Does happiness equal good health? There's no clinical evidence, but recent findings in the field of positive psychology link positive emotions and well-being with both health and longevity. The relatively new domain of coaching psychology is exploring the effects of targeting both the client's mental state and physical condition during the coaching encounter.

This special report, "Promising Outcomes: The Impact of Positive Psychology on Health and Wellness Coaching," explores evidence-based theories and coaching models, research linking physical and mental health, and critical coaching skills and outcomes that help bring about lasting behavior change. The theories of positive psychology come alive during a 15-minute unscripted coaching demonstration that features Wellcoaches CEO Margaret Moore helping volunteer client Kathy Smith (not her real name) identify life issues that are keeping her from being her "best self" in managing her thyroid condition and weight issues.

A full transcript and CD-ROM recording of the coaching demo are included with the printed special report. Note: Purchasers of the report in Adobe Acrobat format will be e-mailed a link to listen to the coaching demo.

Dissecting the dynamics of this brief coach-client interaction, this 55-page report explains how a coach's cultivation of client strengths, positive emotions and self-efficacy can not only help individuals chart a path in the management of their disease but also effect positive change in other life areas.

In addition to Ms. Moore's presentation, this report features an interview with Dr. Neal Mayerson, a clinical psychologist who helped launch the eight-year-old field of positive psychology and a principal in Hummingbird Coaching, a provider of online health coaching. In describing the emerging shift in health coaching from an expert, advice-driven model to a collaborative problem-solving model, Dr. Mayerson explains why health coaches should address the patient's whole state and suggests tools health coaches can use to assess a client's motivational state.

Ms. Moore and Dr. Mayerson provide details on:

• Basic tenets of positive psychology;
• Emerging models of health coaching that incorporate positive psychology;
• Identification and use of character strengths in coaching to motivate and encourage behavior change;
• Demonstration of coaching processes and skills to coach the client to the "best self;"
• Client/member response to the use of positive psychology in health coaching;
• Coaching the health coach in application of positive psychology principles;
• The healthcare provider's health coaching responsibilities;
• The future of positive psychology and global applications;

Part of the Health Coach Collection, a seven-volume series - Save 35% when you order the Health Coach Collection Series.

This report is based on a 2007 audio conference on teaching health coaches to integrate positive psychology with physical health to improve disease management outcomes.

Table of Contents

• Integrating Positive Psychology with Physical Health to Improve Disease Management Outcomes
  • Consumer-driven Healthcare: A Call to Action
  • Healthcare Coaching Models
  • Coach Training School & Best Practices
  • The Plague of Chronic Contemplation
  • Mount Lasting Change – Journey to Your Best Self
  • Health & Happiness Closely Linked
  • Positive Emotions Broaden Thinking & Build Resources
  • Coaching is a Workout for the Brain
  • Lessons from Hope Psychology
  • Not Exercising is a Depressant
  • Self-Efficacy Critical in the War on Obesity
  • Connection Between Mental State & Health
  • What is Positive Psychology?
  • Coaching Psychology
  • Coaching Processes & Skills
• Positive Psychology in Action: Transcript of a Live Coaching Demo
• The Promise of Health Coaching: Scoring Home Runs in Behavior Change, (interview with Dr. Neal Mayerson)
  • Benefits of Coaching the Whole Person
  • Coaching is a Transaction of Communication
  • Assessing Signature Strengths
  • Considering Attributional Styles
  • Clients’ Reaction to Positive Psychology
  • Online vs. Telephonic Coaching
  • Training a Health Coach in Positive Psychology
  • Self-Regulation Ranked Last in Americans’ Top Ten Strengths
  • Providers and Positive Psychology
  • The Future of Positive Psychology
• Q&A: Ask the Experts
  • Ensuring That Coaches Don’t Act As Therapists
  • Handling a Resistant Client
  • Integrating Expert & Coach
  • The Effectiveness of Live Coaching Demonstrations
  • The Ideal Volunteer for a Live Coaching Demo
  • Prepping in Advance of the Demo
  • Maintaining Authenticity During a Demo
  • Evaluating a Coach’s Performance
• Glossary
• For More Information
• About the Authors