Scope of Practice for health and wellness coaches in the UK and Ireland embraces:

Working with individuals and groups in a client-centred process to facilitate and empower the client to develop and achieve self-determined goals related to health and wellness.

Supporting clients in mobilising internal strengths and external resources, and in developing self-management strategies for making sustainable, healthy lifestyle, behaviour changes.

Supporting clients in achieving health goals and behavioural change based on their clients’ own goals and consistent with treatment plans as prescribed by individual clients’ professional health care providers.

Assisting clients to use their insight, personal strengths and resources, goal setting, action steps and accountability toward healthy lifestyle change and may offer supporting resources from nationally and internationally recognised authorities, such as current
government and public health guidelines and peer-reviewed sources.

Avoidance of giving specific personal health advice, but may offer a client direction to health and wellness information and resources from nationally/internationally recognized, robust evidence-based and peer-reviewed authorities, so that clients can draw their own
conclusions, gain confidence and a sense of empowerment.

Doing no harm
In common with all health professionals, health and wellness coaches must follow a ‘do no harm’ mandate by refraining from or carrying out any actions that would harm clients or patients. For UK health and wellness coaches, these actions include:

• Assessing symptoms
• Diagnosing conditions
• Interpreting lab results
• Giving specific dietary advice
• Removing food groups
• Prescribing treatments or therapeutic interventions (including nutritional)
• Making claims to prevent or cure any condition
• Or engaging any other activities that could ultimately:
• Harm a client or patient
• Lead to legal lawsuit
• Invalidate insurance cover
• Holding multiple credentials
• Health and wellness coaches do not assess symptoms, diagnose conditions, interpret lab results, give specific dietary advice, remove food groups, prescribe treatments or therapeutic interventions (including nutritional) or make claims to prevent or cure any condition.
• If the health and wellness coach holds nationally-recognized professional credentials and insurance (for example as a nutritionist, nutritional therapist, dietician, nurse, doctor, pharmacist, psychologist, physiotherapist, mental health specialist, osteopath, chiropractor) they may provide expert guidance related to that topic but must act within the Scope of Practice of that or those profession(s).
• In such a case, it is the health coach’s professional responsibility to confirm in writing the Scope of Practice for any and each service agreed with a client, and to act within the Scope of Practice for health and wellness coaching and/or the Scope of Practice for the relevant profession and to ensure they are credentialed and insured.
• Seeking collaboration: Health and wellness coaches should actively seek collaborations with other health care practitioners such as doctors, dietitians, nutritionists and other practitioners and therapists to be the anchor of a truly whole-health creating endeavour.