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How To Become A Mental Health Coach

Mental health coaching is an emerging field that is all about helping and empowering people living with long-term mental health issues.

In this article, we delve into what mental health coaching involves, the benefits it offers, and how it differs from tradition. It is curated to equip you with knowledge and actionable insights on becoming a top-class mental health coach.

Key Takeaways:

  • The role of a mental health coach and proven techniques used.
  • Learn the differences between mental health coaching and other mental health professions.
  • Discover the steps to becoming a certified top mental health coach.

What is Mental Health Coaching

Mental health coaching is a type of support system for people with mental health difficulties. It is also about helping people with long-lasting mental health issues.

Coaching for mental health often uses cognitive and behavioral techniques. This form of coaching does not mean to ‘treat’ mental illness. Instead, it works towards emotional well-being and better mental ‘health’.

A lack of emotional well-being keeps us from improving our lives. Did you know that as of 2023, 21% of adults in the U.S., or over 50 million people, were dealing with a mental illness? And out of these, 55%—more than 28 million people—didn’t get any treatment (source).

Many people want to improve their lives but don’t know how. Mental health coaching can help!

Coaching is a form of partnership between the coach and the client. Both work together towards the same goal: helping the client better manage their mental health issues.

Benefits Of Mental Health Coaching

Mental health is a complex topic. It includes mental illnesses like anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression.

Becoming a mental health coach means you’re all about helping your clients feel better inside their minds. You teach them to tackle tough times, improve how they chat with others, and chase after their dreams with a clear plan. Plus, you get to cheer them on, making sure they stay on track. 

A thorough study by BetterUp proved that coaching, even virtually, has a significant positive impact on mental health and psychological well-being within approximately 3–4 months of starting coaching.

This job is super rewarding because you see people grow stronger, more confident, and happier. It’s all about giving them the tools to handle life’s ups and downs and watching them shine.

Mental Health Coach In The Workplace

A mental health coach can work wonders in a workplace with high stress levels.

With the growing stress of modern work, the demand for mental health and well-being coaches in the workplace is on the rise. Companies now realize that their organization can thrive only when their employees thrive. They now want to ensure their employees like coming to work and feel relaxed.

Harvard Business Review did a survey of 140 coaches. This survey was about companies that had hired coaches for their executives. The findings are alarming. They came during coaching sessions conducted for executives. Personal issues came up 76% of the time. 76% is a huge number!

person near clear glass window pane and window blinds low-light photography

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When done right, mental health coaching can increase concentration and reduce fatigue. It makes us better equipped to manage change and different emotions.

Mental Health Coach Vs. counselor Vs. Therapist

It can be easy to get mental health coaches mixed up with counselors or therapists, but they’re really quite different.

As a mental health coach, your job is to empower your clients to have better mental health by providing them with the right tools and direction. You focus on what’s happening in their lives right now and make plans for their future.

Therapists and counselors usually spend a lot of time talking about the past to help with problems happening now. Mental health coaching does look at the past a little, but it mostly focuses on what’s going on today and what’s coming up next.

Having both coaching and therapy can be very helpful. Research tells us that mental health is a big area and that all kinds of support are important. In the U.S., there is only one mental health provider for every 350 people. Also, 28% of adults with a mental health issue said they couldn’t get the help they needed (source).

Getting help from different places can lead to better results.

window view, sitting, indoors

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Imagine someone on a journey to climb a mountain, and they hurt their leg. Now, as they’re planning their climb, they might feel scared or unsure because of their past injury.

The mental health coach, counselor, and therapist are like different guides who help them on this adventure.

The TherapistThe CounselorThe Coach
The therapist is like a doctor who helps them figure out why their leg hurts and helps them fix it, so they’re ready to start climbing.The counselor is a guide who talks with them about their fears, helping them find bravery and confidence to face the climb despite their worries.
The coach plans their climb, looks at where they are and where they want to be, and helps them set small goals, like choosing paths and pacing. They motivate them, keep them on track, and adjust the plan as needed.

Why should someone take two different approaches?

Because having a mental illness and living with it are two different things. So, they need different approaches.

Tools and Techniques For Mental Health Coaching

There are many tools and techniques that coaches can use for mental health issues.

1. motivational interviewing technique

One of my favorite techniques is a specific form of interviewing. It works by creating long-lasting motivation.

This tool is the motivational interviewing technique, borrowed from Sobell & Sobell’s (2008) work on motivational interviewing. When used with care, it can be very empowering for clients.

