Sarah Frost, Project Manager, Person Partner Place, Big Life Group, Manchester

My role is to support the development of skills related to health coaching in the health and social care workforce in Manchester, this was commissioned as an element of the PPP programme funded by Health Education England in north west England.

Personally, I have developed a greater awareness of the impact of my communication style and how coaching can be useful in many different settings and conversations. I have been lucky to work with trainers who are enthusiastic, supportive, keen to learn and share that learning. Some of those who have completed the training gave me the following feedback about how they have used the learning in practice:

“The day after the workshop I had a consultation with a lady that I had worked with before and tried this way of doing it and it was a completely different outcome. Using the coaching I felt for the first time we actually got to the bottom of things and she felt that I had listened more than last time. I think we are going to have a much better relationship going forward.”
“I am now using the TGROW model in my future practice and feel that this has given me more direction and focus. I feel this is giving the client more options and supporting their decisions enabling them to self-care.”
“My patient was refusing to take medication which resulted in poorly managed COPD. By using the solution focused coaching questions, the patient was able to realise what she had to do in order to avoid exacerbation.”
“I have had a different type of conversation with a patient who had told me they hadn't been walking for 12 months. I coached the patient to think of a goal herself and this was to go outside and make herself a cup of tea. On the ward, we then made a cup of tea together and she has now progressed to walking with a frame and having further rehabilitation at home.”

Sarah’s tips:

Acknowledge and build on good practice that's happening already.
Make use of you coaching 'champions' - people who can help promote its use and share skills.
Don't underestimate the time needed for a mindset shift to occur
Be clear about the benefits of health coaching - use the evidence to make the case.
Get buy in at senior levels to support and sustain the implementation.

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Kate Nash, Lead Respiratory Nurse Specialist, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust

March 31, 2019

I am using health coaching in my clinical practice and have been given eight days per year outside of my existing role to train others.

Nina Finlay, Trudi Dunn, Zoe Noble, West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

March 31, 2019

Each of us noted positive clinical experiences resulting from the application of health coaching skills following an initial two-day training course.

David Sweeting and Kieran Morling, Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapists, East Coast Community CIC

March 31, 2019

We both work with patients suffering with persistent musculoskeletal pain, many have maladaptive coping strategies that contribute to their symptoms.

Ross Joannides, Team Leader, Impact Health Coaching, West Sussex

March 31, 2019

Having previously worked with young adults with learning disabilities and mental health problems, I became very passionate about the opportunity to implement a new approach.

"Conversation doesn't just reshuffle the
cards. It creates new cards."

How talk can change our lives,
Theodore Zeldin

"I particularly valued the sense of presence I felt Penny had during the coaching sessions. She was able to think of ideas or tools to use in the moment. I was offered words of comfort or encouragement when I needed to hear them. I found Penny friendly and empathic, while professional, analytical and with appropriate boundaries and control of the sessions. I genuinely feel the coaching I have received has been exactly what I needed at this point in time."

"Penny is a great listener, empathetic and also has a good sense of humour so makes you feel very at ease. Penny also has an amazing ability to sum up what I have said and help me make sense of it, through discussion and use of different models. I have really enjoyed working with Penny and will miss our sessions!"

"Penny has a great attitude of being supportive but also being frank and honest. I really valued my coaching experience with Penny especially the space she gave me to develop a different, more constructive understanding and perspective of the environment in which I found myself."

"The sessions were hard work, but they provided me with clarity on my key strengths, gave me direction on what was important to me and focussed my attention on what to work on next. I was also able to explore internal barriers and unhelpful beliefs which may be holding me back and identify unwanted behaviours which could led to burn out if left unchecked.Penny was an excellent coach who not only used coaching techniques to help me secure my goal but also gave me time to focus on my wellbeing and work life balance."

"I have really loved Penny's style of coaching and found it a particularly good fit for me. Penny has been super-creative and used a wide range of prompts to help me think in different ways including drawing, meditation, breathing, talking to bits of myself etc. She generates clear and helpful hypotheses which move my thinking on and refuses to let me stagnate.

"Penny was excellent as a coach. I found Penny was able to achieve a lot through this in the short punchy sessions we had. She demonstrated high levels of empathy, compassion but did not collude. She was also able to challenge me when patterns of thinking or behaviour emerged in a way that was helpful. She was excellent at playing back my words to help me think more deeply.Above all her non-judgmental manner and approach and kindness with which she coached was inspirational to me as someone who works in this area – she really is holistic and has so much to offer to clients."

"Penny helped me to have a more positive focus to everyday problems, have a more helicopter view of my future and realise the impact of my NHS devotion on my personal health. While with other coaches sometimes I was ending the session confused and disoriented, Penny managed somehow to always create a direction. I could say that Penny inspirational and challenging at the same time – but knows when to stop challenging and offer focus."

"The coaching has made such a huge impact, not just professionally but on a personal level too. Penny is extremely intuitive, she gets me, and can read into situations things I wouldn't even see, and get straight to the point. I instantly felt at ease with Penny, she's an extraordinary coach who has boosted my confidence in ways that I don't think she can ever appreciate. I could not recommend her highly enough."

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with my coach and I have found our time hugely beneficial. She has an exceptional ability to create a safe, non-judgmental and positive environment, which allowed me a deeper level of exploration and growth. She helped me acknowledge and process my emotions in the best interest for my future – for example she challenged my thinking in a way that deepened my thinking and opened my mind to alternative possibilities and realities. Penny is a brilliant coach and it has been an absolute pleasure working with her."

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Note on language

Health coaching works with all health and care professionals and peers. Our primary audience is the NHS, therefore all of our resources use the term 'clinicians' in place of 'coaches'. Health coaching skills can be used equally by all health and care professionals and peer coaches.

Similarly, although we wish to avoid language which suggests dependency, for clarity we refer to the term 'patients' to refer to an individual who is seeking care and support.

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