Fitness
From Social Work to Well being Teaching: An AFPA Graduate Story
May
Among the most significant profession pivots don’t come from ambition alone. They arrive from lived expertise. For Rae, a former social employee and AFPA Licensed Grasp Well being and Wellness Coach, the shift into well being teaching grew out of one thing deeply private: the belief that sustainable wellness begins lengthy earlier than a disaster level.
After years of supporting others by way of trauma and high-stress environments, Rae discovered herself navigating her personal well being challenges and noticing how interconnected the whole lot really was. Stress, hormones, digestion, vitality, mindset. None of it existed in isolation. That perception grew to become the inspiration of her teaching philosophy and her observe, Rae of Daylight, the place she helps professionals, particularly caregivers and social employees, construct actual, sustainable habits that shield in opposition to burnout earlier than it takes maintain.
We sat down with Rae to speak about her journey from social work to well being teaching, what shocked her concerning the AFPA program, and what she’d inform anybody who’s fascinated with making an identical leap.
What had been you doing earlier than well being teaching, and what made you begin fascinated with a change?
Earlier than coming to well being teaching, I labored in colleges, non-profits, and residential remedy amenities, usually supporting folks experiencing trauma and high-stress conditions. The work was fast-paced but in addition extremely rewarding.
Over time, although, I began to really feel the consequences of power stress and overwhelm, not solely mentally, however bodily as nicely, forcing me to take a step again. I noticed that a lot of the work I used to be doing, each professionally and personally, occurred after already reaching a disaster level. That led me to grow to be extra all in favour of prevention and sustainable wellness.
Why well being teaching particularly? What drew you to it over different paths you can have taken from social work?
I preferred how well being teaching particularly targeted on well being from a holistic perspective. It supplied a proactive and sustainable strategy to creating life-style adjustments. By way of my background in social work, I developed a deep appreciation for supporting folks by way of troublesome experiences and previous trauma. However I additionally realized I used to be particularly drawn to serving to folks construct every day habits, routines, and stress-management practices that assist long-term wellbeing.
Whereas social work usually focuses on evaluation, analysis, emotional processing, and therapeutic, well being teaching felt extra aligned with my want to assist folks reconnect with themselves, create more healthy patterns, and making life-style adjustments primarily based on what motivates them.
Well being teaching allowed me to mix my background in human habits with my ardour for vitamin, train, and holistic wellness in a manner that felt significant to me.
What shocked you most concerning the AFPA program?
What shocked me most concerning the AFPA program was how in-depth and complete it was. I anticipated it to construct on my current background in social work, particularly round motivational interviewing, however I used to be shocked by how a lot it expanded my understanding of it. Training and specializing in intrinsic motivation actually deepened my understanding of it and helped me begin recognizing it extra naturally in conversations.
I additionally gained a a lot deeper understanding of well being metrics and the way to interpret primary physiological and life-style information in a manner that’s sensible and helpful in on a regular basis life. General, this system helped me join my social work basis with a extra structured and utilized strategy to well being teaching.
What does your teaching observe appear to be proper now, and who’re you hoping to work with?
Proper now, my teaching observe is targeted on working with people who’re navigating excessive ranges of power stress and overwhelm, notably for professionals. My expertise in social work has given me a deep understanding of caregiver fatigue and the way simply burnout can develop.
I’m particularly enthusiastic about working with social employees, educators, and different care-giving professionals as a result of I perceive each the emotional calls for of the work and the tendency to push private wellbeing apart. My purpose is to assist purchasers construct sensible, sustainable instruments for stress administration and design every day habits that assist stability and forestall burnout.
What would you inform a social employee who’s interested by well being teaching however on the fence?
I believe it is determined by the way in which you wish to present up in a serving to career. For me, well being teaching has felt like a pure shift right into a extra unbiased, self-directed area the place I’m constructing my very own observe that comes with different areas of well being, comparable to vitamin and train, that I’m enthusiastic about.
Forging my very own path into well being teaching has required extra self-discipline, but it surely’s additionally been very rewarding. I’ve particularly loved making use of my background in motivational interviewing and habits change in a extra prevention-focused manner.
From my expertise, well being teaching additionally requires clearly speaking your scope and strategy, because it’s a more recent and a much less understood discipline in comparison with social work. For me, that has truly helped me construct readability and confidence in what I supply.
General, it looks like a significant shift that aligns with how I wish to assist folks shifting ahead.
Is there something you would like you’d identified earlier than beginning—both about this system or about making the transition?
I believe the principle factor I want I had identified earlier is that making an attempt one thing new doesn’t imply you’ve failed at what you had been doing earlier than. At one level, I felt like stepping away from conventional social work meant I had failed in it, and that merely wasn’t true.
What I’ve realized is that it’s okay to outgrow paths and shift into one thing that aligns extra deeply with who you might be and the way you wish to work. I’ve discovered a route that matches me higher, and I see it now as a part of an ongoing technique of studying and development, altering route when wanted.
Discover Rae on-line on her web site and Substack.
Able to construct a observe rooted in whole-person wellness?
AFPA’s Licensed Grasp Well being and Wellness Coach program provides you the instruments, credentials, and confidence to information purchasers towards lasting change. Whether or not you’re beginning contemporary or deepening an current profession in well being and wellness, this program meets you the place you might be.
