AAP Policy Statement: Food Additives and Child Health

The American Academy of Pediatrics has released a new policy statement regarding Food Additives and Child Health.

This new statement highlights the concerns regarding childhood exposure to plastics and food additives. Reducing exposure to plastic and food additives can be an expensive and confusing process for families and I was happy to see that concern addressed in the statement. 

I will be putting together some resources to assist families as they start or broaden their efforts to lessen plastic exposure. I would love to hear your specific questions or concerns. What particular topic or product information would help you transition away from plastics? Please send me an email. And, join the mailing list to receive next week's resource Reduce Plastic Exposure: Simple & Affordable Solutions.

Autumn, Crafted.

Can you feel the shift? Autumn is coming and with it one of the biggest yearly transitional shifts for families. New school year, new activities, the shift of schedules,  stress from change. With all this comes a sense of questioning ourselves as mothers. Should we sign up for this? Will that be too much? Are they over-scheduled? Will we ever have dinner as a family again? How can I keep meals healthy? Yep. These questions run through our minds and distract us from the moment. They make us questions ourselves, and it doesn’t feel good. 

What if we answered these questions now? What if we crafted your autumn to meet your needs? What do you wish for this season? We can do that. 

Crafted Autumn Coaching Package: $255

5 (30 min) weekly sessions, email support, self-assessments and individualized resources.

The days are shortening, and space is limited. Please secure your registration.

Feminine Sovereignty

Sovereignty is directly connected to health and wellness. Sovereignty allows us to act from a place of confidence, listen to our intuition, ask for help when needed, and face conflict with courage and creativity. We are more likely to make choices that feed our wellness and when confronted with a barrier, we are more likely to address that barrier with ease. So, cultivating sovereignty in our lives will not protect us from all illness or misfortune, but it will offer us more options when illness and misfortune present themselves. 

We are all innately sovereign beings. We all have this pool of wealthy wellness within us. But, having sovereignty and enacting sovereignty are very different. We must enact our sovereignty in order to be leaders in our lives, our families, our communities, and our businesses. Feminine sovereignty, in particular, requires cultivation. And Feminine Sovereignty is what the world is asking for at this moment. Feminine leadership and empowerment look very different from the leadership and "power" we are familiar with in modern western cultures. Self- reign requires self-mastery and self-governance. This beautiful word, sovereignty, is indeed something we all possess and it requires diligence and dedication to activate. It is a practice, being sovereign.

Yoga, meditation, coaching, mindfulness, therapy, self-inquiry, inner-work these are ways we can support our practice in sovereignty and train our selves for a life of self-reign. With this gift of sovereignty, we can share our leadership with others. We can lead our own lives, our families, our communities and our businesses from a place of true feminine leadership. Feminine leadership is founded in compassion and cooperation, open-hearted courageousness and creativity. Fostering this inner-compass within ourselves is a gift to other women and the world. One sovereign woman takes the hand of another. 

Love, 

Sherene

Health and Wellness Coaches Scope of Practice

Inspired by week 12 discussion post fromAdvanced Coaching, COA660 at MUIH www.muih.edu 

What does “scope of practice” mean?

The scope of practice outlines the actions (or procedures) that a practitioner is permitted to take in accordance with their professional license or the ethics of their profession.  

Why is it important to health and wellness coaches?

Health and wellness coaches, like any practitioner, need boundaries and a container for their work. The scope of practice helps define what health and wellness coaching is and how a practitioner can practice within that profession. The scope of practice for health and wellness coaches helps support and guide them in the face of confusing situations. It is also a reminder of the profession's values and intent. 

ICHWC Scope of Practice

How does the scope of practice relate to ethics and, specifically, the ICF/ICHWC Code of Ethics?

A Health and Wellness Coach must practice within the scope of practice in order to conduct themselves ethically. Practicing outside the scope of practice as a Health and Wellness Coach can lead clients to misunderstand the abilities of the coach(coaching) and can undermine the work of other coaches. The ICF code of Ethics elaborates on the Health and Wellness Coaches scope of practice. It gives specific details on how a coach can coach within the scope of practice, meet their client's needs, and the standards of the profession. 

https://coachfederation.org/code-of-ethics 

https://ichwc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Final-Code-of-Ethics-Feb-1-ICHWC.pdf 

How does it relate to the ICF and ICHWC competencies?

Coaches who can practice health and wellness coaching with skill in the ICF and ICHWC competencies will have no need to breach the code of ethics or scope of practice in order to serve their clients. Meeting and exceeding these competencies naturally leads to strong coaching abilities within the scope of practice. 

Health and Wellness Coaching is a new profession and practitioners can call themselves health and wellness coaches without adhering to the scope of practice or the practicing the ICF and ICHWC competencies. Coaches who meet the competencies will experience deeper more sustainable results with their clients and naturally practice within the scope of practice. 

https://coachfederation.org/core-competencies 

How does the scope of practice relate to information sharing?

The scope of practice is especially important to information sharing. As a coach, I see my primary role as helping my clients become more in touch with their own intuition and confidence that they have the resources within themselves to live a life of wellness. When I provide information I can rob the client of the confidence that comes from arriving there themselves. The scope of practice illustrates that regular information sharing is not health and wellness coaching, but that some information can be shared when it is in the client’s best interest. A coach adhering to the scope of practice, the ICF and ICHWC code of ethics, and skilled in the ICF and ICHWC competencies will be able to share information in support of their clients and help clients find the information themselves to build their own skills and confidence. The scope of practice also highlights that if a coach holds active and nationally recognized credentials they may provide expert guidance related to that topic.