Wellness Coaching
Columbia Health provides wellness coaching for students through Alice! Health Promotion. To attend wellness coaching, begin by completing the Wellness Coaching Intake Form.
Wellness Coaching at Columbia Health
Wellness Coaching is an evidence-based practice that takes a positive approach to personal development. It centers individual strengths, values, and motivations to support behavior change(s). Columbia Health currently offers both Wellness Coaching and Group Wellness Coaching.
Wellness Coaching partners you with a certified Well-being Advocate to help you lay out a vision of what living well means to you and co-create a plan to help make that vision a sustainable reality.
You can meet with your Well-being Advocate as many times as you need to celebrate wins, troubleshoot challenges, and stay on track with your plan.
Wellness Coaching sessions are confidential and HIPAA-compliant. All sessions are offered virtually, unless otherwise requested.
Who is eligible?
Services are available to all students on the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses. This includes those at Teachers College, Union Theological Seminary, and Jewish Theological Seminary.
How do I attend Wellness Coaching?
To get started with Wellness Coaching, complete the Wellness Coaching Intake Form. When you start the intake form, you'll be prompted to log in with your UNI and password. This is to ensure confidentiality and that you're a student enrolled at the University. After submitting the intake form, you will receive a follow-up email with a link to schedule an appointment with a Well-being Advocate.
If you have concerns about sharing your UNI or additional questions, come to our Health Education drop-in hours or call our office at 212-854-5453 during business hours.
How much will it cost?
Wellness Coaching is free of charge and is available to any Morningside/Manhattanville student with a valid UNI. There is no payment, health fee, or insurance needed.
What else do I need to know?
If you prefer to have a well-being advocate that speaks a certain language or shares a similar identity, please send an email with your request to [email protected] after completing the intake form. We are happy to accept this request and do our best to accommodate it.
If you’re unsure if Wellness Coaching is for you, please attend Alice! Virtual Drop-in Hours to connect with a specialist who can assist you in identifying what service is the best fit for your specific needs.
Where can I learn more about these topics?
If you want to learn more about well-being at Columbia, please check out the Columbia Health topic page for Well-being and the different Well-being Workshops and Events that we host each semester:
Frequently Asked Questions
Although all wellness coaching sessions default to virtual and are held on Zoom, you can request an in-person wellness coaching session by emailing [email protected]. However, all Well-being Advocates work remotely, and due to limited office space, we can't guarantee we can accommodate the request.
Students who start with Group Wellness Coaching may continue getting support in Wellness Coaching after the group sessions are complete. Students should talk to your group Coach about available options for one-on-one coaching.
Students participating in Wellness Coaching should talk with their Well-being Advocate to determine if joining a group is right for them.
Wellness Coaching is a person-centered approach that encourages students to take charge of their health and well-being. Together with your coach, you will lay out a vision of what living well means to you and co-create a plan to help make that vision a sustainable reality. Although it’s important to acknowledge one’s lived experiences in Wellness Coaching, it’s not a space to process deep emotions, trauma, or receive a mental health diagnosis.
Well-being Advocates are graduate students from various Columbia University schools on the Morningside and Manhattanville campuses and are members of the Alice! Health Promotion team. Advocates are Certified Wellness & Health Coaches through Real Balance, a global wellness coaching training organization recognized by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC).
Advocates are trained and closely supervised by professional Alice! Health Promotion staff who are also National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coaches.