Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Health Coach?
A Health Coach is a professional trained to support people as they make changes to their everyday health and lifestyle.
Health coaching is a collaborative relationship between coach and client. A coach may help clients identify areas they want to improve, establish meaningful goals, develop strategies for change, and build accountability and consistency.
At Wholly Healthy, Coach Keri leads this process through vision, habits, and disciplines.
Rather than beginning with a goal alone, Keri begins by seeking God's vision for the person's health. From that vision, she helps clients identify the habits that are shaping their daily lives and determine which habits serve the vision and which do not.
Where toxic or unhelpful habits are working against the vision, the work becomes replacing them with purposeful disciplines—daily practices that serve a purpose and build toward the vision.
Where does health coaching fit among other health professionals?
Health coaching works alongside—not in place of—other healthcare professionals.
A physician, dietitian, therapist, physical therapist, or other licensed healthcare professional may provide diagnosis, treatment, or specialized care within their area of practice. A Health Coach supports the client in understanding and applying health-supporting lifestyle practices in everyday life.
When appropriate, Health Coaches can also help clients communicate with and stay connected to their healthcare team.
What is the role of a Health Coach?
A Health Coach may provide:
Support for client self-management
Education and health-related resources
Questions that encourage thought, clarity, and personal insight
Support in identifying goals and creating practical plans
Accountability and encouragement
Emotional support within the scope of coaching
Support in navigating appropriate healthcare resources
Encouragement to follow through with health-supporting recommendations from qualified healthcare professionals
The coach-client relationship is collaborative. Rather than simply telling a client what to do, the coach helps the client understand their options, identify meaningful goals, and take ownership of the changes they are ready to make.
At Wholly Healthy, this coaching relationship is guided by a specific framework: vision, habits, and disciplines.
What is the Wholly Healthy approach?
Wholly Healthy approaches health through vision, habits, and disciplines.
Vision — We seek God's vision for your health and develop an understanding of what whole health can look like for you.
Habits — We look honestly at the patterns already shaping your everyday life. Some habits support the vision; others may work against it.
Disciplines — We replace habits that do not serve the vision with purposeful practices that help build toward it.
The goal is not simply to know what is healthy or to try harder for a season. It is to develop the understanding and daily disciplines needed to live according to God's design for whole health.
What is the difference between health coaching and medical care?
Health coaching and medical care serve different purposes.
Health Coaches do not diagnose or treat medical conditions, prescribe medication, provide medical nutrition therapy, or replace the care of a licensed healthcare professional.
Wholly Healthy's role is to support the everyday choices, habits, practices, and lifestyle changes that contribute to whole health. When a client's needs fall outside the scope of coaching, Wholly Healthy encourages appropriate care and collaboration with qualified healthcare professionals.
What types of goals do clients work on?
Health goals are individual and may vary from person to person. They can include areas such as nutrition, physical activity, sleep, hydration, stress, routines, boundaries, and other lifestyle practices.
At Wholly Healthy, however, goals are not the whole framework.
Coach Keri begins with God's vision for the person's health and then works with the client to identify the habits and disciplines that will support that vision.
This creates a practical path from vision → habits → disciplines → daily practice.
What type of client does Coach Keri typically work with?
Wholly Healthy works with individuals who are ready to engage in their health, open to learning, and willing to participate in the process of making and practicing meaningful changes.
You do not have to have everything figured out before you begin.
You simply need a willingness to begin.
What type of nutrition information can I expect from Coach Keri?
Coach Keri may provide general, publicly available information about food, nutrition, supplements, food preparation, nutrient content, and other health-related topics within the scope of health coaching.
This information is educational and general in nature. Coach Keri does not provide individualized medical nutrition therapy or diagnose or treat nutritional or medical conditions.
When individualized nutrition care is needed, Wholly Healthy supports collaboration with an appropriately licensed nutrition professional.
How does coaching begin?
Wholly Healthy begins with a 90-minute first session.
This session gives Coach Keri an opportunity to learn about you, your current health, your daily patterns, and the areas where you want support. It also creates space to begin exploring God's vision for your health.
From there, the coaching process is individualized. Together, you may identify goals, examine habits, address patterns that are not serving the vision, and establish purposeful disciplines to practice.
The process is not about changing everything at once.
It is about understanding the vision, identifying what serves it, replacing what does not, and practicing purposeful disciplines one day at a time.
How long is the coach-client relationship?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Wholly Healthy begins with a 90-minute first session. From there, Coach Keri and the client determine the most appropriate next step based on the individual's needs and circumstances.
Some clients continue through individual sessions. Longer-term coaching packages are also available to select clients when a deeper or more structured coaching relationship is appropriate.
Why do I have to apply to become a client?
The application helps Wholly Healthy understand where you are, what you are looking for, and whether coaching is an appropriate fit for you.
It also gives us an opportunity to make sure you understand what health coaching is—and what it is not—before beginning.
How do I pay for services?
Once your application has been reviewed and you are invited to begin, you will receive instructions for scheduling and payment.
Your first step is the 90-minute initial coaching session. From there, your coaching relationship can develop according to your needs and the direction you and Coach Keri determine together.
Are payment plans available?
Because Wholly Healthy does not publicly offer a standard coaching package at this time, payment arrangements depend on the service being provided.
Any longer-term coaching package offered to a select client will include its payment terms before the client commits.
Do Health Coaches collaborate with other healthcare practitioners?
Absolutely.
When practitioners and coaches partner, people are better supported.
A Health Coach can help bridge the gap between a healthcare professional's recommendations and the client's everyday application of those recommendations. Coaching may support clients as they develop health-supporting habits recommended by their physicians, dietitians, physical or occupational therapists, and other qualified professionals.
If you are a healthcare practitioner interested in referring a patient or client to Coach Keri, please contact Wholly Healthy at WhollyHealthyCompany@gmail.com.
What does it mean to be “certified”?
Certification is a credential awarded by a certifying organization to individuals who have completed its specified education and training requirements.
Is Coach Keri a certified Health Coach?
Yes.
Coach Keri holds current certification through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute. Her training includes working with families, women during pregnancy, adults, and older adults.
Following ACE's integration with the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute, ACE states that existing Dr. Sears Wellness Institute certifications remain valid and that DSWI Health Coaches are recognized as ACE Professionals.
What are the limits of Health Coaching?
Wholly Healthy provides education, support, accountability, and encouragement related to whole health and lifestyle practices.
Coach Keri does not diagnose disease, treat medical conditions, prescribe medication, provide medical nutrition therapy, or replace the care of a physician, dietitian, mental health professional, or other licensed healthcare provider.
When a client's needs fall outside the scope of health coaching, Wholly Healthy encourages appropriate care and collaboration with qualified healthcare professionals.
For additional information, please see the Disclaimer and Limit of Liability provided throughout this website.
Professional & Educational Sources
National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching — Health Coaching Scope of Practice