Scope of Practice

What Does A Health Coach Do?

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• A health coach provides educational resources to clients, including general nutrition and exercise guidance.

• A health coach asks thought-provoking and open-ended questions to help the client gain clarity and problem solve their way to solutions.

• A health coach uses coaching tools such as affirmations, reflective listening, and summarising to help inspire, create client ownership, and motivate change.

• A health coach helps the client create measurable and actionable health goals and supports the client all the way to the finish line.

• A health coach points the client in the direction of health resources and specialists applicable to their needs.

• A health coach provides emotional support, encouragement, and accountability.

• A health coach acts as a supporter and a mediator in clients’ relationships with medical professionals.

 

What A Health Coach Does Not Do

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• A health coach is not a therapist and cannot provide emotional counselling.

• A health coach cannot conduct a laboratory evaluation or assessment.

• A health coach cannot diagnose medical conditions.

• A health coach cannot diagnose mental health conditions.

• A health coach cannot prescribe diets or supplements to treat medical and clinical conditions.

• A health coach cannot prescribe diets or supplements to treat the symptoms of medical and clinical conditions.

 

 A Primal Health Coaching example:

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A client comes to you seeking help with his/her diabetes diagnosis. You can educate that client on how food affects blood sugar and insulin resistance, as well as which foods are more likely to moderate blood sugar rather than raise it. You can also discuss the Primal approach to diet and lifestyle, as long as you keep the conversation in general terms and the benefits applicable to general health.

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Most importantly, a Primal Health Coach can coach the client through making this transition. Many patients with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis have already been told that reducing sugar and getting more exercise will help. But no one is out there SHOWING them how to do it and coaching them through the process. No one has guided them through reading a nutrition label or educated them on the different forms sugar comes in. These are incredibly difficult changes to make, and most people need help to make these dietary adjustments stick. 

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An example of what a Primal Health Coach does not do:

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A client comes to you seeking a customised diet to help him/her treat diabetes. You’d have to refer him/her to a registered dietitian.

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A registered dietitian is a medical practitioner who has completed a four-year university degree which covers medical and biological topics in great detail, including physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, and microbiology.

Additionally, a registered dietitian generally must pass a licenced exam in order to perform medical nutritional therapy (MNT), which allows a registered dietitian to treat patients with medical conditions like type 2 diabetes using diet-based therapies.

 

Staying within the scope of your practice keeps your clients safe. When an issue arises outside of your function as health coach, refer your client to the appropriate licensed professional, such as a chiropractor, psychologist, dietitian, or physician.