Sue Conlon

Background

About Sue Conlon

I’m a Registered Nurse, Certified Holistic Health Coach and former teacher with a passion for guiding and inspiring people to achieve optimal health and well-being and transition from ‘sick care' to true ‘health care’. As a nurse, I have seen first-hand the devastating impact chronic illness has on individuals, families and our over-burdened healthcare system. I have also seen the amazing ability of the body to heal and prevent illness through healthy lifestyle choices. My RN role includes teaching disease management, yet I have discovered that while most patients understand what they are supposed to do, they often have difficulty following through. It has become clear to me that people need more than evidence-based information and ‘lectures’ to prevent/reverse illness…they need continuing guidance and support to successfully change unhealthy habits. This is what led me to learn more about health coaching. I became familiar with a variety of effective tools during my enrollment in the Integrative Nutrition Health Coaching Certification Program and I had the opportunity to learn from more than 85 of the world’s leading experts in health, wellness, and coaching, including Deepak Chopra, M.D. and Mark Hyman, M.D. We also learned that achieving optimal health is not just about the food on your plate. The program covered nutrition science, wellness concepts, coaching methods and how to take a holistic approach to health, teaching people to nourish the body with healthy whole food and to nourish other areas of life such as relationships, career and spirituality that also impact overall well-being. Creating a safe space for clients to explore their health goals and providing ongoing guidance and support through the transition process facilitates behavior and lifestyle changes that can be sustained for the long-term. The philosophy of holistic individualized health coaching also aligns well with my Montessori teaching background and the Montessori Education Philosophy that fosters rigorous intellectual, social, and emotional self-motivated growth, nurturing each child’s natural desire for knowledge, understanding and respect rather than simply ‘filling’ children with facts. Similarly, health coaching helps clients discover their own incentives for making changes and enables them to identify their personal health goals through patient-centered communication and information exchange tailored to the individual.