Occupational Therapy + Health and Wellness Coaching = The Perfect Match
A perfect union, total harmony, a match made in heaven. You may say there’s no such thing as a “perfect marriage”, but in my opinion, these words define the relationship between Occupational Therapy (OT) and Health and Wellness Coaching. What in the world am I talking about? Well, thanks for asking—grab a cup of tea, get comfortable, and let’s dive in!
“Occupation” is defined as “any meaningful activity a person may do throughout the course of a day, including taking care of one's self (self care), contributing to society through paid and unpaid work (productivity), and simply enjoying life (leisure)”. Occupational Therapy is a profession that addresses the well-being of the whole person, not just the physical being. In my graduate school training at Tufts University, we spent an entire year learning about psychosocial dysfunction and an entire year learning about physical dysfunction. This holistic approach is useful in all aspects of the treatment of disease, but more importantly it’s useful in the prevention of disease and the promotion of wellness and health. According to the American OT Association (AOTA), “Occupational Therapy is a health, wellness, and rehabilitation profession dedicated to the maximization of performance and function across the lifespan so that individuals can live their life to its fullest.”
As an OT, I am trained to take a very thorough look at how people occupy their time and manage their lifestyle. As we dig deeper into life-management skills, we begin to explore people’s daily habits, behaviors, and routines. The components of one’s lifestyle are all-encompassing, including but not limited to: physical activity, stress management & relaxation, time management, meaningful activities, eating routine, spirituality, sleep hygiene, social relationships, and financial management. As an OT, I work with people to help them develop, manage, and maintain lifestyle routines for health and wellness promotion.
Ok, so now let’s take a deeper dive into Health and Wellness Coaching. According to the Duke Health and Well-Being Coaching Program (formerly called Duke Integrative Health Coach Professional Training—this is where I got my certification for coaching), health and wellness coaching “empowers clients to make lasting behavior changes that are the foundation for a lifetime of health and well-being”. A Health and Wellness coach works with clients to develop healthy sustainable goals that will enhance their overall physical and mental well-being. A coach will also help support their clients in exploring ways to successfully implement healthy lifestyle behaviors into the daily rhythm of their lives. Duke Integrative Medicine has developed a model called the Wheel of Health, which displays 7 major domains of self-care, as follows: 1. Exercise, Movement, & rest; 2. Nutrition; 3. Personal & Professional Development; 4. Physical Environment; 5. Relationships & Communication; 6. Spirituality; and 7. Mind-Body Connection.
As a Health and Wellness Coach, I am trained to use the coaching skills of active listening, other-focused listening, non-judgement, inquiry, reflecting, and being fully present for the client. To effectively assist clients in realizing their optimal health, I am trained in the Health Coaching Process Model, which follows a flow to assess a client’s vision, values, readiness to change, goal setting, accountability and sustainability for lasting behavior change. Through this process the client develops increased self-awareness, confidence and self-efficacy and thus, greater ability to make sustainable healthy lifestyle changes.
If you’ve read this far, thank you! I realize there was a lot of information packed into those last 4 paragraphs. It felt necessary to give an overview of each profession in order to come full circle. So why are OT and Health and Wellness Coaching “the perfect marriage”? Here you go:
Both professions:
address the health and well-being of the whole person—physical, psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual health.
assess a person’s behaviors, habits, and routines in order to help them develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
allow the person to explore and develop long-term and short-term goals that are personal and meaningful to them.
strive to promote the client’s independence and quality of life in all areas of their health and wellness.
realize that each person is unique and each person is the expert on themselves and their lives.
Happily for me, I have been able to blend these two professions into the perfect niche; one where I can use my strengths, my passions, my creativity; one that honors my vision of where I want to be professionally; one that honors my personal and professional values; and one that allows me to help others be the best version of themselves they can possibly be. Total harmony!