This includes:

  • Asking Permission for Advice: Always ask before giving advice to respect and engage your client.
  • Open-Ended Questions on Change: Use questions that let clients share freely about changes.
  • Reflective Listening and Affirmations: Listen and repeat back to show understanding. Give compliments to boost confidence.
  • Normalizing: Tell clients they are not alone in their feelings to help ease their concerns.
  • Readiness Scale: Use a scale to measure how ready a client is for change, then plan actions based on their readiness.

2. Wellness Assessments

These are structured tools designed to measure aspects of mental health, such as stress, anxiety and depression.

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), for example, asks individuals to rate how often they’ve felt certain ways within a specific time frame, offering insights into their stress levels.

Similarly, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7) scale focuses on the frequency of anxiety symptoms, helping to quantify the severity of someone’s anxiety.

3. Life Satisfaction and Wellness Wheel

This is a versatile and interactive tool that supports a holistic approach to mental health and well-being. It segments life into various domains—health, relationships, career, finance, personal growth, etc.—and asks people to rate their satisfaction in each area.

Visually mapping out these ratings on a wheel helps coaches quickly identify areas of relative balance or imbalance. It encourages a broader conversation about life satisfaction and helps pinpoint specific areas where clients may wish to focus their efforts for improvement,

In despair, but not lost. I try to remind myself, trials may come yet hope lies at dawn

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4. CBT Worksheets

This practical tool used in mainly used in Cognitive-Behavioral practices. They guide clients in identifying negative, often automatic thoughts that contribute to emotional distress or unhelpful behaviors.

Through worksheets, coaches can track these thoughts, understand the context and triggers. After which they work on challenging and reframing them into more balanced, positive thoughts.

5. Reflective Journals

A personal space for clients to express thoughts and emotions, facilitating self-awareness and personal growth. This practice can significantly enhance self-awareness and mindfulness.

The act of writing can itself be therapeutic. It helps people clarify thoughts and feelings, notice patterns in behavior or thinking, and articulate goals or areas for change.

6. Self-Care Checklists

These are personalized tools that prompt clients to engage in activities beneficial to their physical, mental, and emotional health.

It will help them identify activities that nourish and recharge them such as exercise, reading, socializing, meditating. They will more consciously incorporate these activities into their routines.

Checklists act as gentle reminders to take time for self-care. Between busy schedules, it is important to ensure that self-care practices are not overlooked. This can lead to improved mood, reduced stress, and a greater overall sense of well-being.

Mental Health Coaching Certifications

Are you wondering if you need a certification to become a mental health coach? The short answer is no.

Coaching is still an unregulated industry. Having a certification can certainly boost your credibility with your clients. It will also equip you with knowledge on how to use the coaching tools and techniques in your practice.

Still, it’s not mandatory.

That said, if you’re interested in learning mental health coaching formally, we’ve got you.

There are quite a few courses and training institutes worldwide that specialize in somatic coaching. Below, I have listed my top list:

1. Light University’s Mental Health Coach Certification: Best for Spirituality Practitioners

Light University's Mental Health Coach Certification

This coaching program is designed for coaches to complement professional mental health treatment. It focuses on coaching techniques that help with life stability, symptom management, and achieving personal goals.

What sets Light University’s mental health coaching program apart is its offer of full tuition scholarships, making it more accessible for everyone.

  • Course Length: 40-Hour Training Program
  • Program Cost: $2,400 (Full Tuition Scholarships available)
  • Accreditation: Not specified
  • Mode of Delivery: Online, On-Demand Video Lectures

2. The iNLP Center’s Mental Health Coach Certification Training: Best for NLP Practitioners

How To Become A Mental Health Coach mental health coach

The iNLP Center offers Mental Health Coach Certification Training that integrates Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), Master Coach skills, and Inner Dynamics models.

This program stands out for its comprehensive approach, providing students with advanced coaching models for emotional transformation and optimal mental health.

It’s 100% online, includes 40+ live Zoom sessions weekly, and offers lifetime access to training materials. This program is ideal for those seeking a deep, transformative coaching experience.

  • Course Length: Complete in as little as 9 months
  • Program Cost: $8295 (Payment plan available at $692/month for 12 months)
  • Accreditation: ICF, Center for Credentialing & Education, International NLP Association
  • Mode of Delivery: Online with live Zoom sessions

For more detailed information, you can visit the iNLP Center’s Mental Health Coach Certification page.

3. The Nickerson Institute’s Integrative Health Coach Training Program: Best for Holistic Mental Health

How To Become A Mental Health Coach mental health coach

The Nickerson Institute’s Integrative Health Coach Training Program focuses on holistic mental health care, incorporating techniques from neuroscience, health psychology, and more.

It is designed to train the mind to heal mental, emotional, and physical illnesses. It stands out for its comprehensive approach and mentorship from a licensed clinical psychologist.

