A wellness coach’s role is to offer support and accountability as you build confidence to move towards your goals using your values, strengths, and inner wisdom.
Dawn Zitney is our well-being educator counselor who provides board-certified health and wellness coaching. She is also trained as a counselor and sex educator. She can help you…
- Increase your emotional wellness for improved mental health;
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Build a stress mindset to cope with life’s challenges;
- Experience enhanced sexual well-being;
- Get a better night’s sleep;
- Reduce procrastination;
- Increase self-compassion to reduce critical self-talk and perfectionism;
- Make decisions quickly and with confidence;
- Build confidence as you navigate your life as your authentic self;
- Enhance relationships with strong communication skills and boundary setting;
- Navigate transitions, such as coming to college or graduating;
- Cope with a chronic illness/health concern;
- Create and maintain healthy habits;
- Connect with campus and community health care providers.
Wellness coaching is a collaborative process that is grounded in helping you…
- Understand that you are the expert in your life;
- Create a vision of your ideal version of well-being;
- Feel what it means to experience wellness and well-being;
- Contemplate the change you want to make, weighing the costs and benefits;
- Believe that you have the capacity to create change;
- Become inspired to harness your strengths and get clear about your values;
- Boost your confidence and motivation to take action, no matter how small
- Turn challenges into learning opportunities and celebrating the successes;
- Maintain change as you move forward.
Stress and Wellness Coaching
Stress in an inevitable part of life because humans stress about things they care about. If you are living a life of meaning, you will experience stress. The key is to get better at stress and wellness coaching can help. In coaching you won’t be given a handout or told how to get rid of stress. Instead, we will work together to help you build a stress mindset so that you feel courageous to turn towards your stress and take action that creates helpful change and enhances emotional wellness, mental health, and overall well-being.
Sexual Well-Being and Wellness Coaching
We understand that role that sexual well-being can have on one’s wellness during college and beyond. Wellness coaching offers an affirming, medically accurate, culturally responsive, and shame-free place to explore a variety of sexual health/wellness topics (e.g., sexual values and decision making, sexual performance, painful sex, sexual pleasure, STI diagnosis, communication and boundaries, sexual identity, gender identity). You can also make an appointment to ask questions you have about anything sexual health/wellness related; no subject is too taboo.
If you are looking for support around sexual trauma, we recommend that you connect with Psychological and Counseling Services (PACS) or The SHARPP Center. If you are looking for sexual health medical care, make an appointment with a Health & Wellness clinician.
How is wellness coaching different than therapy?
Wellness coaches don’t treat or diagnose mental illnesses, such as depression or anxiety. Instead, wellness coaches help clients look at the present and future to boost motivation and confidence to make behavior change. Student who are living with a managed mental illness are welcome to utilize wellness coaching.
If you are looking for treatment for a mental illness, we recommend that you contact Psychological and Counseling Services (PACS) or make an appointment with a Health & Wellness clinician.
Appointments
In the initial wellness coaching session (50 minutes), we will learn more about each other and the coaching process and complete a personalized wellness assessment. This assessment will be used throughout your relationship with your coach to help co-design your personal wellness plan, including the creation of targeted action steps geared toward your goals. Follow-up sessions will be scheduled based on your individual needs.
Wellness coaching is available to students who have paid the student health fee.
Wellness Class
LAP 501: Living Your Life with Authenticity & Purpose Class
I spent a lot of time applying what we learned in the classroom into my everyday life. When I was feeling very stressed or overwhelmed or having a bad mental health day, I would always think about the strategies we learned, and they honestly really helped me get through those tough times.
- UNH Student
We provide a lifetime activity program (LAP 501) course in collaboration with the Departments of Recreation Management & Policy and Kinesiology. The two-credit class follows the same structure and beliefs of wellness coaching but is instead offered in a small group format. Through an exploration of your wellness, strengths, values, and identity you'll gain self-awareness, and skills to live life with authenticity and purpose. The course is offered during the fall and spring semesters, over 8 weeks. Refer to the time and room schedule for registration information.