Question for health coaches - how do you do it?

[TheresaB]

I realize you receive impressive training, hats off to all of you.

But to me it seems as if information in this sphere is being updated DAILY. I remember when I got my masters degree one of my professors emphasized the need to keep up with the times, that without continuing education a masters degree would be worthless in two years.

So how do you keep on top of things with respect to current APOE4 research and Alzheimer’s findings? Are there certain news sources or websites? (I’d like to know them). Do you have a health coach discussion board? Do you maintain a mentor relationship? How does a prospective client know that a health coach is current on latest findings?

[TheresaB]

No responses. Does this mean after health coaches get their initial training, they no longer keep up with recent findings?

[NF52]

No responses. Does this mean after health coaches get their initial training, they no longer keep up with recent findings?

Hi Theresa,
I can't speak for health coaches, since I am not one, but I have had the privilege of helping to train and support dozens of them in the last 7 years, as they provide exceptional support to members posting for the first time on this forum. I have recommended several of them, based on their interests and experience with traumatic brain injury and PTSD in military veterans and/or Alzheimer's caregiving, for the role of Consumer Reviewers for grant applications in the Congressionally-Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) in TBI/Psychological Health and/or Peer-Reviewed Alzheimer's Research Program. Each of them has been viewed by the administrators of those programs as outstanding contributors to scientific panels and several have returned to support participant/patient-focused decision-making on multi-million dollar grants to advance AD/TBI research.

Here's my thoughts on why you may not have seen a reply yet and what I know about their commitment to keeping abreast of ApoE 4 and/or prevention health and caregiving support:

• It's a few days before Christmas/Hanukkah and people are busy with families, travel, re-connecting with friends, etc. I'm lucky if I can check this site every few days, with a 4-week old granddaughter that I'm getting to know for the next month.

• Some have gone on to other specialties with advanced training or graduate degrees, including nutritional counseling, med school, midlife women's health, mental health, TBI support, working in places like South Africa or Central America or rural communities in the US to expand Alzheimer's understanding and support for caregivers.

• Some work for functional medicine doctors and provide health coaching daily to people living with Alzheimer's and their care partners while also keeping up in their fields, and sometimes alerting the professionals to new ideas.

• Some have been or are now primary caregivers or support partners to parents (sometimes both) with Alzheimer’s, Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson's, or mixed dementia--sometimes bringing the parent to live with them, sometimes managing from several states away while being in the "sandwich" generation with children of their own.

• Most of our interns have taken additional training beyond their initial Functional Medicine Health Coaching certification, including becoming ReCODE 2.0 certified health coaches, and/or National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coaches (NBC-HWC). I encourage anyone interested in learn ing about what health coaches do, and their certifications to check out our wiki ApoE4-Aware Health Coaches and visit some of their websites.

• Both NBC-HWC and ReCODE 2.0 coaches need to maintain their certifications through continued education hours, and both have access to online support groups for coaches and numerous coaching sites that depending on their specialties, also include ApoE 4 info.

I won't speak for Julie L, who co-leads the Support Team of interns, but I know we are both impressed every six months by the depth and breadth of their interest in supporting people both at their darkest moments and in their desire to learn ways to take the knowledge of ApoE 4 risk and turn it into an empowering motivation towards a long and healthy life.

Nancy

[JML]

I realize you receive impressive training, hats off to all of you.

But to me it seems as if information in this sphere is being updated DAILY. I remember when I got my masters degree one of my professors emphasized the need to keep up with the times, that without continuing education a masters degree would be worthless in two years.

So how do you keep on top of things with respect to current APOE4 research and Alzheimer’s findings? Are there certain news sources or websites? (I’d like to know them). Do you have a health coach discussion board? Do you maintain a mentor relationship? How does a prospective client know that a health coach is current on latest findings?

Great questions, and I hope a few other health coaches respond. There are a few ways that I try to keep current.

Most health coaches are not practitioners, so we do not offer treatment plans. We are really habit change experts who happen to work with people to optimize their health (brain health in my case). We help people implement the treatment plans that their practitioners recommend (or that their PreCODE or ReCODE reports recommend).

As a ReCODE 2.0 certified coach, I am part of a community of coaches that meet once a month. Each month there is a topic of interest and someone usually presents to the community. 3-4 times a year we have a best practices sessions where we can ask questions and share what is working for us. Apollo Health has trained us and they have added or updated training modules as necessary (once you have completed the training, you have access to all the updates). I also have a monthly call with a couple of other coaches and we share what we know. Apollo Health has a forum (kind of like this site) for practitioners and coaches where we discuss new studies and their implications, as well as share best practices.

