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Karla Arancibia, MD, MPH CHEF Coaching Faculty Karla Arancibia is a lifestyle medicine physician and health and wellness and culinary coach providing services in Latin America, Europe and the United States. She is the co-founder of the Latin American Lifestyle Medicine Association (LALMA). She is a graduate of the CHEF Coaching program and is co-founder of the Lifestyle Medicine Clinics in Latin America and owns her own health and wellness coaching practice Healthview Lifestyle Institute in the U.S. Karla has also served as professor at Ricardo Palma University in the first accredited specialty in Lifestyle Medicine in Latin America for physicians and health professionals, where she was director of the culinary medicine workshops. She has been a speaker at several international symposiums, on radio, and on television. Jane Barg, NBC-HWC, Chef CHEF Coaching Faculty Jane Barg is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness coach and a chef. She received her health coach training from Duke Integrative Medicine, Durham, NC. Jane oversees the education for the CHEF Coaching Program and serves as a member of the program faculty. She provides patient education as part of the CHEF Coaching study. In her private practice, Jane works with individuals and groups to help them make the changes needed to live healthier lives. She offers both culinary and health coaching programs in person and remotely. She is the founder of the Artful Palate catering company and has taught culinary classes in the Philadelphia region. Laura Klein, MBA, Chef, Health Coach CHEF Coaching Faculty Laura Klein is the owner of Well Seasoned Coaching and faculty for the CHEF Coaching program. As a Culinary Coach, Laura focuses on the challenges of maintaining a healthy lifestyle in today’s busy world. Through a combination of nutrition education, healthy goal setting and home cooking skills Laura helps her clients achieve their wellness goals. Laura’s coaching credentials include certifications from the Coaches Training Institute, Wellcoaches, The American Council on Exercise and Genavix Wellness Corporation. Additionally, Laura holds a certificate in culinary nutrition from the Natural Gourmet Institute and is a graduate of the CHEF Coaching program and the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Laura collaborates with physicians to teach healthy cooking classes to their patients and the public, both live and virtually. Laura is also a chef instructor at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Rani Polak, MD, Chef, MBA, ICF-PCC Director, CHEF Coaching Program Culinary Medicine Training Lead, Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health Dr. Rani Polak is the founding director of both the Culinary Healthcare Education Fundamentals (CHEF) Coaching program at the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine, and the Center of Lifestyle Medicine at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel. His work, alongside lipid clinical care, focuses on translational research related to the Culinary Coaching method, which combines culinary training with health coaching principles. Dr. Polak is the principal investigator of the Culinary Coaching research group, which was the first to demonstrate the impact of a culinary medicine intervention on weight in a bi-center randomized controlled trial. After over a decade at Harvard Medical School, he now leads the CHEF Coaching program through Wellcoaches and directs culinary medicine training through the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, helping to disseminate culinary medicine to thousands of clinicians and health coaches worldwide. Dr. Polak’s work has been featured in many media outlets, including Scientific American, the International Herald Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, and USA Today.

Our CDR continuing education courses are for: Registered Dietitians (RD) Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN) Dietetic Technician, Registered (DTR), and Nutrition and Dietetics Technician, Registered (NDTR) If you're seeking to expand industry knowledge and meet your professional development requirements in the nutrition field, our courses are for you! Our teachings are evidence-based and will lead you and your clients to feel confident, inspired, and ready to take action. View our CDR approved courses below. CDR Continuing Education Courses for Dietitians Core Coach Training: Module 1 - Cohorts prior to July 2026 - 27.5 CPEUs Cohorts after July 2026- 38.75 Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction Wellcoaches supports dietitians throughout their careers by providing high-quality, engaging continuing education that meets CDR accreditation standards. Completion of Module 1 (including 100% attendance, completion of all lesson feedback surveys and a score of 80% or greater on quizzes) is required for course completion and to receive a Certificate of Attendance. See all upcoming classes. Lesson topics include:​ ​​Differentiating the coach from the expert How to establish growth-promoting relationships Coaching presence Expressing compassion through empathy Building positive emotions for resilience Eliciting motivation Building self-efficacy Readiness to change Building powerful visions Crafting designs for behavior experiments Creating generative (ah-ha!) moments Appreciative goal review Coaching habits e-course "I personally had such an