Health Coaching Programs

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December Training!

Posted on , updated on by maurine
Enjoying the snow before we realized it would stick!

We have just finished up another training! While this training was technically supposed to end December 9th, we had to take a surprise snow day. This ended up requiring some adjustment  we were not expecting! However, we used this as an opportunity to remind ourselves that, while planning can often get us to our goals, it is important to take time and have space for adjustment when plans fall through.

We worked with our participants and as a team to come up with suitable “make up work” for them. We had to think on our feet and think fast to develop a plan to help them get an experience similar to what they would have on the last day.

Through this challenge, we are very impressed with the hard work that our participants put in to continuing their education outside of the training. They watched and interacted with online lectures to replace the lectures they missed. They worked with one another on practicing their coaching skills, watched and interacted with online lectures. Lastly, they reflected on their experiences in writing. We believe this last reflective component is an important synthesis of the other elements involved with learning about health coaching. Many of them are continuing to interact and check-in with us.

The Health Coaching Team is excited to continue to meet new future health coaches in our trainings. We enjoy seeing and learning from the different ways that our participants plan to use their newfound skills in their careers and lives.

Spotlight – Alexis Steptoe

Posted on , updated on by Sarah

Alexis Steptoe – The Friend You Didn’t Know You Needed!

Alexis currently works at NC State University as a Wellness Programs Coordinator. As a wellness coordinator, she also plays the role of health coach for both students and employees.

Alexis earned her Masters of Public Health at UNCG in 2017.  While enrolled, she was a Graduate Assistant for HealthyUNCG, UNCG’s employee wellness program, which is why she attended the Health Coach Training.

In her current position, Alexis is partnering with the counseling department to learn more about when to refer clients. Working with the counseling department helps take some of the pressure off the counselors who already have a lot on their plate. The availability of health coaches allows the counselors to focus on other things, rather than take on extreme case loads. She is also working on creating group coaching sessions for students with similar interests so that there is more availability for health coaching. Some students prefer this group coaching strategy, while others will continue to see benefits from individual coaching. This aligns with the UNCG coaching spirit by catering to each individual’s needs.

Alexis also finds the Health Coach Training to be useful in her day-to-day life, because she can help people to set small, realistic goals. She can also help give people the space they need to brainstorm what they want to accomplish. She says that she is “the friend they didn’t know they needed”.

To continue her education, Alexis works with the counseling staff to better understand when referrals need to be made. She continues to read about health coaching while tying in psychology, and she is going through the Wellcoaches certification process.

PBC