  • Course Length: Self-paced, 200 hours, complete in 6-12 months
  • Program Cost: $4,299 USD; installment plans available
  • Accreditation: American Association of Drugless Practitioners, Health Coach Alliance, Canadian Association of Integrative Nutrition
  • Mode of Delivery: Online with bi-weekly live meetings

For more information, visit Nickerson Institute.

What does a Mental Health Coach earn?

Well, it’s a bit of a puzzle, with pieces like where you are, how much you know, and what you do playing a big part. As of December 2023, if you were to ask, “What’s the average yearly pay for a Mental Health Coach in the U.S.?” you’d hear a number like $46,634. But that’s just a middle ground. Look around, and you might find figures swinging between $43,095 and $50,932.

Now, location matters a lot. Zoom into California—places like San Jose, Santa Clara, and Fremont—and the numbers jump up, peaking at around $58,526. And it’s not just California; the District of Columbia, New Jersey, Alaska, and Massachusetts also treat Mental Health Coaches quite well.

The field itself? It’s booming, with an expected 22% leap in jobs for counseling related to substance abuse, behavioral disorders, and mental health. This surge is something to watch if you’re eyeing a future as a Mental Health Coach.

But a word to the wise: dive into this career for the love of helping others, because it demands a big heart and a strong will.

ICF’s Guidelines For Mental Health Coaches

Mental health coaching can be very empowering for people with mental health issues. But mental health issues cover a wide range. Some issues at the end of this range should be managed by a trained medical professional. Some issues must be referred to a therapist for timely intervention.

For example, let’s assume your client has been living with depression. You can help them manage their lives for the better. You can help them make workarounds. You can help them deal with the challenges posed by their symptoms by doing regular things. But if they show suicidal tendencies, refer them to a therapist or a counselor.

When this gets a million views, I'm going to print out the stats and give them to the owner of this home. Random DIY signs are one of my favorite things. Think about it...what sort of intense need are these people satisfying when they decide the only course of action is to make their own signs and put them on public display? What's the story here? Why did they decide to have these face the 7-11 gas station? In all seriousness, I'm sure someone working in a mental health or suicide prevention field can make use of this stock photo.

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The International Coach Federation has a certain set of guidelines on referring clients. Certain signs would show that the client’s range of issues is now outside the range and scope of coaching. It is important that coaches recognize these signs. These include:

  • The easiest way to spot the signs is when the need for coaching changes. You can check if the goals in the agreement are still relevant. Whenever possible and suitable, you can revise the goals. In situations where the client’s life is at risk, revising a goal is no longer an option. Remember, mental health coaching has its limitations!
  • A mental health coach should not diagnose or offer treatments such as medications. What should they do instead? Let us say that it is clear to the coach that the client needs a referral. You must then work on self-reflection and self-awareness. This increases the chances of your client accepting the need for an intervention.
  • A mental health coach can continue to work with the client towards accountability. They can empower their clients to make the most of therapy and counselling. As a mental health coach, you must reflect on your biases towards understanding mental health issues.

Conclusion

Becoming a top-class mental health coach involves acquiring relevant education and certifications, gaining extensive experience, and continuously updating your knowledge. It’s crucial to develop strong listening and communication skills, empathy, patience, and the ability to motivate clients. 

Additionally, a top-class coach must understand diverse mental health issues and treatment strategies, respect client confidentiality, and foster a non-judgmental, supportive environment. Lastly, they should be committed to self-improvement and professional development to stay current with evolving best practices in the field.

Recognizing the profound impact of mental health coaching not only enriches the lives of those served but also contributes significantly to the broader goal of creating a more mentally aware and supportive society.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a mental health coach?

A mental health coach is a person who can provide support, guidance, and resources that can help their clients manage their mental health.

What makes a good mental health coach?

The qualities that make a good mental health coach vary depending on the person’s needs. However, some important qualities include empathy, understanding, and patience. It is important for a mental health coach to be able to listen attentively and to be respectful of the client’s feelings.

What do mental health coaches do?

Mental health coaches work with their clients to set and achieve goals. They provide support and guidance, and help clients manage their symptoms. They may also offer educational information on mental health and how to improve mental wellbeing.

What is the difference between a mental health coach and a therapist?

Therapists are licensed professionals who offer counseling and treatment for mental health issues. Mental health coaches are not licensed, and they do not offer treatment. Their focus is on helping clients manage their symptoms and achieve their goals. Mental health coaches and therapists thus have different areas of focus.

How do I become a mental health coach?

There is no specific training required to become a mental health coach. However, it is helpful to have a background in psychology or counseling. It is also important to be patient, understanding, and compassionate.

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