Health Coaching
A health coach is a professional who partners with individuals in the behavior change process. Just like a sports coach supports athletes in their goals to improve at their sport, I work with people to provide support along their health journey. A health coach focuses on the strengths of the client, and helps them become an active participant in the learning process, and monitor their own health behaviors.
Anyone can find value in health coaching, whether you are trying to improve your diet, reduce stress, exercise more, or just generally feel better!
Meet Melissa
Throughout my life, I have witnessed how seemingly tiny daily choices can totally change your life. Professionally, I have researched the impact nutrition can have on physical and psychiatric conditions. I have also witnessed these changes happening in other peoples’ lives, seeing how small, tangible steps we can add up over time to create a more vibrant life.
But making changes to your lifestyle can be difficult! Our habits towards health behaviors are deeply ingrained and have a lot of emotion associated with them. I know it can be overwhelming to have a confusing, vague, task, or to have a million changes you are trying to make but aren’t sure what to prioritize. I know it is so easy to become frustrated, discouraged, and give up – whether that is after 3 weeks or 3 months. I feel passionate about helping people break these goals into focused, manageable steps. It is my hope that others can use these tiny steps to achieve these major changes in a sustainable way, and also that they learn to treat themselves with love and compassion along the way.
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Certified Functional Medicine Health Coach, M.S. in Food and Nutrition Sciences, B.S. in Psychology, and a certified yoga instructor.
FAQs
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Each session is 45 minutes long, and in practice looks somewhat similar to talk therapy; it involves a lot of discussing ideas and goals. However, in health coaching, the emphasis is on the patient driving the direction of any habits or goals and the changes in their life. Using motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, we will work together to identify and develop goals and strategies to contribute to a more meaningful life. The sessions are primarily discussion driven, but may also incorporate activities (e.g., visualization, deep breathing, etc.) or have more focused education (e.g., cognitive psychology and behavior change, insulin resistance and inflammation, etc.) to support as needed. Throughout each session, we will identify tangible steps towards improving your health, and navigate any bumps in the road you encounter in real time. The appointments are a time for you to connect to your health and wellness needs in a personally meaningful way that is tailored to your strengths.
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Health coaching is a great way to incorporate sustainable, positive habits into your life, and remove unhealthy habits. Importantly, it works! For example, a 2016 study found patients with diverse backgrounds who participated in a health coaching program showed improvements in several biomarkers including blood pressure, HDL and LDL cholesterol levels, weight and waist circumference, and cardiovascular fitness. Another study in 2019 analyzed research from several different studies, and found health coaching can improve health quality of life and reduce future hospital admissions in people with COPD. It can even save you money long-term – a study conducted in 2015 found that patients who participated in health coaching saved an average of $412 a month on total health expenditures.
Aside from the research-backed evidence, you deserve to live a full, vibrant life! Health coaching is a wonderful tool to ensure your health is aligned with your personal values and life goals.
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Individual session: $85.00
12-week package (6 sessions, every other week): $490.00
Please review pricing for more information.
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Forming new habits and health behaviors takes time and effort! Having a 12-week timespan provides ample time to develop a few strong habits that you can maintain despite fluctuations in motivation and energy, or real-life circumstances that disrupt routines. Based on a 2009 study, it can take an average of 66 days to consistently incorporate new habits into daily schedules, but it can take even longer for more challenging habits. We therefore want to ensure we have adequate time together so you can make the changes you want to your lifestyle, in a way that you can sustain long-term.
