So, what is Health Coaching, anyway?

Health coaching is behavior change work — but not the kind that asks you to try harder or want it more. I work with you to build practical systems for your actual life: routines that flex with your capacity, self-advocacy skills for navigating the medical system, and tools for understanding what your body and nervous system can realistically support. I don't use generic protocols. I work from where you are, with what you have, toward what's actually possible — whether you're managing a chronic illness, navigating neurodivergence, moving through perimenopause or menopause, or dealing with all of the above at once.

This practice is:

  • Neuro-affirming

  • Trauma-informed

  • Inclusive (LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, and all identities welcomed here with love and care)

Conditions & Communities I Specialize In Supporting:

  • ADHD, autism, & AuDHD

  • Perimenopause and menopause (including surgical menopause and late-stage transition)

  • Chronic and/or autoimmune conditions such as:

    • Hypo- and hyperthyroidism, Hashimoto’s & Graves’ disease

    • Fibromyalgia, forms of arthritis, & chronic pain

    • Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and hypermobility spectrum disorders

    • POTS & dysautonomia

    • Lyme disease

    • Lupus

    • MS

    • Diabetes

    • and so much more

A woman with dark hair in a bun covered with a blue headband, laughing and sitting in a brightly decorated room. She is wearing a yellow sweatshirt with white text that says 'richer than your average,' and large yellow hoop earrings. She has colorful clothing encompassing orange and purple patterns and is seated in front of a large red and purple abstract painting on the wall.

It all starts with a conversation.

Connect

A non-exhaustive list of the specific skillsets at my disposal that might help you:

  • An understanding of the systems at play in your care, so you can begin to unravel your mind from problems you didn’t create in order to find real solutions — all while preventing further harm to those most vulnerable

  • Organization and creation of a health history timeline (for use with new clinicians, and to organize records)

  • Advice on collation of medical records

  • Practical advice for navigating clinician appointments, including prep, time restriction optimization, and how to get what you need — including referrals

  • Guidance on how to research and evaluate clinicians/practitioners specific to your needs

  • Toxin reduction in the home & environment, including awareness education

  • Root cause approaches, including guidance on practitioners, testing, and what to look out for (including common underlying infections like Lyme, EBV, mold, and parasites)

  • Meditation and mindfulness

  • Gentle movement guidance / referral (it is out of my scope to create exercise plans, but I can certainly help you find referrals OR help keep you accountable to your own plans)

  • Nutrition guidance (keeping in mind I’m not a dietician, so I don’t prescribe diets or cleanses — but I can assist you in finding what works for you, and in providing education / filling in gaps)

  • Guidance on finding and evaluating communities specific to your diagnos(es)

  • A look at complementary and integrative health (CIH) approaches, bridging the gap between allopathic and holistic medicine — and what might work for you

Health coaching: 

  • cultivates a supportive and safe space to reconnect to oneself, and to embrace your potential for transformation with afiercely loyal guide-on-the-side (that would be me!)

  • is a collaborative, client-driven process

  • has a goal of supporting clients to make long-term, sustainable behavioral changes (which may include some shifting of perspective, too!) that will support their personal wellness goals

  • is about boosting your autonomy, and finding your way back into the driver’s seat where your wellness is concerned

  • stays true to your values while working toward positive lasting change

If you live with chronic illness(es) or disability, Health Coaching:

  • is a collaborative and empowering space to lean into your sovereignty

  • supports you in learning how to advocate for yourself every step of the way

  • illuminates paths to total wellness that are within your control, so you can learn to thrive rather than just survive

  • is not about coaching you to cure you — it’s about meeting you where you are

For further information on health & wellness coach scope of practice, please refer to the NBHWC guide.

FAQs

  • EVERYONE — not just those of us with complex medical charts. (Hums “Complicated” by Avril Lavigne.)

  • • The proof is in the pudding: research has demonstrated that the “clinical effectiveness of this evidence-based approach in terms of modification of multiple risk factors in healthy persons as well as those with certain common chronic diseases” leads to more optimal results.

    • Check out this piece in The New York Times all about Health Coaching, and why it’s such a powerful tool in our approach to health and wellness.

  • Initial strategy sessions (which, ahem, are FREE!) last 25-30 minutes, and are an opportunity to explore whether or not we’d be a good fit to work together. For me, that means finding out about where you’re at, where you want to go…and what might be standing in the way. If there’s time, we might get into some light coaching to move you into the proceeding weeks.

  • Health Coaches DO:

    • Work with clients seeking to address general lifestyle and wellness goals

    • Listen attentively

    • Ask powerful and illuminating questions

    • Create a safe, nonjudgmental space that is respectful, warm and friendly, and collaborative

    • Take a client-centered and individualized approach in empowering clients

    • Guide clients to identify obstacles

    • Respectfully challenge clients to shift their perspectives

    • Empower clients to tap into their resources, thereby honoring their autonomy

    • Hold clients accountable for their progress

    • Evoke and elicit information (rather than imparting it)

    • Work alongside other healthcare professionals in a complementary manner, following treatment plans prescribed by individual clients’ medical providers

    • Specialize in behavior modification: Health Coaches are agents of behavior change, assisting clients in creating sustainable lifestyle shifts. As a client, you do the work…and I am here to support you

    • Work alongside clients as facilitative partners, operating from the belief that clients are already whole and resourceful – they don’t need fixing

    • Hold space for a total learning and self-development model where the client is the expert

    • Introduce a paradigm of possibility – and encourage forward-thinking

    • Help refer clients out to specialists where necessary (mental health/counseling, nutrition, personal training, etc)

    • Have knowledge of nutrition, but are not necessarily experts — and cannot diagnose or prescribe diet change

    • Help clients explore nutrient-dense foods

    • Discuss symptoms and help clients discover what foods work best for them

    • Encourage bio-individuality

    • Help clients develop strategies to incorporate gentle, low-risk forms of physical activity

    • Teach clients the skills to self-advocate and navigate the healthcare system with confidence

    (Some information courtesy Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 2022)

  • Health Coaches may NOT:

    • Diagnose, prescribe, or treat

    • Provide counseling, mental health work, or therapy

    • Order or administer lab tests or interpret lab results

    • Use titles reserved for other health professionals, such as “counselor” or “dietician”

    • Give medical advice or personal opinions

    • Suggest clients stop or change prescription medications or stop seeing their doctor

    • Make assumptions about food sensitivities, food allergies, or digestive disorders

    • Recommend or prescribe any supplements or dosages

    • Manage cases or navigate the healthcare system on a client's behalf — this is the work of case managers, which is distinct from coaching

    (Information courtesy Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 2022)

    Bottom line: Health Coaches are NOT therapists, dieticians, or personal trainers (unless we have specific degrees or certifications in those fields). We are considered allied health professionals and can work with you and your team to optimize your health and wellness goals.