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What is Mental Health Coaching?

Mental health coaching is a relatively new development within the field of life coaching. While respecting the coaching core competencies, mental health coaches are able to dig deeper into transformative inner work with clients. 

While long-standing mental disorders require the help of a psychiatrist or counselor, many common emotional states interfere with the quality of our lives. Transforming these states becomes much more likely with the right coaching tools that were built specifically for new practitioners.

Mental health coaches work in a clear space between life coaches and clinical counselors. Life coaches may help clients with goals, accountability, strategies for success and to overcome common obstacles in the way of success. Clinical counselors are required to diagnose and treat patients who have mental illness. Mental health coaches help clients overcome non-clinical mental health concerns. 

The non-clinical class of issues that mental health coaches work with looks similar to clinical concerns. Yet there is a simple way to tell the difference between a clinical and non-clinical concern. 

There is a significant difference between:

• Anxiety (non-clinical) vs. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (clinical diagnosis)
• Depression (non-clinical) vs. Major Depressive Disorder (clinical diagnosis)
• A troubling memory vs. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (clinical diagnosis)
• Thoughts and behaviors that are hard to control (non-clinical) vs. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Food issues (non-clinical) vs. Eating Disorders
• The list goes on…

When you learn the difference between non-clinical vs. clinical mental health issues, you can coach with confidence, assured that you are not venturing into restricted waters. Rest assured you will be taught to recognize the clear difference in our mental health coach certification.

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Our Mental Health Coach Training Model

Our Mental Health Coach Training focuses on our Inner Dynamic model.

Inner Dynamics training can only be described as depth coaching. In this class, there is no hiding from yourself. Fortunately, we have a way to explore and transform the deepest parts of ourselves without getting stuck or overwhelmed. By inner dynamics, we mean: how you relate to the various parts of your personality.

The concept that we all have different aspects, or parts, of ourselves has been a commonly accepted fact for thousands of years.

The book Subpersonalities features a fascinating history of inner dynamics dating back to ancient Rome. Since then, philosophers and psychologists have been handily referring to different parts of our overall identity, most notably Sigmund Freud. His concept of the Id, Ego, and Superego is one among many examples of inner dynamics.

Jung’s archetypes and John Bradshaw’s inner child are other well-known examples of parts or inner dynamics models.

How our inner parts relate to each other is a major factor in how we think, feel, and behave. For example, what if one part of you wants one thing and another part of you wants something different?

One the one hand, I need to stick to my diet. On the other hand, I’d love to devour that chocolate cake!

Part of me wants to just cut loose and quit my job, but I guess I have more common sense than that.

I do pretty well on my to-do list in the morning, but in the afternoon it’s like some part of me comes up and says, “Screw it!” and then the whole day falls apart.

Parts conflicting with other parts, or inner conflict, is a common phenomenon. But who knows how to heal the divide relatively quickly and painlessly?

Understanding our Inner Parts

We’ve all learned to use this concept to describe our life experiences, but what about achieving greater influence over our inner parts? There is shockingly little education available about how to do that.

Even more surprising, once you learn to lead your inner parts instead of being at their mercy, your entire sense of self can change for the better.

By consciously working with parts, you will be able to help your clients:

• Calm down. Out-of-control parts are perhaps the biggest psychological stressors. And stress is no small health concern. Do you have an inner critic? This is just a part of you that you can influence using the Inner Dynamics model.
• Find their true self. We can live our entire life not knowing who we are. It’s such a vague, nebulous question: Who are you? The parts model both clarifies and enhances your sense of self. Many experience their true self for the first time in this kind of training.
• End self-sabotage. You might think of self-sabotage as one part of you wanting to do something that inhibits you or other parts of you. When a part of you wants something harmful, you can mediate that desire by communicating with the part. It works!
• Always know how to grow. The parts model provides and simple and constructive framework for self-improvement. When you are aware of your personality parts and how to work with them, the growth opportunities are limitless.

Throughout our mental health coach training you will take a deep journey through your own parts and into your core self. Most students who complete this training report that it is the most meaningful life coaching experience they’ve ever had and use the tools on a regular basis.

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