The AC Podcast

In episode 4 of our Coaching for Health and Wellbeing series, hosts Ana Paula Nacif and Christian van Nieuwerburgh are joined by Professor Aaron Jarden and Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener for a rich, provocative conversation on what it truly means to practice ethically as a health and wellbeing coach. Rather than treating ethics as a set of rules to follow, the guests invite coaches to think of ethics as a set of principles that infuse every part of their practice — a way of being rooted in the character of the coach and a genuine commitment to doing right by clients. They challenge coaches to move beyond compliance and toward a deeper question: what kind of practitioner do you want to be? A recurring theme is the tension between respecting client autonomy and the coach's responsibility to promote wellbeing. The panel explores the ethical considerations of sharing information, challenging unhelpful patterns, and holding a duty of care whilst staying in a coaching role. Importantly, the discussion pushes coaches to take their positive duty seriously, including having the courage to reflect on their inaction as well as take action. The conversation also touches on justice and fairness in how coaching services are structured and accessed, the critical role of transparent contracting that explicitly includes wellbeing as part of the discussion, and why a coach's own self-care may be a professional and ethical imperative. The episode closes with a call for ongoing reflective practice and intellectual humility. Ethical perfection, the guests remind us, is a myth: most situations coaches face are grey areas. Ethics in health and wellbeing coaching is about showing up every day with integrity, humility, and a commitment to both your clients' and your own wellbeing. By moving beyond checklists and embracing a reflective, virtue-based approach, coaches can navigate the complex realities of practice with confidence and care. You will learn: · Ethics is a principled way of being, not a checklist: ethical coaching is about cultivating the character and values you bring to every client interaction. · Autonomy and beneficence must be held in balance. Honouring a client's right to choose while actively doing good is one of the most nuanced challenges in health and wellbeing coaching. · Coach self-care is an ethical responsibility. Your own physical and mental wellbeing it directly shapes your ability to show up with integrity for your clients. "A better approach would be thinking about the virtues I want to instil in my practice and the way of being I want to approach things with." Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content. For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit: https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-coaching-for-health-and-wellbeing-ethics-contracting

In episode 3 of our Coaching for Health and Wellbeing podcast series, hosts Ana Paula Nacif and Christian van Nieuwerburgh, and guest Andrew Parsons — a biomedical scientist turned Master Certified Coach — explore what it truly means to coach in the mental health and wellbeing space. Andrew brings a rare blend of clinical knowledge and coaching expertise to a nuanced conversation about supporting people living with long-term health conditions. A key starting point is understanding health and mental health not as a fixed state but as a dynamic continuum, shaped by life circumstances, relationships, and personal history: a reframe that sets the tone for everything that follows. A central theme is ethical practice: knowing where coaching ends and counselling begins, and why that distinction matters, particularly in clinical environments. Andrew explores coaching as a health promotion activity rather than a clinical intervention, the critical importance of trauma-informed practice, and why supervision is non-negotiable when working with vulnerable populations. Coaches in this space, he argues, are not therapists or clinicians, but they do offer something profound — a collaborative, reflective relationship that helps clients develop new perspectives and capabilities to navigate complex health journeys. What makes this conversation particularly distinctive is Andrew's exploration of nature and human connection as vital but often overlooked dimensions of wellbeing. In our modern lives, we have increasingly lost touch with the natural world and with each other, yet as social creatures, these connections are fundamental to how we thrive. Andrew argues that coaches working within a wellbeing orientation are well placed to help clients reconnect with both, and that this relational, holistic view of health is where coaching's unique value truly comes into its own. You will learn: · Heath and mental health exist on a continuum: it is dynamic, not fixed, and shaped by life circumstances, relationships and personal history · Ethical practice, scope of practice and supervision are non-negotiable, especially in clinical or health contexts · Why coaches need to have an holistic approach, consider the importance of connection for wellbeing and let go of needing specific outcomes "Knowing our capabilities and having the appropriate training to be working in this area is really, really important." Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content. For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit: https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-coaching-for-health-and-wellbeing-mental-health-scope-ethics-holistic

