Tailoring Health Coaching Strategies to Promote Middle School Student Wellness

Abstract Adolescence is a crucial period for developing social and emotional habits that are important for mental and emotional well-being. Learning how to cope, manage emotions, problem solve, and develop interpersonal skills strengthens resilience, and promotes healthy lifestyle behaviors. Various health coaching techniques can be applied to the classroom setting to promote middle school student mental, emotional, and behavioral wellness. This article provides three coaching techniques that can be tailored to the classroom, including (1) vision casting, (2) goal setting, and (3) the development of a growth mindset. Students who develop a grounded and bold vision can more easily establish goals for such a vision, which can be strengthened through the development of a growth mindset.