Mental Well-Being: A Coach’s Must-Have Toolbox

Over the years, I’ve watched the coaching landscape change. Mental well-being is no longer an optional skill. It’s essential.

As a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach and an ICF Master Certified Coach, I’ve seen a rising trend: more and more clients — and fellow coaches — are struggling with anxiety, overwhelm, and burnout.

Stress, burnout, and mental health concerns are increasingly common, and this is not just a health coaching issue. Coaches across specialties like executive, leadership, life, and performance need to be equipped to recognize and support mental well-being. We’re not here to replace therapists. We’re here to coach skillfully and ethically at a time when the world needs it. Let’s look at why this matters and how we can start integrating it into our coaching practice.

Coaching Is Not Therapy — And Sometimes, It’s Exactly What’s Needed

Coaching is not therapy. Coaches do not diagnose or treat mental illness.

Instead, we offer something different — but equally powerful:

• A safe, non-judgmental space.

• Deep listening and presence.

• Empowering questions and forward momentum.

• Tools for reflection, resilience, and realignment.

During the COVID-19 crisis, I was invited to support a university overwhelmed by students struggling with mental health issues. With therapy requests soaring and too few licensed professionals to respond, we turned to coaching.

What we discovered was remarkable. In over 90% of the cases, therapy wasn’t needed. These students needed to feel heard, supported, and met with unconditional positive regard. Coaching was enough.

This experience reinforced a powerful truth. Mental health challenges are not the same as mental illness. When done well, coaching is not only appropriate, but it can also be profoundly effective. Great coaching can drive life-changing outcomes without ever crossing the therapy line.

The Mental Well-Being Crisis: Why It Matters

The data speaks for itself:

• 77% of employees experience work-related stress.

• 60% of employees say workplace stress negatively impacts their mental health.

• Of all working-age adults, 15% were estimated to have a mental disorder.

• Chronic stress contributes to 12 billion lost workdays per year globally).

• Burned-out employees are 2.6 times more likely to job hunt).

These numbers reflect our clients, our colleagues, and often ourselves. As coaches, we are on the front lines of a growing crisis, which brings both responsibility and opportunity.

The Coaching Evolution: From Performance to Resilience

I have been coaching for more than 25 years, and I have noticed that coaching has evolved. Once focused primarily on productivity and leadership, today’s coaching must also prioritize resilience and sustainable well-being. These elements are interconnected, and in today’s complex, high-pressure world, they can no longer be treated in isolation.

According to the 2024 ICF Global Coaching Study: 

• 94% of employees expect their organizations to provide mental well-being and stress support.

• 74% of companies are increasing investment in workplace well-being.

• Leaders who receive coaching report greater resilience and lower burnout.

As coaching expands to meet these needs, our role as coaches must adapt. Supporting mental well-being doesn’t mean crossing into therapy. It means equipping ourselves to work preventively, proactively, and systemically.

The Coach’s Role in Mental Well-Being: 3 Core Tools

Through my work and experience, I believe every coach should have the following in their toolbox:

Detection: Spotting Mental Well-Being Risks Early 

• Assess stress levels, emotional health, and work-life balance.

• Use structured self-reflection and resilience assessments.

• Conduct energy audits to identify early signs of burnout.

Prevention: Coaching for Sustainable Resilience 

• Teach proactive stress management strategies.

• Help clients set boundaries, reframe beliefs, and build inner strength.

• Reinforce habits that support long-term well-being.

Integration: Embedding Well-Being into Workplace Culture

• Guide leaders in fostering psychologically safe environments.

• Promote a “coach approach” among teams: deep listening, empathy, and presence.

• Facilitate strategies that strengthen resilience across both individuals and systems.

Self-Care and Self-Assessment

Self-awareness is the foundation of ethical, effective coaching, especially in this space. So, before we can support others in navigating stress, burnout, and emotional overload, we must take an honest look at our own well-being.

The ICF Code of Ethics reminds us to recognize when our capacity or objectivity is impaired, to engage in self-care and continuous professional development, and to maintain clear boundaries, referring clients when necessary. These ethical responsibilities call us to self-reflect, self-manage, and seek support when needed.

Use the Stress-Performance Graph as a self-assessment tool:

1. Place a dot where your current stress level sits.

1. Are you energized in the Zone of Optimal Performance?

1. Are you nearing exhaustion? If so, what’s driving it, and are you able to recover?

1. Are you bored, needing a new challenge?

This is also a tool you can use for coaching clients. It sparks reflection, deepens self-awareness, and opens conversations about energy and mindset.

Next, use these questions to assess your coaching readiness for mental well-being:

• Am I prepared to recognize burnout and stress in myself and my clients?

• Do I know how to coach toward sustainable resilience?

• Have I clarified the boundary between coaching and therapy?

• Do I know when I need to pause, reflect, or seek supervision?

If you answered “no” to any of the above, you’re not alone. You’re right where upskilling begins.

Upskilling: Expand Your Toolbox

When we deepen our capacity in mental well-being, we don’t just enhance our services — we elevate our coaching practice and:

• Strengthen our self-awareness.

• Uphold the highest ethical standards.

• Respond meaningfully to the evolving needs of our clients.

Mental well-being coaching is not a trend. It’s becoming the very heart of our profession.

What’s Next? Join me at ICF Converge 2025!

I’ll be speaking on “The Mental Well-Being Imperative: Coaching Beyond Burnout.” Let’s explore how we, as coaches, can step up, not just in crisis, but in the prevention and management of this critical issue!

Choosing the Right Training Program: What to Look for and why it Matters

• Accreditation: Look for ICF or National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBHWC) for credibility and global recognition.
  
• Modality: Match delivery style (in-person, live-online, self-paced) to your learning preferences. 

• Niche Fit: Seek links with the other types of coaching you deliver.

• Mentorship and Community: Choose programs offering mentoring, peer learning, and real-world applications.

The work we do matters. Let’s make sure we’re ready. If you’d like help selecting a training program or building your own mental well-being coaching pathway, I’m here to support you.

Ellen Kocher, MCC and Hélène Thériault, MCC, will be exploring this topic more in depth at ICF Converge 2025, which is taking place October 23-25 in San Diego, California, USA. Join their 90-minute learning lab session “The Mental Well-Being Imperative: Coaching Beyond Burnout” under the Future Trends theme on Friday, October 24 at 3 p.m. (local conference time). By attending this session, you can earn 0.75 Continuing Coach Education units in Core Competency and 0.75 in Resource Development.