If Holistic Wellbeing Coaching is the answer, what's the question?

Coaching is the term used to describe a special kind of talking relationship that is useful in a wide range of workplace, educational and everyday life situations. It shares some common features with other talking relationships, such as counselling, therapy and mentoring but it differs in important respects as well.
A coach forms a supportive, non-judgemental partnership with a client who has a desire or goal to create some form of positive change in his/her life. S/he believes in a client’s own endless potential to bring about positive change but recognises that sometimes limiting thoughts/behaviours can get in the way of personal progress.
A coach listens attentively and is skilled in the art of asking perceptive questions to overcome barriers and expand thinking. S/he empowers self-belief and motivation in a client to work out a personal plan of action towards meeting desired positive change.
Though the individuals that come to coaching can be experiencing stress or challenges in life/work, they have not reached an illness threshold where counselling or therapy would be more appropriate as support.
Holistic wellbeing coaching is a form of coaching underpinned by positive psychological knowledge combined with the pillars of lifestyle medicine. It supports clients in building, cultivating or sustaining positive health and wellbeing in a range of circumstances.
So, what sort of questions might prompt a person to seek mental wellbeing coaching? Here are some examples:
How do I move from languishing to flourishing at work or in life?
“Languishing is a state of mental weariness that erodes our self-esteem, motivation and sense of meaning, causing us to feel out of control, uncertain about the future and paralyzed by decisions” (Keyes, 2024).
Sometimes the cause of a sense of languishing can be linked to chronic stress or where daily demands outweigh the resources we have to cope. At other times, it can be because we feel a lack of challenge, excitement or sense of purpose in our everyday or professional life. Either way, it leads to a numbing feeling of drifting aimlessly through life, which, if left unchecked, can lead to more serious mental health problems.
However, often people are simply too busy to notice how much their lifestyle is eroding health/wellbeing or feel resigned that there is little that can be done to make a positive shift. In these circumstances, holistic wellbeing coaching can be an important source of support for self-care and for taking stock of how life is impacting on personal wellbeing.
A holistic wellbeing coach will help a client to develop a new life map, or health & wellbeing action plan, informed by evidence-based positive psychology interventions and lifestyle medicine research about the components needed to enable human flourishing. Ongoing mental wellbeing coaching can keep a client on a track for sustainable positive growth and personal flourishing.
How can I stay healthy & well when navigating big changes or transitions?
Most people have episodes of big change or transition at various times in the journey of life. Becoming a new parent, gaining a promotion, starting a new job, a new boss, moving to a new place, divorce, retirement, bereavement, kids leaving home, or health issues are just a few examples.
Whether planned or unexpected, change usually challenges our sense of continuity and certainty about life, leading to stress. Staying healthy and well during periods of big change can be difficult. In these circumstances, a holistic wellbeing coach can help a client maintain equilibrium, supporting acceptance and positive adjustment to the new situation.
How do I sustain health & wellbeing when therapy or counselling has finished?
If a person experiences a period of mental ill health, a programme of therapy or counselling will help him/her to become mentally well again. However, it can sometimes be a challenge to sustain health & wellbeing once the therapy or counselling relationship has ended.
Holistic wellbeing coaching can be useful in these circumstances as a source of ongoing support and learning for successful reintegration into the workplace or community. It can protect against relapse and further episodes of mental ill health.
Keyes, C. (2024) Languishing – How to feel alive again in a world that wears us down. Transworld Publishers. London, UK.