amazing experience, I honestly didn’t want it to end! Thank you for your time and dedication to our training. You created a welcoming and comforting environment for all of us, which I believe was a crucial part of the training success and how we all felt as participants. I am very excited to have had this opportunity and look forward to continuing to grow and expand my knowledge in the coaching area. I also hope to continue working with you!" - Erica Cook, Wellness Program Coordinator, Clinical Exercise Physiologist Core Coach Training: Module 2 - Cohorts after July 2026 - 19.25 CPEUs Module 2 consists of 9 courses designed to deepen your coaching skills through demonstration, practice, and real-world application. You'll begin by strengthening core coaching abilities through hands-on practice in Organizing Your Emotions, Organizing Your Mind 1 and 2, Wellness Visions, and Generative Moments. These classes explore strategies based on brain science, steps based on coaching science, habits based on self science plus help develop the student's awareness of the connection between emotions and needs, while taking a new look at additional ways to create visions with clients that enable them to tap into the most creative process for creating a picture of their best life From there, you'll build the skills to support the whole patient — developing awareness of mental health conditions, cultural dynamics, and the broader environmental forces that shape health behaviors. You'll learn to recognize mental health warning signs and make appropriate referrals, develop cultural competence and humility, examine your own biases and assumptions, and explore how Social Determinants of Health and ecological systems shape a patient's perspective and well-being. Through self-reflection, skill-building, and practical application, you'll emerge equipped to practice with greater cultural responsiveness, psychological awareness, and respect for each patient's unique lived experience. A Certificate of Attendance is awarded upon completion of class attendance, all 7 feedback surveys, and a score of 80% or higher on all knowledge assessments. Professional Coach Training - 95 CEUs (Pending Prior Approval for 2027 cohort) This advanced program is specially designed for Certified Wellcoaches®, or Nationally Board Certified Coaches or ICF-ACC/PCC/MCC Coaches only Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction and two on-site sessions Once you have completed our Core Coach Training & Certification program, start making plans to lift your coaching mastery to a galactic orbit with our nine-month advanced Professional Coach Training & Certification Program. This program is developing the future leaders of the health and wellness coaching industry. We built and continue to upgrade an innovative, science and neuroscience-based, robust coaching framework we call the "Onward & Upward Model" designed to enable Certified Wellcoaches® to help clients optimize mental and physical well-being. This is a hit-the-ball-out-of-the-park opportunity for Certified Wellcoaches®, Nationally Board Certified Coaches or ICF-ACC/PCC/MCC Coaches who want to be masterful coaches. The Professional Coach Training course includes: Two 2.5 day on-site sessions in January and September each year 32 ninety-minute virtual classes with the ability to practice new tools and skills in class, including 8 group coaching sessions. Six private mentor coaching sessions with feedback from coaching masters regarding the application of Wellcoaches protocols and International Coach Federation Competencies A reading list of over 20 carefully chosen books written by scientists and psychologists with a strong evidence basis Cost: $4100 A "Certificate of Attendance" is provided following class attendance, completion of a feedback surveys and all mentoring sessions. "The great thing about the PCT is not only the professional growth that you get from all of the tools and skills that you learn from all of the mentor coaching, and from all of the great Wellcoaches faculty, but the greatest value is the personal growth. The books that you read and the way that you process all of the new information is truly life-changing and transforming. It makes you a better professional but, more importantly, it makes you a better person." - Noah Gentner, PhD CDR Continuing Education Requirements Once all requirements are complete, a Certificate of Attendance will be provided to the dietitian professional. Participants will use this certificate to report completion of the course to CDR for continuing education credits Have questions about a course? Your Coach Concierge, assigned by the first letter of your last name, is here to support you: Telephone: (866) 932-6224 (866 WE-COACH) Your Last name A - G: Julie Cummings [ext 712 ] Your Last name H - O: Joanna Thomas [ext 743] Your Last name P - Z: Angela Carter-Lanon [ext 742]

Here are a few of the ways that your new AI Coach Assistant can boost your efficacy as a coach! Analyze an assessment, screener or inventory and help you consider the results. Analyze a coaching session and get feedback on your skills. Learn more about coaching tools and receive guidance on how to utilize them. Check for potential risks, human harm and ethical responsibilities. Get different perspectives about an issue. Download conversations. Utilize the History Tab for downloading and sharing conversations. 7. Human Harm Check - a response from the tool regarding a medication question.

