Better Conversations Health Coaching Feedback

Millie Barnes, Retired Nurse working in the Voluntary Sector.

How I found the ICE training:

I enjoyed the training and found it very useful in helping me concentrate on what is important for the patient and gently offering support to help them make goals for themselves. It taught me to stand back from making decisions for them in their best interests.

How am I using the training?

I use in my training in my low carb healthy living support patient peer group. I am seeing great improvements in patients' health and see them committing to a long-term goal of weight loss, reversal of Type 2 Diabetes and getting bad eating habits under control, often for the first time in their lives.

The impact this is having on my clients and myself:

My clients are having great success in regaining their health through lifestyle changes alone and I am getting much greater satisfaction in seeing their development and progress in their health journey.

Dr Sam Kuok, GP, Aspen Medical Centre

I was delighted to have the opportunity to have 5 sessions of Health Coaching with Ice Creates back in November 2020. The sessions were very well facilitated, fun and interactive. It made me reflect on how as a clinician I interact with my patient and the shift in focus from being a “fixer” to being an “enabler”.

This is especially important with Lifestyle Medicine where it is key that the patient takes charge. With the pressures of demand in General Practice, it is not possible to employ coaching skills in every consultation, but I definitely use this when I’m in the right head space to do so. I personally think most patients respond better when they explore the “why” as the “what” and the “how” become clearer once they have worked out what their main drivers are for a particular change.

Erin : Self-Management Facilitator Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group

I am indeed using Better Conversation skills in my work role, personal life and as I pursue a degree in psychology.  Congratulation on the accreditation!

I found the ICE Better Conversations training incredibly well run, engaging and providing valuable coaching skills that benefit all aspects of life by promoting effective communication and empowering others on their wellbeing journey. Better Conversations deepen trust, meaning and actions by unpacking and reshaping the mental models that drive how we think, speak and act.

I am the self-management facilitator for the Live Better to Feel Better Programme with Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Health and Care (GHC) NHS Foundation Trust. I develop and coordinate courses and teach self-management skills to those dealing with long-term health conditions. Empowering individuals living with long-term health conditions by encouraging them to recognise the role they play in their own health and develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to improve their lives. 

I also provide training and coaching to NHS staff members and peer support volunteers by sharing self-management pathways to make the most of their time with patients and best practices for ensuring patients take an active role in their healthcare.

In addition to my GHC role, I am a volunteer Expert by Experience sharing my own experience and story of living with disability to advocate for myself and others whilst working to ensure an inclusive and caring environment for all. Advising on trust policies, helping to provide staff training, and participating in focus groups to give feedback on important issues the Trust is working on, including its long-term strategies. I am also a member of the GHC diversity network promoting equality and inclusivity in the workplace.

Coaching is an essential aspect of the Live Better to Feel Better Programme. The course focuses on the connection between the mind and body, looking at the participants as a whole. We teach self-management techniques that participants incorporate into their daily lives, breaking the symptom cycle by doing positive actions to think and feel more positive. A key coaching component is asking the participants what is most important to them and identifying next steps or small goals each week that are specific, time-bound, and achievable to build confidence that they can control their wellbeing.

I use the coaching skills to develop a coaching and mentoring culture to improve performance and organisational productivity. Through coaching, I enable others to develop personal capabilities, interpersonal skills, and capacity to understand and empathise with others. Helping people understand more about their challenges and make informed choices about their future while strengthening their ability to use various influencing and leadership styles. I empower others to make a difference and improve their effectiveness by promoting and building on the strengths of individuals and communities.

In my current role as the self-management facilitator, as a diversity champion, and in my daily life of managing my conditions, I use coaching techniques every day. I understand the importance of building rapport, putting learning into practice, improving workplace relationships, project management, building resiliency, pacing, self-managing, and setting goals. I believe in empowering others to live their best lives, and I know coaching is a critical step in that journey.

This is probably more than you bargained for, but I did find the training to be valuable.

Tracy Marshall, Outcome Manager (Public Health), Prevention, Wellbeing & Communities Hub, Gloucestershire County Council

How you found working with ICE to deliver the training

ICE have been delivering MECC and Health Coaching training in Gloucestershire for over 4 years and throughout that time I have found them extremely professional and adept at what they do.  I have been impressed with their willingness to adapt content to the needs of those that they are training so that the recipients receive a course suited to their professional needs.  In addition, ICE have developed and delivered on-going support and resource packages to further embed the working practices taught on the course.

Why you commissioned ICE?

ICE are willing to be flexible, not only in what they deliver but how it is delivered.  This has been really important in engaging with busy professionals.  They are always willing to work with our providers to make sure they make the best use of the time they have. It is obvious that they are passionate about what they deliver and that personalised care and service improvement is at the heart of everything they do. 

Anything else you’d like to add?

During the pandemic coaching courses were re-designed so they could be delivered in shorter, online sessions.  This made them more accessible and easier to digest.  We will certainly be taking this learning forward and integrate this into our future training offers for the county.

Simone Price, Healthy Lifestyle Adviser

“I attended the Health Coaching Skills – Better Conversations Course with ICE training whilst working at home and in the middle of a harsh Welsh lockdown.    It was a decision that I was glad I made.  My role as Healthy Lifestyle Adviser with Publica Group Ltd changed dramatically from teaching Pilates and Falls prevention exercise classes in community halls to having to keep contact with the clients via the telephone and internet.  In addition I was also working as part of the Covid Help Hub team in Forest of Dean District Council. 

This training was a massive opportunity for me.  It is important to keep talking to people when they are in isolation and in the middle of a pandemic. I was pleased to refresh my communication skills and also learn some new techniques; whilst meeting other health care professionals. Techniques we learnt when applied have opened the flood gates when listening and talking to people in the communities of the Forest of Dean.   

ICE creates are great tutors and the training was very interactive and a great way of meeting new people from a great cross section within the Health sector.  Even though we were on the internet, it felt that we were all linked together and almost in the same room.

Now we are back teaching in the community I have confidence now to support these people by continuing to use the techniques on the course. Whether it be face to face (mask on), telephone or even over the internet.  

The conversations with clients just seem to flow now, so pleased that I now have additional skills to help others   Being able to communicate correctly is so important when people are still nervous of the situation we are in.   Its good to talk – this course has shown me how.