Since I coach a lot of people with mold exposure, I try to stay as current as possible with that topic. I have occasionally attended consultation sessions with my clients and Dr. Neil Nathan, and that has felt like a master class in detoxing. I take copious notes!

I'm sure other coaches keep current in different ways. Hopefully they will respond too.

[TheresaB]

Great questions, and I hope a few other health coaches respond. There are a few ways that I try to keep current.

Most health coaches are not practitioners, so we do not offer treatment plans. We are really habit change experts who happen to work with people to optimize their health (brain health in my case). We help people implement the treatment plans that their practitioners recommend (or that their PreCODE or ReCODE reports recommend).

As a ReCODE 2.0 certified coach, I am part of a community of coaches that meet once a month. Each month there is a topic of interest and someone usually presents to the community. 3-4 times a year we have a best practices sessions where we can ask questions and share what is working for us. Apollo Health has trained us and they have added or updated training modules as necessary (once you have completed the training, you have access to all the updates). I also have a monthly call with a couple of other coaches and we share what we know. Apollo Health has a forum (kind of like this site) for practitioners and coaches where we discuss new studies and their implications, as well as share best practices.

Since I coach a lot of people with mold exposure, I try to stay as current as possible with that topic. I have occasionally attended consultation sessions with my clients and Dr. Neil Nathan, and that has felt like a master class in detoxing. I take copious notes!

I'm sure other coaches keep current in different ways. Hopefully they will respond too.

Excellent! Next time I'm asked, I'll now have a better answer. FYI, I do see some health coaches follow the ApoE4.info Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/apoe4.info since we post recent findings there daily, but I was hoping there was more.

[SarahPenelope]

I realize you receive impressive training, hats off to all of you.

Hi Teresa,

Thanks for asking the question and sorry for the slow response. Christmas was definitely my reason!

I graduated as an Apollo 2.0 coach in September and am also a member of the UK and International Health Coaching Association. As Julie mentioned, we are primarily behaviour change experts but I think in this field, we are all passionate about our subject and keeping up to date with the science. The Apollo training was very thorough and I continue to watch the Apollo Town Halls monthly (both for practitioners and participants) and also attend the monthly coach calls which are so useful. We have a UK Apollo Health coaches group where we share information and challenges and next month we are meeting with a doctor to discuss how to optimally work together to support our clients.

I am also about to do an additional course on biotoxins to increase my knowledge of that area and plan to attend some of the dementia conferences in 2025. Working with clients is also always an education as I end up researching their particular issues.

As you know, this site is an incredible source of information and I am hugely grateful to be a part of it and to always be learning.

Sarah

[floramaria]

I realize you receive impressive training, hats off to all of you.

But to me it seems as if information in this sphere is being updated DAILY. I remember when I got my masters degree one of my professors emphasized the need to keep up with the times, that without continuing education a masters degree would be worthless in two years.

So how do you keep on top of things with respect to current APOE4 research and Alzheimer’s findings? Are there certain news sources or websites? (I’d like to know them). Do you have a health coach discussion board? Do you maintain a mentor relationship? How does a prospective client know that a health coach is current on latest findings?

Hi Theresa, Like Julie, I am a ReCODE 2.0 health coach with access to the additional training for coaches that is available through Apollo Health. We have monthly calls for coaches, and also monthly Town Halls with Dr. Bredesen and either Dr. Ann Hathaway or Dr. Deborah Gordon. As I listen to the Town Hall recordings, I’ll often hear reference to new research, and follow up by going to the source material. Apollo Health also has a monthly newsletter and each month I am on a call with two other health coaches; those conversations bring up topics and resources that increase my knowledge.

It seems like every week I get invitations to brain health webinars and I sign up for some of those. Also Scripp’s has monthly offerings are sometimes relevant to brain health. Since detoxification is a major area for me and for many of my clients, I tune in to many webinars from QuicksilverScientific. Dayan Goodenowe’s approach and research is interesting to me so I follow him and his webinars. My coaching clients send me articles that they have found, and I always read those, or follow the link to videos so I can know what they are talking about. I also do research to try to answer their questions.

This website is a great source of information and one of the best resources I have. There is open discussion of cutting edge research and therapies. Over the years, your posts of Recent Research have been very helpful; I always check out the articles you provide links to. As a health coach, it is not essential for me to keep up with all of this since I am not devising treatment plans for clients. But as someone who is at risk myself, I want to know everything I can. I think that is true for many of us who are coaching in the cognitive health area. Many of us have family history of Alzheimer’s disease and genetic risk factors. We want to serve our clients as well as we possibly can, and be as well-informed as we can be, and for many of us, we are also driven by wanting to take care of ourselves.