Blog by Gary Sforzo and Margaret Moore with Claude AI For years, health and well-being coaches have known something that mainstream medicine is only beginning to fully embrace, behavior change is the engine of lasting health transformation. A new study published in Obesity - a highly respected journal - offers compelling, rigorous evidence that combining culinary skills training with health coaching principles produces meaningful, sustained weight loss over a full year. And it does so remotely, affordably, and without a single prescription pad. The article was selected to be featured by Obesity's May 2026 issue and also highlighted on Medscape. Here's what the science shows - and why it matters deeply for coaches, clients, and the future of lifestyle medicine. The Study at a Glance Conducted across two clinical centers - Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital at Harvard Medical School in Boston and Sheba Medical Center in Israel - this bi-center randomized controlled trial enrolled adults aged 25–70 with BMIs between 27.5 and 35 kg/m². Participants cooked fewer than five home meals per week, making them a realistic proxy for the clients many of us work with every day. Fifty participants in the intervention (n=24) and control (n=26) groups received dietary counseling focused on the Mediterranean diet. The intervention group received 12 weekly, one-on-one, 30-minute telehealth sessions that combined culinary training with health and well-being coaching. Coaches helped participants identify their home cooking vision, set weekly culinary goals, review progress, and develop skills through a guided self-discovery process. The control group received access to culinary resources on their own. Body weight, nutrition, body composition, lipid profiles, cooking attitudes, and self-efficacy were measured at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months. The Results: Significant, Sustained, and Meaningful The weight loss findings are significant, particularly for a behavioral intervention delivered entirely by telehealth without any weight loss medication. The intervention group lost an average of 3.23% of body weight at 3 months — more than double the control group's 0.71%. At 6 months, the intervention group reached an average loss of 4.2%, compared to just 1.22% in the control group. At 12 months, the intervention group maintained their losses at an average of 4.02%, while the control group gained weight slightly. The between-group difference at one year was 4.3%, a statistically and clinically meaningful gap. Body composition data, analyzed through DXA scanning, reinforced the quality of the weight loss: the intervention group shed fat mass without significant loss of lean body mass. Fat loss without muscle loss is the signature of genuine metabolic improvement. The study's authors noted that this weight loss is comparable to pharmacological agents like naltrexone/bupropion and exceeded the short-term results of other culinary medicine programs that required in-person teaching kitchens. This was accomplished through twelve half-hour telehealth coaching sessions. The Coaching Piece: Not a Detail, but the Engine Perhaps the most important aspect of this study for the Wellcoaches community is what distinguished the intervention: the integration of health and well-being coaching principles into the culinary training. Participants weren't simply taught recipes. They were guided through a self-discovery process. They set their own cooking visions and weekly goals. They reflected on progress. They built confidence through action - and through the relationship with a trained health and well-being coach. Qualitative analyses from companion publications reveal that participants consistently named coaching elements - goal setting, planning, accountability, and growing confidence - as decisive factors in sustaining their new cooking habits. The culinary skills mattered. The coaching made those skills stick. This is the central insight of Wellcoaches' work, validated once more by rigorous science: knowledge alone doesn't change behavior. The coaching relationship - built on autonomy, self-efficacy, and structured reflection - is what transforms intention into lasting action. What Changed Nutritionally The dietary changes tracked with coaching's individualized, goal-centered approach. Rather than uniform improvements across all measures, participants shifted meaningfully in ways aligned with their personal goals at different points in time. Mediterranean diet scores improved significantly at 3 months. Caloric intake dropped by an average of 452 calories per day at 6 months — a substantial reduction achieved without prescribed calorie counting. Consumption of commercial sweets declined significantly at 3 months and sweet beverages at 12 months. Both groups reduced ultra-processed food intake and increased minimally processed food consumption over time, though the between-group differences were not statistically significant on NOVA classification measures. The authors suggest this may reflect the NOVA system's limits in detecting personal-level dietary change - an important nuance for coaches who know that individual food behavior is far more granular than broad classification systems can capture. Cooking Confidence as a Health Outcome One of the study's most practically useful findings concerns cooking self-efficacy. At 12 months, intervention group participants showed significantly improved confidence in cooking techniques and meal preparation. They reported greater skill in using knives, applying basic cooking methods, steaming, sautéing, stewing, and cooking from whole ingredients. These aren't trivial outcomes. They represent durable behavioral assets - capabilities that participants carry forward regardless of whether they're enrolled in a program. This is exactly the kind of change that health and wellness coaches are trained to cultivate: not compliance, but capability. Not dependence, but self-direction. Why This Matters for Our Field This study arrives at a pivotal moment. GLP-1 receptor agonists are transforming obesity medicine, but they carry side effects, costs, and questions about long-term use. Lifestyle modification remains the first-line recommendation in major clinical guidelines. Yet the behavioral infrastructure to support that modification — the coaching, culinary skills, and sustained relationship — has rarely been studied with this level of scientific rigor. This trial changes that. It demonstrates that a remote, coaching-integrated culinary medicine program can produce weight loss comparable to medication, sustain it over a full year, reduce fat mass without sacrificing muscle, and build lasting behavioral capacity — all through telehealth, without a teaching kitchen, using the core principles that health and wellness coaches practice every day. We are proud to say that the Wellcoaches coaching protocol was used in this study, and first author Rani Polak is Wellcoaches-trained and a long-standing member of our Wellcoaches family. For coaches advocating for the value of their work in healthcare systems, in lifestyle medicine programs, and in policy conversations about reimbursement and integration, this study is a gift. It speaks the language of medicine — randomized design, validated instruments, DXA scans, confidence intervals — while validating the science of coaching. The kitchen, as it turns out, is a powerful coaching room. And the coach, it turns out, is essential medicine. Polak R, et al. One-Year Weight Loss Following a Remote Culinary Medicine Program: A Bi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial. Obesity, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.70193

