What Is Mental Health Coaching?

Evidence-Based

In addition to the somatic work I offer, I also pull from my trainings and experience as a mental health coach. Simply put, mental health coaching is an evidence-based approach to supporting people with life challenges, transitions, and well being. It relies heavily on the client-practitioner relationship: research shows that the quality of the trust and partnership between client and practitioner is the biggest factor in determining client success. In this context, success means that clients learn how to be more psychologically flexible and create behavior change for themselves.

Somatics too is a heavily evidence-based approach with more and more in the research literature each year that demonstrates the importance of including the body in transformational processes. Mental health coaching - while very compatible with somatic, experiential work - offers some additional evidence-based ways to work with clients. Below I summarize several of the principals I use in mental health coaching.

Mindful Awareness

Broadly speaking this refers to how I support clients in paying attention to the present moment without judgement. Much of the research around this originally stems from the work by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Noticing your thoughts, your emotions, and your body sensations - and simply being in the noticing of them - are all examples of practicing mindful awareness. This is an important skill for the practitioner to be utilizing to support client awareness, as well as utilizing internally to monitor their own responses and assumptions. Fundamentally, as we become more mindful we become more aware of what is actually going on with us. Sounds simple enough, however it proves to be incredibly complex and challenging. Indeed, it is often frustrating for clients to struggle with not knowing what they think or how they feel in a particular moment.

Values and Acceptance

Work from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) lends empirical ground to helping clients better come into contact with their values and better learn to accept their situations and themselves. Very often, it is precisely what we care about that drives our behavior (both desirable and unwanted behavior). Seeing this clearly can help us make sense of our actions and it opens the door for self-compassion and for greater self-knowledge. Similarly, we are all guilty at times of trying to (or spending too much energy wanting to) control situations or people that are outside of our control. Once we see clearly what is going on, it can be vitally important to pause to accept the situation or the aspect of ourselves that we may be in tension with. Until we accept what is actually happening (which, importantly, is not the same as resigning to what is happening), we inevitably are caught up in some form of struggle or suffering.

Effective Communication

Effective communication stems from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), another evidence-based form of psychotherapy. In the context of coaching, this approach supports clients in learning how to communicate in ways that are assertive, while also taking into consideration the other person and the overall objective of the conversation. Issues with speaking up, setting boundaries, and making requests is extremely common among my clients. Practicing effective communication is yet another way to support people in taking care of themselves and developing their skills in the relational space.

Getting Mental Health Support

We all know where to go if our car is having issues. And we all know who we can call if the plumbing in our house isn’t working. For most areas in our lives we know that regular maintenance and care is required to keep things working in good condition. Oddly, when it comes to the question of how to take care of one’s mental health, many people are stumped. In many ways, mental health coaching is a response to this: we all need support in tending to our mental well being, otherwise our issues tend to get the better of us.

If you feel you could benefit from mental health coaching, and especially if stress or anxiety is getting the better of you, read more about how I utilize somatic coaching with my clients or schedule a no-cost consultation.