American College of Lifestyle Medicine and Wellcoaches Bring the Lifestyle Medicine Coach to Clinical and Worksite Settings
Wellesley, Massachusetts (PRWEB) September 27, 2017 -- The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) announced today an agreement with Wellesley, Massachusetts-based Wellcoaches Corporation to bring lifestyle medicine coaches to clinical and worksite settings next year. Certified health and wellness coaches will be eligible to earn a lifestyle medicine certificate and become an integral part of a clinical practice team, focused on prevention, treatment and, in some cases, reversal of chronic diseases, by addressing the root-causes of conditions with sustainable lifestyle therapies.
ACLM and Wellcoaches are co-branding the Lifestyle Medicine Coach certificate which will debut in early 2018. It will be available to Wellcoaches health and wellness coaches, and coaches who have completed a program approved by the International Consortium for Health & Wellness Coaching. ACLM is also endorsing the Wellcoaches core training and certification program for health and wellness coaches, adding to the endorsement of the American College of Sports Medicine in place since 2002.
Health and wellness coaching for lifestyle behavior change has emerged as an evidence-based practice, role and profession in diverse clinic, employee wellness and community settings. Studies have shown coaching combined with lifestyle medicine therapies produce measurable improvement in health metrics, with greater coaching frequency adding to these beneficial effects.
According to Wellcoaches Founder and CEO Margaret Moore, aka Coach Meg, "Coaching is 80% coach skills and 20% lifestyle medicine, while lifestyle medicine practice is 80% lifestyle medicine and 20% coaching," adding, “Wellcoaches sought to team with the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to develop a lifestyle medicine coach program to stem the rising tide in prevalence of chronic disease."
"The magic happens when you marry expert coaching skills with lifestyle medicine education," said ACLM Executive Director Susan Benigas. "Health coaches effectively trained in lifestyle medicine can educate, equip and empower patients and clients with the evidence-based knowledge and skills needed to prevent, treat and, often, even reverse lifestyle-related conditions, such as heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, stroke, arthritis, many cancers, and even select autoimmune diseases."
ABOUT WELLCOACHES: Wellcoaches founded the first School of Coaching for health and wellness professionals in 2002, in collaboration with the American College of Sports Medicine, and was a first-mover in establishing coaching science in the US. Since then, Wellcoaches has defined the cutting edge and the gold standard for high-impact, evidence-based, innovative education, training and certification. It provides the tools and skills to become game-changing professionals in corporate, healthcare, military and consumer well-being. Wellcoaches has trained more than 10,000 coaches in nearly 50 countries and trains 1,000 coaches per year, equipped to bring a skilled lifestyle medicine coach to every primary care practice.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE: ACLM is the professional medical association for those dedicated to the advancement and clinical practice of Lifestyle Medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable healthcare system. More than a professional association, ACLM is a galvanizing force for change. ACLM addresses the need for quality education and certification, supporting its members in their individual practices and in their collective desire to domestically and globally promote Lifestyle Medicine as the first treatment option, as opposed to a first option of treating symptoms and consequences with expensive, ever increasing quantities of pills and procedures. ACLM members are united in their desire to identify and eradicate the cause of disease. Join today at [http://www.LifestyleMedicine.org.
Jean Tips, American College of Lifestyle Medicine, +1 214-240-1872, [email protected]
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