We
speak a lot about the future opportunity that Wellness Coaching has to offer
Australians. In September, I was given the opportunity of speaking at the Australian
Integrative Medicine (AIM) Conference last Saturday and it was an opportunity
to take a close look at how tangible this opportunity really is.
The
theme of the conference was “Bridging the Gap” and the aim of the AIM Association
is to recognize and bring together health practitioners who use varied
disciplines and methodologies to treat their patients.
I
have to admit I was expecting a fairly cool and possibly hostile reception -
after all, wellness coaching is a new and unaccredited profession and the
medical fraternity can have strong views on who is qualified to “help”. Instead, I met a lot of people who really did
have open hearts and open minds.
The
very strong message that came across was that a change in public health would
come by taking a united approach. Rather than working in silos we could (and
should) work as a team to help people in a variety of ways– whether it was to
manage pain, to end their lives with dignity, to stay well or simply to enjoy
what they had.
The shift is in the belief that there has to be a better way of
doing these things than the old, cold professional approach that was more about
control and delivering “prescriptions”.
Instead, creating rapport, showing empathy and focusing on the
relationship as much as the outcomes were as important as the techniques and
advice we were trained to give.
These
are key principles that underpin wellness coaching and I felt very at home and
thoroughly enjoyed my presentation to a room full of people who perhaps knew
little about what we did but took only minutes to “get it”.
I
spent the limited time I had there listening to people referring to
naturopathy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine and many other “alternative”
therapies (known as CAM – Complementary
Alternative Medicine) as being legitimate treatment methods.
Far
from downplaying the need for evidenced based research and the need for
continued growth in this area, the focus was on not so much fixing illness, but
perhaps preventing it. As Dr Tim Sharp put it, “If we could cure the population
of sickness in the world, would that be enough?” I think not.
Yes we need to cure illness, but simultaneously we need to promote
wellbeing. Once again, there was recognition
that the physical and mental dimensions are inextricably linked.
So
how do we do this? First, we start with
an open heart.
To
lay aside our professional status and expert knowledge that sometimes defines
us takes courage. Accepting that we
don’t really have all the answers take humility. I have worked with a lot of people now in
wellness coaching workshops and love my work so much as the training predominantly
attracts people with open hearts and open minds. And who are humble. I talk to a lot of very clever people. Clever
in different ways. But the ones who embrace the coaching model have without
exception a degree of emotional intelligence.
Now
our training is accredited with ESSA, we will be seeing more AEPs (Accredited
Exercise Physiologists). I look forward to working with this group of people
and to helping them help others make positive changes in their lifestyle by
using a collaborative, coaching approach. And when I am back in Melbourne in
October, I also look forward to having other attendees of the conference in our
workshop who wishes to learn more about what we do. The ball is rolling and we momentum growing
and together we are building a tribe. I love to think that Wellness Coaching is part
of the movement that will change the world by breaking down our barriers and
helping us support each other through caring, better communication and above
all, relationship.
If
we can all open our hearts, open our minds and open our ears and take a similar
approach to AIMA we would make a bigger difference in healthcare.
If
we can listen to the ideas of others and accept that there is much to learn, we
would gain power in using the strength of many.
If
we could empower our clients to take responsibility for change by working with
them as coaches, instead of doling out advice, we would truly help them.
If
I could provide my trainees with a T shirt it would say, “I don’t have all the
answers but I have some really good questions.”