Wellcoaches is a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) approved CEU provider . Our NASM continuing education courses are for personal trainers seeking to expand professional knowledge and meet their continuing ed and certification requirements in the fitness field. Our courses are evidence-based and will lead you and your clients to feel confident, inspired, and ready to take action. Learn more about our NASM approved courses below. NASM Approved CEU Courses for Personal Trainers Core Coach Training: Module 1 : 1.9 CEUs Attend in our virtual classroom . Wellcoaches supports personal trainers and CPTs throughout their careers by providing high-quality, engaging continuing education that meets NASM standards. Completion of Module 1 (including 100% attendance, completion of all lesson feedback surveys and a score of 80% or greater on quizzes) is required for course completion and to receive a Certificate of Attendance. See all upcoming classes . Lesson topics include:​ ​​Differentiating the coach from the expert How to establish growth-promoting relationships Coaching presence Expressing compassion through empathy Building positive emotions for resilience Eliciting motivation Building self-efficacy Readiness to change Building powerful visions Crafting designs for behavior experiments Creating generative (ah-ha!) moments Appreciative goal review Coaching habits e-course "I personally had such an amazing experience, I honestly didn’t want it to end! Thank you for your time and dedication to our training. You created a welcoming and comforting environment for all of us, which I believe was a crucial part of the training success and how we all felt as participants. I am very excited to have had this opportunity and look forward to continuing to grow and expand my knowledge in the coaching area. I also hope to continue working with you!" - Erica Cook, Wellness Program Coordinator, Clinical Exercise Physiologist Reporting NASM Continuing Education Personal Trainers and CPT professionals must attend all of Wellcoaches’ NASM approved courses in full, including attending ALL synchronous (live) classes, pass the Knowledge Assessments with 80% or higher, and complete a course feedback survey to receive credit. Have questions about a course? Your Coach Concierge, assigned by the first letter of your last name, is here to support you: Telephone: (866) 932-6224 (866 WE-COACH) Your Last name A - G : Julie Cummings [ext 712 ] Your Last name H - O : Joanna Thomas [ext 743] Your Last name P - Z : Angela Carter-Lanon [ext 742]

Wellcoaches School of Coaching is an accredited Level 2 coach training program by the ICF, providing the practical skills and tools you need to make a change in your life and in your community. If you're seeking to expand coaching skills knowledge and meet your professional development requirements for coaching, our continuing education courses are for you! Our teachings are evidence-based and will lead you and your clients to feel confident, inspired, and ready to take action. View our ICF approved courses below. ICF Approved Continuing Education for Coaches Professional Coach Training  - 142.5 hours Wellcoaches is an accredited Level 2 training program for ICF. Our PCT program is designed for Certified Wellcoaches®, Nationally Board Certified Coaches, or ICF-ACC/PCC/MCC Coaches only. Graduates from a Level 2 education and training program may apply for the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) Credential using the Level 2 application path if they meet the credentialing requirements. Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction and two on-site sessions Once you have completed our Core Coach Training & Certification program (Modules 1-3), start making plans to lift your coaching mastery to a galactic orbit with our nine-month advanced Professional Coach Training & Certification Program. This program is developing the future leaders of the health and wellness coaching industry. We built and continue to upgrade an innovative, science and neuroscience-based, robust coaching framework we call the "Onward & Upward Model" designed to enable Certified Wellcoaches® to help clients optimize mental and physical well-being. This is a hit-the-ball-out-of-the-park opportunity for Certified Wellcoaches®, Nationally Board Certified Coaches, or ICF-ACC/PCC/MCC Coaches who want to be masterful coaches. The Professional Coach Training course includes: Two 2.5 day on-site sessions in January and September each year 32 ninety-minute virtual classes with the ability to practice new tools and skills in class, including 8 group coaching sessions Six private mentor coaching sessions with feedback from coaching masters regarding the application of Wellcoaches protocols and International Coaching Federation Competencies A reading list of over 20 carefully chosen books written by scientists and psychologists with a strong evidence basis Cost: $4100 A "Certificate of Attendance" is provided following class attendance, completion of a feedback surveys and all mentoring sessions. "The great thing about the PCT is not only the professional growth that you get from all of the tools and skills that you learn from all of the mentor coaching, and from all of the great Wellcoaches faculty, but the greatest value is the personal growth. The books that you read and the way that you process all of the new information is truly life-changing and transforming. It makes you a better professional but, more importantly, it makes you a better person." - Noah Gentner, PhD Core Coach Training: Module 1 - 35 CCEs Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction- Because of our approved Level 2 accredited training program, courses within our approval