Eastham’s new peer wellness coaching project is expected to help women across Cape Cod help themselves.
Helping Our Women recently opened a new home, the Ann Maguire Women’s Wellness Center, in three condominiums the group purchased on Main Street. Run by staff and trained volunteers, the center helps women across the Cape develop individualized plans to achieve their goals.
Helping Our Women has been around for the past 30 years, providing health and wellness services to women in the Outer Cape towns of Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown.
Initially, the program was launched to help women diagnosed with cancer and other chronic or serious health issues, but over the years it has expanded to include all types of healthcare, social-emotional, and spiritual care. Expanded to include assistance with health concerns.
In 2022, Helping Our Women won a $25,000 startup grant and received $207,000 in additional funding from the ARPA Coronavirus Relief Fund. An additional $3,000 was donated by United Way and $15,000 from the Kaiser Family Foundation in May 2023.
Gwyn Gazeau, executive director of Helping Our Women, said the funds will be used to purchase three units on Route 6 in Eastham and help pay for the opening of the center and hiring new staff. It is said that
In addition, this year the organization will receive $15,000 from the Cape Cod Healthcare Community Benefits Program to apply to three service areas: tablet programs, transportation, and most importantly, a peer wellness coaching program. Guzzo said they received the grant.
“This opens the door to all women across the Cape,” Guzzo said.
Work with peer coaching expert Elise Tobias Phillips
The organization has worked with Elise Tobias Phillips, who created peer wellness coaching programs at Boston University and Simmons College.
Phillips is an educator, coach, consultant, and currently CEO of her own business, NaviGate Health and Wellness Coaching and Consulting, LLC, and a certified health, wellness, and transition coach.
Peer Wellness Coaching is a client-centered treatment model. Peer coaches work with clients to help them identify goals, motivate and plan to take action, achieve those goals, and follow up and change goals and plans. Masu. If necessary, Guzzo said.
However, this is a model that can be applied to any issue or concern as it is completely directed by the client based on specific individual needs.
“Clients are their own best experts,” Phillips said, and the model works to inherently motivate clients to address their wellness needs.
Peer coaching: active listening, open-ended questions
Mr. Phillips outlined the basic elements of the model. This involves actively listening and asking open-ended questions to help clients discover their needs and how they can be addressed, rather than giving advice. .
The coach asks the client to think about the answers to these questions in terms of how the answers will help them.
Reflective listening involves examining what the client has said and summarizing what the client has said.
“We can create powerful conversations tailored to a client’s unique needs,” says Phillips.
Currently creating a program for January 2025
Although the peer wellness coaching program will not officially launch until January 2025, Guzzo said preliminary efforts are underway to get it started.
On April 19th, Helping Our Women will conduct in-service training for staff. Three different workshops will then be held for the public in June and July to introduce the program to potential volunteers.
Those interested in becoming a peer coach will participate in the application process.
A 20-hour training program for coach certification will be implemented in January 2025.
“The first group is expected to include two to three staff members and some volunteers who have served over 100 hours. After that, the general public will join,” Guzzo said.
In total, Guzo expects to certify about 16 people as peer wellness coaches.
The idea of peer coaching is not entirely new, but it is a trend that is gaining momentum in many fields, not just health care and wellness.
“It’s becoming very popular,” Phillips said. “It’s embedded in all kinds of organizations, universities and businesses.”
It is said to be used for leadership training and executive training.
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This article originally appeared in Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod health: What is Peer Wellness Coaching?
