New Cohort as Diverse as the Clients they Serve

Two decades ago, the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing launched one of the nation’s first health coaching programs at an academic institution. Today, as a national leader in the field, the Center is rising to a pivotal moment as healthcare embraces the profession like never before.

“It’s an exciting time,” says Dr. Cherie O’Neill, director of Integrative Health and Wellbeing Coaching Programs. “As the discipline has matured and grown, we’ve made sure our graduates are more skilled and advanced, ensuring they’re ready for the current climate.”

As health coaching becomes more accessible and in demand, the Center’s Master of Arts in Integrative Health & Wellbeing Coaching program prepares leaders to break into healthcare and create new departments, systems, and protocols.The road to such promising careers is made smoother by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which currently includes health and wellbeing coaching services on its Medicare Telehealth Services List. This allows coaching services to be delivered and potentially reimbursed. CMS is also looking to expand and broaden how health coaching is coded, which would be a huge boon for the burgeoning field.

“You can imagine how that is going to change everything substantially because now primary care clinics can hire health coaches and they have a way to pay for them,” Dr. O’Neill explains. “It opens up access to so many people.”

Using evidence-informed tactics, health coaches help people make sustainable lifestyle changes, manage chronic conditions and improve overall wellbeing across healthcare systems, insurance, and corporate wellness programs, telehealth, community organizations, and private practices.

This fall, a new cohort of future leaders brings richly varied perspectives and experience that will assist in better serving a diverse population. “Just as no two people are alike, our health is unique to each of us. We are influenced by our genetics, lifestyle, environment, policy, and personal journey,” Dr. O’Neill explains. “That’s why having highly trained and highly diverse leaders is so important.”

The 16 new students – with their individual paths to the program – are a testament to the field’s significance and expanding influence in healthcare. The group includes a newborn hearing specialist who loves to use dance therapeutically, an engineer, mental health professionals, a professor, a sales administrator, fitness trainer, and tennis coach. Many of these students strive to bring representation and support to their communities.

One of the students, Diane Hilderbrand, is Native American and wants to help people from her community who are disproportionately affected by mental health struggles and chronic pain. “We believe that someone’s wellbeing encompasses aspects of the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual,” says Hilderbrand, who is a project director in substance use and public health research at University of California, Los Angeles. And while integrating all of those aspects into current health systems hasn’t happened just yet, she said, she hopes to help Native Americans thrive in their health.

As a Mexican woman, Gloria Teigland said she would love to work with individuals who may have felt neglected and unsupported by our health system in the past. “I would like to be a support system and empathize with individuals while helping them thrive and reach their goal,” says Teigland, a coordinator at a mental health clinic who says the program reflects her values around both integrative and holistic health and wellness practices. “I don’t see health and wellness as just a lifestyle change. I see it as self-care that can enhance someone’s life for the better.”

For Taura Porter, a civil engineer, intensive therapy was essential to rebuilding and restoring herself. “I didn’t get here alone. I had support,” she says. “I want to be a guidepost for other women in my community.” Porter chose the Center’s program because of its integrative and holistic approach to change.  “We are not the sum of our parts; we exist as a whole person,” she says.

Having traveled far and wide in the military, Josh Krieter, a tennis coach, has worked with and coached people from vastly different cultures. “I’ve lived all over the U.S. and as far away as Abu Dhabi. I’ve had my own health challenges where I’ve found the importance of utilizing both western and eastern medicine, as well as integrating physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of health,” says Krieter, who believes health and wellbeing should be available to all regardless of station, financial status, environment, or demographic group. “A leader in this field should be dedicated to making options available to all, especially underserved populations.”

As a personal trainer with her own business, Alexa De Varona said that as a Latina woman and bilingual trainer she brings a culturally inclusive perspective to the table. “My personal journey of transformation and years of coaching women gave me insight, empathy, and relatability with diverse clients,” she explains.“I chose this program to deepen my ability to help others live healthier, more fulfilling lives.” A number of students in the new class were inspired to pursue health coaching after working with therapists and coaches themselves.

Tom Vance said his life was transformed by a health coach and spurred his career change. “I learned about the program during the pandemic,” says Vance, who works in sales. “The Bakken Center’s Mindful Mondays got me through a hard time. I would like to provide support to people recovering from developmental trauma disorder/complex PTSD.”

Therapy and dance influenced Katie Lewis’ desire to pursue this path. “I understand the impact a coach can have and how they can immensely improve quality of life,” says Lewis, who is currently a newborn hearing screening technician and dancer who wants to use movement therapy in her practice. “I understand the importance of community health and health equity to be able to give everyone the chance to be as healthy as possible.” The program’s robust leadership curriculum is what drew many of the cohort to the University of Minnesota.

Public health nurse Mary Hernandez has spent most of her career in reproductive health and maternity care. She wants to help women maintain their health as they age. “I know that education in health coaching will move me towards that goal,” she says. “Leadership is understanding what that means for you, defining values and making lifestyle choices to advance your own health,” said Hernandez, whose goal is to make health coaching accessible to all, especially in under-resourced communities.

Working as a mental health nurse, Estelle Gabriel thought about coaching for almost a decade before deciding now was the right time.“I have almost 30 years working in health food stores, creating and operating a wellness center, and studying alternative wellness,” Gabriel says. “I think I bring a unique perspective by having a foot in both conventional and alternative medicine.”

Melissa Payne, a registered nurse, is interested in how to use behavioral changes 
in preventative care. “Leaders in health and wellbeing should set a good example and advocate for clients through education and creating spaces that encourage growth, learning, curiosity, and competence,” she says.

After taking a faith-based coaching class, Debbie Lee was hooked on helping. “I was deeply affected by the idea of coaching as a catalyst toward change and helping someone lead their best life,” says the school and private duty nurse. “I have a background in occupational therapy, home healthcare, and public health, and have worked with people of different ages, cultures, socioeconomic status, and abilities.” This diverse group is ready to get started and share all their myriad gifts and talents with the program and beyond.