are also approved for CCEs towards a credential or renewal for ICF. Wellcoaches supports health, well-being and wellness coaches throughout their careers by providing high-quality, engaging continuing education that meets ICF accreditation standards. Completion of Module 1 (including 100% attendance, completion of all lesson feedback surveys and a score of 80% or greater on quizzes) is required for course completion and to receive a Certificate of Attendance. See all upcoming classes . Lesson topics include:​ ​​Differentiating the coach from the expert How to establish growth-promoting relationships Coaching presence Expressing compassion through empathy Building positive emotions for resilience Eliciting motivation Building self-efficacy Readiness to change Building powerful visions Crafting designs for behavior experiments Creating generative (ah-ha!) moments Appreciative goal review Coaching habits e-course "Choose the right program and Wellcoaches has one of the best. I have almost every certification you can think of as a coach, but most of those certifications do not come with research and evidence-based curriculum. They do not go deep and wide. If you get certified with Wellcoaches, you will not only have the tools you need to be successful as a coach, but will have the tools that you need transform someone's life." - Dr. Ivan Young, MCC, NBC-HWC Module 2 - 10 CCEs Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction along with numerous e-course offerings. Because of our approved Level 2 accredited training program, courses within our approval are also approved for CCEs towards a credential or renewal for ICF. Continue your journey of becoming a certified health coach. Module 2 was created to further deepen coaching skills through demonstration and practice opportunities. Participants will hone in on the specific topics: Organize Your Emotions, Organize Your Mind, Wellness Visions and Generative Moments A "Certificate of Attendance" is provided following class attendance, completion of 4 feedback survey and a score of 80% or greater on all knowledge assessments. . ICF Continuing Education Requirements Once all requirements are complete, a Certificate of Attendance will be provided. Participants will use this document along with a letter from our continuing education coordinator to validate their training and report completion of the course(s) to ICF for continuing education credits. ** Please contact your coach concierge for your verification letter before you submit your application to ICF. Have questions about a course? Your Coach Concierge, assigned by the first letter of your last name, is here to support you: Telephone: (866) 932-6224 (866 WE-COACH) Your Last name A - G : Julie Cummings [ext 712 ] Your Last name H - O : Joanna Thomas [ext 743] Your Last name P - Z : Angela Carter-Lanon [ext 742]

A landmark paper in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine argues that what coaches have always known is now a clinical imperative For twenty-five years, Wellcoaches has trained health and wellness coaches to start where the client is — not with a diagnosis or a diet plan, but with what matters most to them. What gives their life direction? What they’re willing to fight for when motivation fades, and old habits reassert themselves. Now, a sweeping new supplement published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine  argues that mainstream medicine should do the same. The paper, “Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in the Clinical Practice of Lifestyle Medicine,” represents the output of a national summit convened by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) and the Global Positive Health Institute, bringing together nearly 100 experts to examine how meaning, purpose, and spirituality — collectively termed MPS — can be woven into clinical care. We’re proud that one of the paper’s authors, Tracy Yates, NBC-HWC, ICF-PCC , is a senior Wellcoach whose work exemplifies the integration this paper calls for. The Core Argument: MPS Is the “Why” Behind Behavior Change The paper’s central insight will sound familiar to any trained coach: sustained behavior change doesn’t come from information or willpower alone. It comes from connecting daily choices to something deeper — a sense of purpose, a web of relationships that matter, a framework of meaning that makes the effort worthwhile. The authors frame MPS as the motivational foundation beneath lifestyle medicine’s evidence-based behavioral interventions. When clinicians help patients link health behaviors to their sense of purpose — exercising to sustain energy for caregiving, preparing nourishing food as an act of love for family, caring for the body as sacred — motivation and adherence strengthen. Purpose-driven goals create what the authors describe as a mutually reinforcing cycle: pursuing health goals promotes positive affect, which in turn deepens purpose. This is not a peripheral add-on. The paper argues explicitly that MPS is “not an optional add-on but a foundational component of quality whole-person lifestyle medicine practice.” What the Evidence Shows The evidence base is substantial. Decades of research link MPS to reduced mortality, improved quality of life, greater resilience, and stronger health behaviors. The paper notes that the Joint Commission has recommended spiritual assessment in hospitals since 2001, and that the American Medical Association passed a 2024 resolution formally recognizing the need for spiritual care access and education in medical training. Public demand is there too. Gallup data from 2023 indicate that 80% of U.S. respondents identify as religious or spiritual. Research shows that a third of patients want clinicians to ask about their beliefs — a number that rises to 70% among those facing serious illness. Yet despite this convergence of evidence, policy support, and patient preference, MPS remains systematically underaddressed in routine care. The authors point to a deep cultural bias: modern Western healthcare was built on biomedical reductionism that effectively defined the spirit out of human nature. Academic and scientific communities tend to be less religiously affiliated than the populations they serve, and this gap has shaped what gets studied, taught, and valued. Where Coaching Fits — Front and Center The paper identifies health and wellness coaches as essential members of the interprofessional care team for MPS integration. Coaches are positioned alongside physicians, behavioral health professionals, chaplains, nurses, and social workers — each contributing complementary expertise to whole-person care. What distinguishes the coaching role is precisely what Wellcoaches has always