What is Wellness Coaching? My Experience at the Center for Campus Wellness

College life can often feel like a major balancing act between classes, work, and maintaining a social life. Sometimes, the hardest part isn’t the workload itself, but figuring out how to manage the stress that comes with it. That’s where wellness coaching at the Center for Campus Wellness
comes in.

What is Wellness Coaching?

Wellness coaching is a free resource available to University of Utah students that focuses on helping students foster wellness knowledge and skills that reflect their goals and overall well-being.

Wellness coaches aren’t there to tell you what choices you should or shouldn’t make. Instead, they guide discussions that help you better understand your habits, motivations, and priorities.

How Wellness Coaching Works

During a coaching session, students lead the conversation by choosing the topic they want to work on. Coaches then ask questions that encourage students to think more deeply about what they want to change or improve regarding that topic.

Students often come to wellness coaching for a variety of reasons. Some common topics include:

• stress management,
• time management,
• building healthier habits,
• and navigating social relationships.

Because every student’s situation is different, coaching sessions are intentionally designed to be flexible and tailored to what feels most relevant for the student.

In a session with Reyes, he explained that wellness coaching is designed to be student-driven rather than for coaches to tell students what changes they should make. Wellness coaches are guides to craft motivational conversations where students are able to identify their own goals - and then work with the coach to build an action plan to achieving it.

“Wellness coaching is like... I'm here just to be your guy, like literally just kind of your wellness guy. Wellness coaches don't really tell you what to do, they usually just ask you to tell them what you want to accomplish and why it is important to you.”

My Wellness Coaching Session

After learning more about how wellness coaching works, I sat down with Reyes for my own session to better understand a challenge many students, including me, face: managing stress during finals week.

During the session, Reyes didn't jump straight into giving advice. Instead, he asked questions that helped me reflect on my own experiences with stress and procrastination.

As we talked, Reyes helped me realize that part of my stress comes from my tendency to overcommit.

Between school, work, and other responsibilities, I often fill my schedule to the brim. In many ways, this wellness coaching session allowed me to realize that I've gotten used to navigating the stress of being busy throughout the semester, but when finals week rolls around, the chaos of life becomes even more overwhelming.

Reyes and I also talked about ways to reduce that pressure before it builds up. One idea that stood out to me was to start large assignments much earlier than I typically would. Reyes suggested that beginning some of that preparation months in advance, even in small ways, could help make those busy weeks feel more manageable.

Rather than leaving with a strict plan, I left with something that felt more achievable and low-stakes: a clearer understanding of my motivations and habits, with a new perspective on how those small changes earlier in the semester could make a big difference in my stress levels later on.

 

How to Get Started with Wellness Coaching

Wellness coaching is one of the many free resources available to students through the Center for Campus Wellness.

My experience showed me that wellness coaching isn’t about being told what to do; it’s about having a conversation that helps you better understand your habits and explore strategies that work for you.

Reyes mentions that he encourages students to book a session in advance before finals, as appointments tend to be in high demand by the end of the semester! 

If you’re interested in trying wellness coaching, know that appointments are free for University of Utah students. You can see session availability and book on Medicat.