In episode 2 of our Coaching for Health and Wellbeing series, hosts Christian van Nieuwerburgh and Ana Paula Nacif are joined by Dr Pádraic Dunne to explore the integration of lifestyle medicine with coaching and positive psychology. Dr Dunne brings the pillars of lifestyle medicine — healthy eating, physical activity, sleep, stress management, avoiding risky substances, and social connectedness — to life with characteristic warmth and clarity, framing them not as clinical prescriptions but as common-sense foundations that generations before us simply lived by. Grounded in robust scientific evidence and focused squarely on preventing non-communicable disease, lifestyle medicine offers coaches a compelling and accessible framework for supporting client health and wellbeing. Central to the conversation is Pádraic's concept of positive health — the point where positive psychology, lifestyle medicine, and health psychology meet — with positive health coaching as the delivery system that brings all three together. He makes a powerful case that knowledge alone is not enough to change behaviour; what people need is a genuine, empowering human connection, and that is precisely what skilled coaching offers. The episode explores the co-design approach at the heart of effective health coaching, where coach and client show up as two experts — one in lifestyle medicine, one in themselves — working in true partnership to build meaningful, sustainable change. Pádraic and the hosts also reflect on the broader role coaches can play in health and wellbeing, including the potential for health coaches to act as a bridge between primary and tertiary care, and the growing reach of digital health coaching. A thread running throughout is the reminder that connection, meaning, and purpose are among the most powerful contributors to a long and healthy life — and that coaches, by the very nature of what they do, are already working at the heart of that. You will learn: · How lifestyle medicine provides coaches with a practical, evidence-based framework for health · What Positive Health coaching is and how it provides an empowering partnership for good client outcomes · The quality of the therapeutic alliance, the experience of being truly heard, and the pursuit of a meaningful life are among the most powerful factors in long-term health and flourishing "The two things that help people live the longest with the longest health span are connection to other humans and meaning and purpose." Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content. For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit: https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-coaching-for-health-and-wellbeing-lifestyle-medicine-positive-health-coaching

In this opening episode of the new Coaching for Health and Wellbeing podcast series, hosts Christian van Nieuwerburgh and Ana Paula Nacif set the scene for what promises to be a rich and thought-provoking conversations. They introduce a central theme that runs throughout the series: coaching is not simply a tool for wellbeing — it is a wellbeing intervention in its own right. Drawing on their extensive experience, Christian and Ana explore how coaching empowers individuals to take greater agency over their health and lives, fostering self-responsibility and a deeper sense of flourishing. A key focus of this episode is the important distinction between health coaching — a specific niche typically situated within clinical or healthcare settings, concerned with managing conditions such as nutrition, chronic pain, or hypertension — and the broader umbrella of coaching for wellbeing, which encompasses emotional, social, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of life. While the two overlap in meaningful ways (physical and emotional health are deeply intertwined), understanding where one ends and the other begins matters enormously both for coaches working in this space and the clients they help. The conversation draws on positive psychology, evidence-based practice, and the evolving role of coaches within healthcare and community settings. Ethics and scope of practice sit at the heart of this discussion. Christian and Ana Paula reflect on what it means to work in genuine partnership with clients, honouring their autonomy while remaining clear about professional boundaries. Whether you work in organisations, communities, schools, or clinical environments, this episode offers a grounding framework for anyone interested in the intersection of coaching and wellbeing. You will learn: · Why coaching is itself a wellbeing tool · Health coaching and coaching for wellbeing are related but distinct. · Why ethics and scope of practice are so important in coaching for health or wellbeing. "You can't talk about health without talking about wellbeing or talking about wellbeing without considering people's health. But in terms of coaching, there is there is a difference." Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content. For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit: https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel-coaching-for-health-and-wellbeing-introduction-positive-health-wellbeing

In this episode of A Day in the Life Of, host Maxine Bell sits down with Selana Kong — coach, mediator, and music educator — whose life has woven together the cultures of Hong Kong, Canada, and the UK into something truly unique. Selana shares her refreshing perspective on embracing multiple passions without losing yourself in the process, reminding us that progress, not perfection, is the real measure of a life well lived. Her guiding philosophy — "one step at a time, one foot in front of the other" — is a quiet but powerful antidote to the pressure we all feel to have everything figured out. From her work in elder mediation to her deep commitment to bridging generational divides in Chinese culture, Selana brings both personal and professional wisdom to the conversation. She reflects on Hong Kong's evolving identity through the lens of someone who has lived its changes firsthand and speaks movingly about how nature — particularly the landscapes along the border of Hong Kong and China — has been a constant source of grounding and solace throughout her journey. Her transition from music educator to coach and mediator is a story in itself: learning to step back, let go of the urge to lead, and instead create space for others to find their own way. Music remains at the heart of who Selana is — and in this episode she shares a moving story about a village in North Wales and an international choir festival — one that has been bringing voices from across the world together since 1946 under a simple but radical theme: peace and reconciliation. It became a pivotal moment in Selana's life both professionally and personally, "That was my first experience, actually feeling that I am not Chinese. I'm not Welsh. I'm just me. I'm just who I am because I feel accepted." It is, at its core, a story about what becomes possible when people choose connection over division Selana's parting message is, "You are who you are, and you are exactly who you're meant to be. That is perfect." You will learn: · You don't have to choose just one path. Focus on forward momentum and let your unique combination of interests become your greatest asset. · Whether in her mediation work or within her own family, Selana highlights how vital it is to close the gap between generations — especially within cultures experiencing rapid change. Listening across difference is one of the most powerful things we can do. · Self-care means returning to what nourishes you. For Selana, that's music. Whatever your "first love" is, making intentional time for it isn't indulgent — it's essential to showing up fully in every other area of your life. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and leave us a review! Your feedback helps us bring you more valuable content. For the episode resources and guest bio, please visit: https://www.associationforcoaching.com/page/dl-hub_podcast-channel_day-in-the-life-of-coaches-culture-connection-identity