emphasized: helping patients translate their values into achievable goals that support sustained behavior change. This is the connective tissue between what a patient discovers matters most to them and what they actually do on a Tuesday morning. The paper presents several clinical tools — FICA, HOPE, CLEAR, the HOPE Note model — that give clinicians structured ways to open MPS conversations. But coaches will recognize that the underlying competency is one we train for explicitly: the ability to hold space for a person’s whole story, to listen for what’s underneath the presenting concern, and to help them find their own language for what gives life meaning. Tracy Yates’s involvement in this work is no accident. Her career reflects the integration the paper advocates — bridging the rigor of board-certified coaching with deep attention to the spiritual and existential dimensions of health. Her presence among the authors signals that the coaching profession isn’t waiting to be invited into this conversation. We’re already there. What This Means for Coaches in Practice Several implications stand out for the coaching community: MPS is not a specialty — it’s a stance. You don’t need chaplaincy training to ask a client what gives their life meaning. The paper emphasizes that MPS conversations can be brief, natural, and embedded in routine interactions. A question as simple as “What gives you strength?” can open a doorway. The shift from “what’s the matter with you?” to “what matters to you?” is a coaching move. The paper names this reframe as transformative for clinical encounters. Coaches have been making this shift for decades. The wider healthcare system is now recognizing its power. Self-awareness is a prerequisite. The authors stress that clinicians should apply MPS tools to themselves first — exploring their own sources of meaning, values, and biases before engaging clients. This mirrors the reflective practice that is foundational to quality coaching. Community connections extend the work. The paper highlights group-based care, faith communities, recovery groups, and other community resources as essential for sustaining MPS engagement beyond individual sessions. Coaches are natural connectors to these resources. A Moment of Convergence This paper represents something significant: the formal recognition by a major medical specialty that the dimensions of human experience coaches have always centered — meaning, purpose, values, spirituality — are not soft extras but hard necessities for health. For Wellcoaches, it’s a validation of what we’ve built and a call to go further. As lifestyle medicine expands its framework to include MPS, coaches who are skilled in these conversations will be indispensable. The evidence is clear, the policy environment is shifting, and the patients are asking for it. The question was never whether meaning and purpose matter for health. It was when medicine would be ready to act on what it already knows. That moment is here. Tracy Yates, NBC-HWC, ICF-PCC, is a senior Wellcoach and co-author of “Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in the Clinical Practice of Lifestyle Medicine,” published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (April 2026). With three other Wellcoaches, all part of the NIH UCSF Tools to Be Fit cancer survivorship study, Tracy Yates created Global Health Coaching, designed to interface with both primary care and oncology organizations, physicians, and patients to improve outcomes.

Welcome to Wellcoaches' On-Demand Learning Offerings. We invite you to take advantage of these opportunities to earn continuing education for further professional development and/or credential renewals. Courses available on-demand Coaching Specialty Collection I Coaching Specialty Collection II Coaching Clients to a Healthy Weight: Clearing a Path to Healthier Lives in Diet Culture GLP-1 Medications Motivational Interviewing-Applying Evidence-based Strategies for Positive Behavior Change and Growth Coaching Specialty Collection I CEUs: Wellcoaches 5, NBHWC 5, ACSM 5, NCHEC 4 ADD TO CART    $125 This collection of five continuing education classes will help you hone your coaching skills. The Collection I series covers affirmations, open-ended questions, systemic coaching, how contracts play a role in coaching, and more. Four sessions offer coaching demonstrations, and the fifth class provides a thoughtful conversation about many coaching challenges that may, directly or indirectly, result from unclear contract parameters. ( This collection of classes was initially hosted in our Wellcoaches Membership program. ) In this offering, you will learn how to: * Describe how close-ended questions can sometimes come from an expert mindset and transcribe them into open-ended, thought-provoking inquiries * Shift from praising to truly affirming * Replace repeating with perceptive and other types of reflections * Define Systemic Coaching * See the value of coaching from a systems perspective * Recognize the steps to setting up the dialogue with a symptom exercise * Observe a coaching demonstration that supports a client to explore, grow, and learn from the written dialogue * Discuss lessons learned following the demonstration * Consider where/how you might use this tool Coaching Specialty Collection II CEUs: Wellcoaches 5, NBHWC 5, ACSM 5, NCHEC 3 ADD TO CART  $125 This collection of five continuing education classes will help you grow and expand your coaching skills. The Collection II series covers A Coach Approach to Mental Health, Coaching Clients with Burnout Symptoms, Coaching Skills in Action: Words Create Worlds, Coaching Skills in Action: Honoring the Integrity of the Generative Moment, and Reflections. The first class in the series provides an essential structure for how a coach can approach mental health issues that may show up in the course of a coaching relationship. Three sessions offer coaching demonstrations focusing on issues of today like burnout, appreciative inquiry, and the deep value of the generative moment. Lastly, the fifth session covers reflections, the different kinds that can be used in a coaching session, and how to use them effectively. (This collection of classes was initially hosted in our Wellcoaches Membership program.) Through this collection, you will learn how to: * Name indicators of declining mental health in a person * Identify and follow a referral process for further investigation/treatment * Identify red flags in mental health and take appropriate action * Employ the 5 stages of AI in a coaching context * Appraise the value of the 5 AI principles as a systemic rather than linear model * Evaluate the impact of AI inquiries focused on perceived negative experiences