WNY Life Coaching Center
By Madeleine Kates
Professional golfers have a swing coach, and singers often have a vocal coach. Did you know that there are coaches for your health?
Health coaches are individuals trained in human behavior that tap into positive psychology practices to help clients focus on strengths, find resiliency during times of stress, and work on self-care techniques and life coping skills. They assist individuals in breaking down larger goals into more manageable steps, and identify where clients feel stuck in order to figure out how to move forward to their desired outcome. Health coaches work as holistic complementary practitioners alongside, or in addition to, medical or behavioral health providers. They are not clinicians, and do not diagnose or treat specific medical or behavioral health conditions.
“It is important to be present and patient as a health coach, and meet clients where they are,” says National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach/Life and Energy Coach Shawn Marie Cichowski of WNY Life Coaching Center. “You have to find where you are, to be able to see where you need to go, and that is where a health coach can help.”
Health coaches are grounded in the importance of lifestyle and personal choice. Many of Cichowski’s clients find themselves at a transitional time in their lives, including a change in health status, or life circumstance such as entering or graduating college, changing careers, or retiring. Other clients are becoming new parents, empty nesters, or caregivers. Sessions are tailored to each unique need.
“People are creatures of habit, and health coaches can help expand a comfort zone, break a routine, or forge a new path,” says Cichowski.
The main goal in Cichowski’s practice is to assist clients in learning to focus on self-care. Her background as a Reiki Master, a Japanese practice of energy healing, allows her to tune into a client’s energy and help them understand the transformative power of mindfulness and brain/body awareness.
A typical visit with a health coach is an hour, either in-person, or via telehealth through a phone or computer. The number of sessions varies by the client and their goals. Short-term coaching may be a single session or sessions over a period of weeks, while long-term health coaching may stretch over several months or longer. Session types may include activity-based sessions for children or families, group coaching for corporate teams, private wellness events, and one-on-one coaching.
“As with any type of coaching, whether it is in sports or life, sometimes it takes an outside perspective to help someone identify and reach their goals,” says Cichowski. To learn more or book an appointment with Shawn Marie Cichowski of WNY Life Coaching Center in Williamsville and East Aurora, call 716-560-6552, email wnylifecoaching@gmail.com, or find her online at https://www.wnylifecoaching.com/.
Madeleine Kates is a graduate student in the University of Pennsylvania’s MSNS program, with undergraduate degrees in Environmental Science, Life Science, and Psychology from Niagara University. She also holds certificates in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University, and CHEF Coaching from Harvard University.
