Total Health health coach training

Although the health coaching role is a non-registered role, it is process and peer driven with the aim of engaging, activating and connecting patients to their healthcare service and their health related goals.

Recent evidence and evaluation of the role in this model has shown:

direct contribution to improved mental health and wellbeing outcomes for people accessing support increasing access for Māori, Pasifika and youth, benefits for staff confidence and capacity in practices with these roles early but emerging contributions to benefits for practices and the health system to train in this model, the prospective health coach ideally has:

• the ability and enthusiasm to learn new skills
• outgoing personality traits
• cultural and language similarities to clinic patients where possibleconfidence and/or aptitude to learn skills to work effectively on a primary care computer system
• ability to work within a team
• the ability to adhere to evidence-based processes within both individual and group interactions

Our training has evolved from the Center for Excellence in Primary Care (CEPC) Health Coaching Curriculum in conjunction with additions from Patricia Robinson (Mountain View Consultants), and our previous experience of integrating health coaches into primary care clinics to work directly with medical staff.

Our training incorporates the values from “Let’s get real” and “Equally Well” and our subsequent onsite experience has also informed the recommended additional mentoring and supervision required to support competencies of a non-registered workforce. For this reason, our training also includes an onsite assessment of competencies of the newly trained health coach in the team where they will be expected to work.

Recent work that has been done to align the health coach competencies to compliment and work alongside the Health Improvement Practitioner (HIP) competencies. The adapted competencies of a health coach trained in this model will prepare a non-registered staff member to work effectively with patients within Primary Care Practices alongside a HIP, GP, nurse and other clinic staff.

Peer Health Coaching – Our Perspective and Our Patient’s Journey

Further Training Opportunities:

There are opportunities for health coaches to train as trainers in 6-week self-management courses (www.selfmanagementresources.com). We aspire to support health coaching supervisors/leads in each location as desired by their organisation.