Julie Cerrato, Ph.D.: From Business Applications to Higher Ed - The Power of Wellness Coaching

UNBOUND: Saybrook Insights with President Nathan Long

Hey everyone, Nathan here, President of Saybrook University. Welcome to another episode of Saybrook Insights. A recent article in the Biz Journals called out the fact that more and more businesses are turning to apps, coaches, and engagement to support employee health, well-being, and loyalty - in essence, creating a set of differentiators for job seekers looking for the whole shebang when it comes to work-life balance. As per the article:

"Some may think the current struggles employers face with finding qualified talent was a consequence of the pandemic. But consider the end of 2019, when unemployment was at a near-historic low of 3.6%. Finding top talent was a real struggle. By the next quarter, the pandemic sent millions home to work - or forced layoffs as business performance slid. Whether the great resignation, great retirement, or the unforeseen consequences of billions of dollars in stimulus money sent to idled workers, companies struggled to retain existing employees or find new ones. Underlying this transformation was an already growing desire among employees to work at “employers of choice” - organizations with a reputation for paying well, nurturing a culture employees could embrace, and providing benefits that drove health, wellness and peace of mind. The best in the marketplace found success in creating healthy and engaging corporate cultures."
The big takeaways from the article stressed several areas, including paying larger portions of health benefits for employees to mental health apps and tapping into a wellness coaching model one city uses that support employees in their wellness goals, future planning, and the like. This last piece is of particular interest to me here in that having a coach - someone to encourage, to hold us accountable - makes such a difference in reaching our goals. At a very basic level, in my health journey, a close friend of mine teamed up for three years to lose weight in a different, mindful, and healthful way. Because of this mutual support, we were able to achieve our goals, hold each other accountable, and share in our successes and failures. Now that's an oversimplification of the wellness coaching concept, but in short, it demonstrates the point that such an approach can have a powerful impact. But what about more formal wellness coaching? How does it work? Is there training involved? What is the research that backs it up?

Enter Dr. Julie Cerrato, a faculty member in our College of Integrative Medicine and Health Sciences and specialization director for our Wellness Coaching specialization. She's known across our university as deeply dedicated to the work of wellness coaching and its integration into various programs. What's also pretty outstanding is the success she's seen over the years and the students that have benefitted as a result. I'm hoping to learn much more about the whole coaching phenomenon...All right - let's get to it with Dr. Julie Cerrato.