address key facets of burnout * Identify coaching approaches for dealing with burnout among clients, including other coaches * Demonstrate how the coach honors the client’s agenda * Demonstrate relational flow between coach and client * Explain how to stay grounded and focused as a coach during a generative moment. * Describe the main types of reflections and the circumstances in which they may be used for the best effect. * Practice making reflections using a variety of linguistic styles. Coaching Clients to a Healthy Weight: Clearing a Path to Healthier Lives in Diet Culture with Greg Hottinger  and Michael Scholtz CEUs:  Wellcoaches 9, ACSM 9, NBHWC 9, NCHEC 9 ADD TO CART  $250 There are many mixed messages to consider when coaching clients toward their weight loss goal. There is pressure from society to achieve a specific body weight or shape. And when a client’s weight is considered a health risk, there is also pressure from the healthcare field. As a result, many overweight clients have unrealistic expectations and low self-acceptance and feel defeated by efforts to lose weight.   And, for those who are overweight but active and healthy, research shows that losing as little as 5% of body weight can make a positive health difference, including the prevention of Type II diabetes.   Navigating this world of confusing information and often conflicting standards and expectations is difficult. With the increasing prevalence of our population dealing with issues related to overweight and obesity, coaches need to be appropriately skilled to assist their clients in working toward a healthier life. Participation in this course will provide coaches with: An understanding of the evidence of how people lose weight An in-depth look at seven key obstacles to weight loss An exploration of dozens of practical tools designed to help your clients approach weight loss or weight maintenance in a compassionate way GLP-1 Medications: Coaching Considerations When Supporting Clients Through a Weight-Loss Process With Greg Hottinger and Michael Scholtz CEUs: Wellcoaches 6, NBHWC 6, ACSM 6 ADD TO CART $200 GLP-1 meds are currently the most popular weight loss tool on the market and coaches need to be well informed to be helpful. This multi-week course will explore GLP-1 medications, their efficacy, the concerns, personal biases, and how best to support your clients who are considering using or currently taking these medications. This course will include an overview of the most popular medications on the market. In this series, you will: * Understand and analyze the current biases coaches may have related to GLP-1 meds. * Evaluate and understand the types of GLP-1 meds, how they work, the data, the side-effects, and long-term projections. * Understand the physiological effects of GLP-1 meds and be able to evaluate and apply behavior change knowledge that will best support the client. * Apply relevant coaching skills in role-play scenarios to engage with the client in specific situations relevant to GLP-1 medications Motivational Interviewing-Applying Evidence-based Strategies for Positive Behavior Change and Growth with Darlene Trandel CEUs: Wellcoaches 10, NBHWC 10, ACSM 10, NCHEC 10 ADD TO CART  $250 This class will guide participants through an in-depth sequence of learning activities to enhance their knowledge, skills, and application of Motivational Interviewing and add to their coaching competencies.  Using the newly released, entirely rewritten 4th edition by William Miller and Stephen Rollnick , the class incorporates the changes reflected in this text and updates the thinking about what creates behavior change over longer growth spans.  The fourth edition has an increased emphasis on growth, in addition to change, and introduces new concepts, skills, and upgraded and simplified terminology introduced in the classes. Participants will: Explore the different ways to support behavior change included in the Motivational interviewing four "tasks" (previously called processes): Engaging, Guiding, Evoking, and Planning. Expand their skills in applying the key principles and core skills of MI. Discuss sharing information with your patients/clients using coaching competencies. Deepen and vary reflective listening skills, eliciting change talk and responding effectively to sustain talk, discord, and change talk. Develop additional skills for helping clients/patients to explore and resolve their ambivalence about health behavior change. Apply and practice MI skills and strategies designed to evoke motivation for change. Adapt the MI method and spirit to best fit participants’ current practice setting.

Wellcoaches is recognized by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) as an accredited continuing education provider. ACE has evaluated our course materials to ensure it meets industry standards and is valuable to fitness professionals. Our ACE continuing education courses are for fitness professionals and Personal Trainers who want to build their expertise, sharpen their skills, and prepare for recertification . We offer synchronous (live) course formats. Earn your ACE CECs today! Enhance Your Expertise with Approved ACE CECs Core Coach Training: Module 1 5 CECs for virtual classroom Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction Make a great impact as a fitness professional with the skills of health coaching! Completion of Module 1 (including 100% attendance, completion of all lesson feedback surveys and a score of 80% or greater on quizzes) is required for course completion and to receive a Certificate of Attendance. See all upcoming classes . Lesson topics include:​ ​​Differentiating the coach from the expert How to establish growth-promoting relationships Coaching presence Expressing compassion through empathy Building positive emotions for resilience Eliciting motivation Building self-efficacy Readiness to change Building powerful visions Crafting designs for behavior experiments Creating generative (ah-ha!) moments Appreciative goal review Coaching habits e-course "I personally had such an amazing experience, I honestly didn’t want it to end! Thank you for your time and dedication to our training. You created a welcoming and comforting environment for all of us, which I believe was a crucial part of the training success and how we all felt as participants. I am very excited to have had this opportunity and look forward to continuing to grow and expand my knowledge in the coaching area. I also hope to continue working with you!" - Erica Cook, Wellness Program Coordinator, Clinical Exercise Physiologist Reporting ACE Continuing Education Once all requirements are complete, a Certificate of Attendance will be provided to the student. Personal Trainers will use this certificate to report completion of the course to ACE. Have questions about a course? Your Coach Concierge, assigned by the first letter of your last name, is here to support you: Telephone: (866) 932-6224 (866 WE-COACH) Your Last name A - G : Julie Cummings [ext 712 ] Your Last name H - O : Joanna Thomas [ext 743] Your Last name P - Z : Angela Carter-Lanon [ext 742]

