Our Health and Wellbeing Coach Abbie, has put together a case study to demonstrate the benefits of one of the coaching sessions she has provided recently.

Case Study:

Female, 64 years old

Health conditions:

• High blood pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Depression/Stress/Anxiety

Intervention:

The health coaching service consists of a one-to-one, or group programme offered face-to-face or over the telephone. The programme is personalised, and usually consists of 5-6 sessions over a period of 8-13 weeks – however, it is tailored to the needs of the individual so can consist of more or fewer sessions.
The programme is a self-management approach, aimed at building knowledge, confidence and skills to enable patients to take control and manage their own health.
The patient has currently had 4 individual face-to-face health coaching sessions, totalling 3 hours over a 3-month period. They have a review session planned for 6-weeks’ time.

Description of case:

The patient was referred to the Health & Wellbeing Coaching programme by his GP for help with the management of stress and anxiety. When speaking with the patient, it was apparent that there were multiple causes for the increased stress, including work and home life, and this was affecting their physical health as well with recent spikes in blood pressure and dizzy spells. These physical effects were causing further anxiety and worry for the patient.

Patient’s goals and achievements:

Working together, the patient decided to initially tackle work as this was a main cause of stress. Using shared decision making, strategies were put in place to help deal with the symptoms of stress, and reduce the feeling of stress and worry.
After 3 sessions, there was a clear shift in the patient – they were putting themselves first and taking time to ensure own mental and physical wellbeing was looked after. They were sleeping better, feeling less lethargic and focusing on what they could control. Due to this, the patient was looking to start increasing physical activity and focus on leading an overall healthier lifestyle. Their blood pressure ad reduced from 167/98 to 136/86, and although still high this showed a great improvement.
At the 4^th session the patient appeared much more relaxed, rested and energised. The patient advised they felt happier in their self, and felt they were getting back on track and taking back control of their health and life in general. The patient was no longer experiencing dizzy spells or any physical effects of stress. Their blood pressure was also much better controlled and they had been monitoring this at home.

Coach Reflection:

The patient was open and honest throughout the coaching sessions, which enabled the patient to fully engage with the sessions. The first couple of sessions allowed the patient to share their story and feel listened to and understood, meaning they were then ready to start moving forwards and putting changes in place. The patient was keen to try strategies to help improve their ability to cope and manage stress and found mindfulness to be very helpful, allowing them to focus on the present and what they could control.
Working with the patient, we were able to focus on what was most important and put strategies in place to help manage this. The patient learnt the importance of looking after their own health and wellbeing and found that by doing this and being more aware of this, they were able to improve their wider lifestyle and health as well.