up new processes that reinforce positive habits to ensure long-term success.

All of these are extremely important for younger clients like teens and emerging young adults who often struggle with self-realization and expression.

Which is why coaching is so important for teens as a method for effective outcome. It’s a partnership between the Coach and the Client in a thought-provoking and proactive process that facilitates development while inspiring the client to maximize personal potential.

It begins by planning measurable goals that make it easy for teens to know they’re achieving and getting results. This feedback loop is extremely important in helping them stay motivated.

Weight, eating, body image, anxiety and self-esteem challenges are not quick overnight fixes. It takes dedicated time. It takes the experience and know-how of a coach who specializes in teen and college-age young adults. It takes a coach who understands their unique challenges and has the necessary tools to get real, transformative, and lasting change.

The key difference with health coaching is looking at the parts and the whole of the client’s being. Working together, clients can strengthen all attributes they need to progress and grow. Not just one area like working on confidence alone or going on a diet without any other change. Resolving one challenge is like patching a single hole in a boat riddled with leaks. It slows the sinking, but the result is still the same.

In my coaching, we work on what’s been keeping a teen stuck and focus on positive attributes, not what’s “wrong”. We take on the possible and make it happen. Most of all, my health coaching recognizes every teen is a complex person and making true, deep change takes work on all levels. From changes in eating and health to growth in mindset, shifts in beliefs, and evolution in actions. What’s necessary first and foremost is a teen needs to be ready to take action for themselves. They must be open and personally driven to make change. Not what their parents want or are pushing them to do.

With those elements in place, results are possible.

It takes inner work that blooms into outer action. The more a teen does the inner work to shift and evolve, the more they thrive.

In a snapshot, Teen Health Coaching:

• Assists teen clients in identifying what they most want and need

• Believes in the client and their ability to achieve their vision of success

• Allowing clients to be 100% authentic. No judgement

• Offers private, safe, and confidential space

• Supportively holds their clients accountable to act on their goals

• Acts with integrity and honesty

• Helps foster the ideal conditions for the client’s brain to adapt, grow, and change* (PositivePsychology)

• Provides guidance with creative ideas and proven tools

• Shares necessary information and tools to move forward with health goals

• Helps clients find self-realized solutions to challenges and provides unconditional support to overcome obstacles

• Reinforces unlimited possibilities available, no matter what a challenge looks like

• Fosters positive beliefs and emotions to build greater self-esteem and confidence

With health coaching, it’s possible to create a happier, healthier teen life.