title: Group health coaching: strengths, challenges, and next steps.
abstract: There is great need for cost effective approaches to increase patient engagement and improve health and well-being. Health and wellness coaching has recently demonstrated great promise, but the majority of studies to date have focused on individual coaching (ie, one coach with one client). Newer initiatives are bringing a group coaching model from corporate leadership development and educational settings into the healthcare arena. A group approach potentially increases cost-effective access to a larger number of clients and brings the possible additional benefit of group support. This article highlights some of the group coaching approaches currently being conducted across the United States. The group coaching interventions included in this overview are offered by a variety of academic and private sector institutions, use both telephonic and in-person coaching, and are facilitated by professionally trained health and wellness coaches as well as trained peer coaches. Strengths and challenges experienced in these efforts are summarized, as are recommendations to address those challenges. A working definition of "Group Health and Wellness Coaching" is proposed, and important next steps for research and for the training of group coaches are presented.
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Dayani Center for Health and Wellness & Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.affiliation: Duke Integrative Medicine, Duke Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, United States.
authors.forename: Ruth Q
authors.initials: RQ
authors.lastname: Wolever
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health & Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University, United States.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Manning
authors.affiliation: Vanderbilt Center for Integrative Health, United States.
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elam
authors.affiliation: Wellcoaches Corp, Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.affiliation: Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Elizabeth Pegg
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Frates
authors.affiliation: Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Newton, Massachusetts, United States.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duskey
authors.affiliation: Medica Health Plan, Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States.
authors.forename: Chelsea
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Take Courage Coaching, Bozeman, Montana, United States.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.affiliation: Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Masemer
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing, Minneapolis, United States.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lawson
keywords: Group health coaching; group treatment; health behavior change; optimizing health; patient empowerment; patient engagement; peer coaching; well-being; wellness coaching