Wellcoaches supports nursing professionals throughout their careers by providing high-quality, engaging continuing education that meets ANCC Commission on Accreditation’s standards. Our ANCC continuing education courses are for: Registered Nurses (RN), Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRN), and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) seeking to expand professional knowledge and competency in the nursing field. Wellcoaches partners with The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, which is an accredited and approved provider of the American Nurses Credential Center (ANCC). ANCC’s Commission on Accreditation has evaluated the nursing continuing education course materials to ensure it meets industry standards and is valuable to nursing professionals. Earn your ANCC continuing education today! ANCC Approved Continuing Education for Nurses Core Coach Training: Module 1 - Cohorts prior to April 2025 =38.25 CEs Cohorts between April 2025 -Aug 2025 = 49.5 CEs Cohort after Sept 2025=80.5 CEs Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction Enhance your impact as a nurse by integrating health coaching skills. Completion of Module 1 with Wellcoaches Habits course (including 100% attendance, completion of all lesson feedback surveys and a score of 80% or greater on quizzes) is required for course completion and to receive a Certificate of Attendance. See all upcoming classes . Lesson topics include:​ ​​Differentiating the coach from the expert How to establish growth-promoting relationships Coaching presence Expressing compassion through empathy Building positive emotions for resilience Eliciting motivation Building self-efficacy Readiness to change Building powerful visions Crafting designs for behavior experiments Creating generative (ah-ha!) moments Appreciative goal review "After 44 years in nursing, your program reset my clock. I start with the positive and carry that through with all my patients. I just wanted you to know the impact you're making!" - Susan Murphy, RN Core Coach Training Module 2 - Classes taken prior to April 2025 =10 CEs Classes taken between April 2025- Aug 2025 = 45.5 CEs (all live classes must have been taken AFTER 4/1/2025) Classes taken after Sept 1, 2025 = 28.5 CEs (all live classes must have been taken AFTER 9/1/2025) Attend in our virtual classroom with real-time instruction along with numerous e-course offerings. Continue your journey of becoming a certified health coach. Module 2 was created to further deepen coaching skills through demonstration and practice opportunities. Participants will hone in on the specific topics: Organize Your Emotions, Organize Your Mind, Wellness Visions, Generative Moments, Diversity Informed Coaching, Coaching in the Context of the Client’s Environment and Considering Mental Well-being within Coaching. A "Certificate of Attendance" is provided following class attendance, completion of feedback surveys and passage of all knowledge assessments. Wellcoaches Habits Taken outside of Module 1 as a Stand alone course ONLY! Classes taken after Sept 1, 2025 = 18.75 CEs Self-paced, self-directed e-course The 10-hour habits course includes 8 collections of self-paced video lessons to explore common growth edges that hold us back as leaders and professionals, our signposts for new insights and wisdom. The Wellcoaches habits system is designed for any coach, team or organization that aspires to a culture of coaching where everyone is growing and thriving together. The course includes a Habits Library with several collections to choose from. Our collection includes: Behavior Change Communication Connection Leveraging Emotions Cultivating Capacities Burnout Prevention Transformational Leadership The Declipse Technique ™ (preview here) Each habit (70+ habits to choose from) comes with a 5-10 minute video, resources, reminders and tracker. A "Certificate of Attendance " is provided following course completion, submission of feedback survey/reflection and passage of knowledge assessment. ANCC Disclosures Joint Provider Statement : The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and Wellcoaches School of Coaching, INC are jointly providing nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hours for the following educational activities. Module 1 = 80.5 nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hours and Module 2 = 28.5 nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hours and Habits (Stand alone ONLY) =18.75 nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hours for cohorts after Sept 1, 2025. Please see above hours for previous cohorts. Accreditation Statement : The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. Successful Completion Requirements : Nurses completing the entire activity and the evaluation tool will be awarded a maximum of 80.5 contact hours for Module 1 (after Sept 2025), 28.5 contact hours for Module 2 (after Sept 2025) and 18.75 for Habits (stand alone only ) of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) Please see above hours for previous cohorts Relevant Financial Relationships It is the policy of the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing to require nursing continuing professional development program faculty and planning committee members to disclose any financial relationship with companies providing funding or manufacturers of any commercial products discussed in the educational activity. The program faculty and the planning committee members report they do not have financial relationships with any manufacturer of any commercial products discussed in the activity. Content Expiration Date: Module 1 - Sept 1, 2028 Module 2 - August 1, 2026 Habits - Sept 1, 2028 Commercial Support : This educational activity has not received any form of commercial support. Non-Endorsement of Products: The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) does not endorse the use of any commercial products discussed or displayed in conjunction with this educational activity. Have questions about a course? Your Coach Concierge, assigned by the first letter of your last name, is here to support you: Telephone: (866) 932-6224 (866 WE-COACH) Your Last name A - G : Julie Cummings [ext 712 ] Your Last name H - O : Joanna Thomas [ext 743] Your Last name P - Z : Angela Carter-Lanon [ext 742]