The Rise of Mental Health Coaching

Instagram and TikTok are the go-to social media platforms for mental health advice, some of which is offered by influencers who call themselves coaches.

Through pricey courses and one-on-one meetings, influencers often promise the clarity, motivation, and healing that will lead to the new lifestyle you’ve always wanted. But whether they have formal training in mental health care or coaching is another matter. Unlike psychologists, psychiatrists, and other licensed mental health professionals, anyone can call themselves a mental health coach.

Experts say the mental health coaching trend is relatively new, and consumers should be wary of empty promises from people with little to no qualifications looking to grow their business or social media followings.But influencers are right that getting help for mental health, or even accessing the support of trained professionals with expertise in coping, habit formation and behavior change, can be difficult.

Sometimes you don’t need a therapist, you just need a skilled guide to help you manage your conflicts and sleep habits and hold you accountable.

The mental health and behavioral coaching sector has been taking notice of this trend and the problems it claims to solve. That’s why Headspace, which started as a meditation app more than a decade ago, launched direct-to-consumer, text-based mental health coaching in April after offering its service through partnerships with employers and health plans.

Digital mental health company Lyra Health also offers mental health coaching, but only to employees of companies who pay for it. Some companies, like BetterUp, offer career, communication and life coaching that can improve mental health, but don’t specify which areas of focus.

Headspace’s service is a compelling example of what mental health coaching can look like when practiced by a trained professional: For $99 per month, members receive three 30-minute text-based coaching sessions per month.

Before a member begins coaching, Headspace screens them to see if they’re in crisis or need urgent mental health treatment, in which case coaching alone may not be effective. During the onboarding process, we work to set clear expectations that coaching is not therapy. Coaches work with members to set clear, achievable goals, like going to bed 30 minutes earlier or adding exercise to their daily routine.

The company employs the majority of its coaches as staff, and all coaches undergo regular training and supervision. Coaches have daily access to a licensed, on-call clinician to consult when members need more help than they can provide. In these cases, coaches will refer members to a referral team that provides resources to find an outside therapist or psychiatrist.

Quality mental health coaching may be exactly what some people need to get through low-level challenges and ultimately thrive, says psychologist Weil Wright, PhD, senior director of health care innovation at the American Psychological Association.

“If you know you need help but haven’t received a formal diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorder, this is a great place to start,” she says.

How Mental Health Coaches Get Certified

Jennifer Landman, a licensed clinical social worker and nationally certified health and wellness coach, isn’t a fan of the mental health coaching trends she sees on social media, especially when they involve influencers with questionable credentials and hard sales pitches. And instead of working with clients to help them understand what behavioral changes will work best for them, some coaches are selling them exercise plans and supplements, which isn’t what a certified professional would do.

Landman believes so-called coaching, which is popular on TikTok and Instagram, is “endangering this incredibly important work that we can do to support people’s health and wellness.”

The National Board of Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), where Landman serves as director of program approval and continuing education, is trying to professionalize an unregulated industry.

Since 2016, the NBHWC has partnered with the National Board of Medical Examiners, a nonprofit organization that provides evaluations for many medical professions, to offer a rigorous exam that aspiring health and wellness coaches can take to earn certification. Since the first exam was offered in 2017, more than 11,000 people have taken it.

The exam was developed in collaboration with the National Board of Medical Certification, a nonprofit organization that evaluates medical professionals. The International Coaching Federation, another professional organization, also offers certification, and Lyra Health requires its coaches to complete its program.

To pass the NBHWC exam, candidates must learn about behavior change, how to facilitate behavior change as a coach, motivational strategies, and basic health and wellness. Candidates must first complete an NBHWC-accredited training program offered by an academic institution, the private sector, or a healthcare organization.

Headspace offers one such endorsement program: It costs $5,995 and awards participants a certificate in mental health coaching after completing requirements, including 20 live and synchronous education and training sessions per week. Most of Headspace’s staff coaches have completed the program, which they can use outside the company.

Headspace’s chief clinical officer, Dr. Jenna Glover, says the company’s coaching style incorporates motivational interviewing, a technique also used by licensed mental health professionals that is a linchpin in behavior change, to help people identify both stubborn challenges to their health and the skills they need to overcome those obstacles.

But coaching sessions don’t involve deep conversations about family or relationship troubles that may have contributed to unhealthy habits. Glover says it’s important for Headspace coaches to acknowledge that members face immovable or unchangeable obstacles to their wellness, like experiencing racism in the workplace, working multiple jobs, or paying off student loans.

Glover said Headspace coaches are trained to examine those stressors and guide members toward things they can control, like putting away their phone before bed to get better rest, or spending more quality time with their kids when they’re off work.

“The coaches really help me. [a client] And he says, “What can you work on right now?” Glover asks.

What else should you know about mental health coaching?

Weil says more research is needed to understand whether mental health coaching improves people’s well-being compared to, say, therapy. Currently, there is little solid research showing that it leads to desirable behavior changes and improved mental health.

Wright says there are benefits to working with mental health coaches employed by well-known digital health companies like Headspace and Lyra. Coaches are typically trained, if not certified. They also receive oversight and feedback on their performance. The platforms themselves can also refer members to therapy if they need it. And if a coach behaves inappropriately, clients can report it to the company.

But Wright said consumers should be aware of how companies use their personal data, including for marketing and research purposes.

She added that companies should be clear about whether their coaching products include artificial intelligence. Wright said that while AI could improve the coaching experience by matching clients with coaches and identifying trends in client performance, it needs to be incorporated ethically and responsibly. Currently, Headspace doesn’t use AI in the coaching programs it offers directly to customers.

While Wright has a healthy skepticism about new digital mental health products, he remains optimistic that quality coaching can make a big difference in people’s lives.

“We clearly have a growing mental health crisis in this country, and we need to think about how we can provide people with the support they need in an innovative and responsible way,” Wright said. “I think certified health and wellness coaches can be part of the solution.”