NETA Wellness Coach key terms

The study of how adults learn, emphasizing that adults need relevance, autonomy, and practical application. It contrasts with pedagogy, which assumes teacher-directed learning suited to children.

An approach in which adults take primary responsibility for identifying what they need to learn and how to pursue it. Coaches support this by offering choices rather than prescribing content.

A four-stage model in which learners move from concrete experience to reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Coaching conversations often mirror this cycle when reviewing setbacks and planning next steps.

Deliberately examining one's own actions and outcomes to extract lessons. It turns raw experience into usable knowledge and is a core skill for both coach and client.

The extent to which a learner is prepared, motivated, and able to engage with new information at a given moment. Coaches assess it before pushing content the client cannot yet absorb.

An individual's habitual preference for how information is taken in, such as visual, auditory, or hands-on formats. Preferences can guide variety in coaching, though evidence does not support matching instruction to them.

A technique where the learner explains new information in their own words to confirm understanding. It reveals gaps that simple yes/no comprehension checks miss.

The ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information needed to make sound decisions. Low health literacy calls for plain language, chunking, and frequent comprehension checks.

Communication that uses short sentences, common words, and clear structure so the intended audience can understand it on first reading or hearing. It reduces confusion and supports informed choice.

Breaking information into small, digestible pieces delivered one at a time. It reduces cognitive overload and improves retention during coaching sessions.

Fully concentrating on what a client says, including tone and emotion, and reflecting it back to confirm understanding. It signals respect and surfaces what the client has not yet stated directly.

Restating or paraphrasing a client's message, including its feeling component, so they feel heard and can hear their own thoughts. It is a foundational motivational interviewing skill.

Questions that invite elaboration rather than a yes or no answer, such as asking what a client hopes to change. They encourage exploration and keep the client talking.

Messages conveyed through posture, eye contact, facial expression, tone, and pacing rather than words. Mismatch between words and body language undermines trust.

The capacity to understand and communicate another person's perspective and feelings without judgment or endorsement. It differs from sympathy, which signals pity rather than understanding.

Accepting a client as a worthwhile person regardless of their behavior or choices. It separates acceptance of the person from approval of the behavior.

Communicating observations and concerns without blame, shame, or moral evaluation. It keeps the client engaged and reduces defensiveness.

A three-step communication sequence: first draw out what the client already knows, then offer information, then draw out their reaction. It respects autonomy and avoids lecturing.

Acting in ways that honor a client's right to make their own choices, including the right to decline advice. It preserves engagement and supports durable change.

A model describing behavior change as progression through stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Interventions are matched to the client's current stage rather than assumed to fit everyone.

The specific point in the change process a client currently occupies, from not considering change to sustaining it. The stage determines which coaching strategies are likely to help.

A structured weighing of the perceived benefits and costs of changing versus staying the same. It is most useful when a client feels ambivalent about change.

A framework holding that behavior is shaped by the interaction of personal factors, behavior, and environment. Key constructs include self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and observational learning.

A person's belief in their capability to perform a specific behavior successfully. It is one of the strongest predictors of whether a client will attempt and sustain change.

A person's belief about whether a given behavior will actually produce a desired result. Weak outcome expectations can block action even when self-efficacy is high.

A model explaining preventive behavior through perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. It is often used to understand why someone ignores health advice.

A theory of motivation distinguishing controlled from autonomous forms of regulation. It identifies competence, autonomy, and relatedness as basic psychological needs that foster lasting engagement.

Engaging in an activity because it is inherently interesting or satisfying rather than for an external reward. It tends to produce more durable behavior than external pressure.

Engaging in behavior to obtain a reward or avoid a negative consequence. It can drive short-term action but usually fades once the external incentive is removed.

A collaborative, goal-oriented conversation style designed to strengthen a person's own motivation and commitment to change. It is directional but non-coercive and centers client language about change.

Holding conflicting feelings about changing, wanting the benefits while also wanting to keep the status quo. It is a normal part of change, not a sign of failure.

Client statements that favor movement toward a target behavior, such as desire, ability, reasons, need, or commitment. Eliciting and strengthening it predicts actual behavior change.

Client statements that favor maintaining the status quo or resisting change. It is treated as information about ambivalence rather than as something to argue against.

An acronym for four core motivational interviewing skills: Open questions, Affirmations, Reflections, and Summaries. Together they structure an engaging, client-centered conversation.

A reflection that adds meaning or infers feeling beyond what the client explicitly said. It deepens exploration more than simple repetition does.

The helper's automatic urge to correct, advise, or fix a client's problem. Acting on it often provokes resistance and reduces the client's own motivation.

A goal framed as specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The format sharpens vague intentions into something a client can plan and track.

A concrete written or spoken agreement describing what the client will do, when, where, and how often. It translates a goal into specific next steps the client owns.

A specific if-then plan linking a cue or situation to a desired response, such as walking after lunch. It improves follow-through by pre-deciding when and where to act.

Systematically recording one's own behavior, such as logging meals or activity. It raises awareness and often produces change before any formal intervention begins.

Breaking a goal into small, progressively harder steps the client can succeed at. Early wins build self-efficacy and momentum toward the larger goal.

A successful personal performance that strengthens belief in one's own capability. It is considered the most powerful source of self-efficacy.

Planning ahead for lapses by identifying high-risk situations and coping responses before they occur. It frames setbacks as learning events rather than moral failures.

A single slip or temporary return to an old behavior after a period of change. Distinguishing a lapse from a full relapse helps clients resume progress quickly.

The obstacles a client believes stand in the way of change, such as cost, time, or social pressure. Naming them explicitly allows the coach and client to plan around them.

A pre-arranged strategy for handling a specific obstacle or high-risk situation. Having a written plan reduces the chance that a single difficulty derails progress.

Changing the environment so that triggers for unwanted behavior are removed and prompts for desired behavior are added. It reduces reliance on willpower alone.

Deliberately altering cues in the environment to make a target behavior easier and a competing behavior harder. It is a practical barrier-reduction strategy used in behavior change plans.

A client's current combination of importance and confidence regarding change. Low readiness calls for building motivation rather than pushing an action plan.