Wellbeing Coaching - Office of Wellbeing

Wellbeing Coaching is a free service through the Office of Wellbeing that is available for students, faculty and staff on the Reynolda campus.

What is Wellbeing Coaching?

Wellbeing Coaching is an evidence-based practice designed to help you reach your personal health and wellbeing goals. Health and wellbeing coaching is structured around the changes that you want to make in your life when you are ready to make them – you are empowered through this process to identify the life you want to be living and are not told by a coach what your life “should” look like. Certified health coaches meet one on one with you to provide support and accountability to reach your health and wellbeing goals over a period of weeks together. Coaches apply strategies and practical skills as they partner with you to work through lifestyle challenges and to help you reach a quality of life that is meaningful, self-sustaining, healthy, and value-driven. If you’re ready to make healthy, goal-directed changes in your life – Wellbeing Coaching is for you!

What types of goals can a Wellbeing Coach offer support?

Goal Setting
Stress Management
Resiliency
Time Management
Sleep Hygiene
Chronic Disease Management
Self Care
Lifestyle Management

What makes Wellbeing Coaching different from counseling?

Wellbeing Coaching	Counseling
Coaching is an evidence-based practice offered as a free service for students, faculty and staff at Wake Forest University.	Counseling is a service that supports college students by providing confidential support and treatment for mental health needs.
Coaching supports clients to enhance their holistic wellbeing through utilizing strengths and goal-directed behavior change.	The University Counseling Center staff are licensed mental health providers who are committed to being a safe, nonjudgmental space.
Certified coaches empower clients by applying fundamental communication and motivation strategies to promote behavior change for a healthy lifestyle and quality of life that is meaningful, self-sustaining, health-promoting and value-driven.	Counseling staff work with you through a variety of options to cultivate emotional wellbeing by addressing interpersonal concerns, anxiety, depression, and more.

Summer Program Structure

The Office of Wellbeing is now offering summer sessions for wellbeing coaching starting in late May. Clients will meet with the coach for an initial session that week, and then weekly for the next three weeks, for a total of four sessions. Sessions will be scheduled directly with the coach and there is some flexibility to accommodate skipping a week or moving a session, if needed. Sessions will be 45-60 minutes long and will take place via google meet or telephone.

Meet our Wellbeing Coach & schedule your first session

Ashley Hawkins Parham, MA ('12), CHWC

Ashley is a dedicated ally to those who decide that it’s time for a change and are ready to take steps towards becoming a healthier, happier and more holistically well you. What’s amazing about the coaching experience is the opportunity to engage in self-exploration and growth through a relationship that gives you support and holds you accountable for the changes you want to see in your life. Whether you come to coaching with a specific goal in mind or with a vague sense that it’s time for a change, Ashley is here to meet you exactly where you are on your path and then move forward together towards a healthier and happier you.

Ashley’s journey towards Wellbeing Coaching began early in college, where she fell in love with the study of psychology – specifically, with understanding how our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors develop and how they can change over time.

Ashley dedicated time as a student and professional over the last 15 years to understanding the science of behavior change and motivation, addiction, risky health behaviors in college students, personality and personality change, character development, post-traumatic growth, mindfulness and meditation, the mind-body connection, and resilience.

As a certified Health and Wellness Coach, Ashley first gets to know your experience and goals for change. In combination with her expansive background knowledge around the human condition and how to change our behaviors – you’ll work together to develop the steps needed to reach your unique health and wellness goals.