Leading medical expert, Dr Rosemary Leonard, says that the ‘great coaching’ taking place across the UK is helping to improve people’s mental well-being.
Today marks World Mental Health Day, an annual campaign which aims to raise awareness of mental health and highlight the support on offer for maintaining good mental well-being.
Dr Leonard is on the Board for UK Coaching, which is the lead agency for coaching in the UK with a mission to put coaching at the heart of physical activity and sport. Earlier this year, UK Coaching hosted the first ever Coaching Week which saw a week-long celebration of #GreatCoaching and the launch of UK Coaching’s Principles of Great Coaching. Each year, they also host the UK Coaching Awards – celebrating great coaching taking place across the nation.
Since qualifying as a doctor from Cambridge University in 1980, Dr Leonard has encountered a lot of patients dealing with ill mental health and believes that there are numerous ways for people to improve their mental well-being, including taking part in physical activity and having an understanding coach.
The medical journalist believes that ‘great coaching’ can play an important part in improving mental well-being, supporting recent UK Coaching research which has shown that 71% of adults who receive coaching believe it has helped to improve their mental health and well-being.
Dr Leonard said: “Endorphins released through physical exertion and social interaction as a result of great coaching can have a positive effect on a person’s overall mental well-being.
“It’s important, on days like today’s World Mental Health Day, that we help people understand that coaching can provide the types of motivational climates that can increase people’s self-esteem, self-worth, enjoyment and vitality, and of course, the resilience of their sporting habits. This of course applies to the coach too.
“It’s also a chance for people from around the globe to rally together to show their support and raise awareness.”
Actively tackling mental health remains a universal challenge. The Mental Health Foundation revealed in a study in 2014, that every week one in six adults in the UK experiences a common mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression, while a further one in four adults in the UK will experience a problem every year.
UK Coaching has partnered with MIND and Public Health England to produce an animation and infographic to help coaches better understand what mental well-being is and provide coaches with the tools to promote good mental well-being through their coaching.
For more information, visit ukcoaching.org