Whole Person Wellness: Restoring Balance
2005: Volume 2, Number 1

 

James Strohecker, President, HealthWorld Online

 

Today, there is a widely recognized need for individuals to take a greater level of responsibility for their health and wellbeing. At the same time, people are looking for more personalized approaches to wellness that address the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of our lives – approaches that look at us as a whole person. The principles of “self-responsibility” and “whole person”, hallmarks of the holistic health, self-care and wellness movements in the 1970s, are now reemerging as essential solutions to our current health care crisis and spiraling medical costs.

A new program that embodies this approach is the Wellness Inventory developed by wellness pioneer John W. Travis, MD, MPH, and e-health pioneer HealthWorld Online. A protégé of Dr. Louis Robbins (creator of the Health Risk Appraisal) while a resident at Johns Hopkins and working with the US Public Health Service, Dr. Travis chose to dedicate his life to "teaching people to be well" rather than to treating patients. Recognized as a founder of the modern wellness movement, he opened the first wellness center in the U.S. in 1975, created the original wellness assessment, and authored the classic Wellness Workbook.

Whole Person Wellness Program

The Wellness Inventory is a pioneering "whole person" assessment program designed to help individuals gain personal insight into their state of physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness. The program offers guidance and tools to transform this new awareness into lasting changes in one’s life, and a renewed sense of health and wellbeing

The Wellness Inventory takes individuals on a year-long wellness journey described in the following 5 steps:

Step 1 - Assessment: Complete lifestyle assessment covering 12 dimensions of whole person wellness.

Step 2 - Scores: Receive Wellness & Satisfaction Scores for each section. Learn your strengths and the areas you have the strongest readiness for change.

Step 3 - Personal Wellness Plan: Create 10 wellness action steps in the areas you are most motivated to change.

Step 4 – Tools to Help You Reach Your Wellness Goals: A suite of tools to help you follow your wellness plan & meet your goals.

Step 5 – Resources for Ongoing Wellness: Learn to maintain higher state of well-being and vitality.

Wellness coaching can greatly accelerate this five-step process by providing the support and accountability that increase individuals' chances for success in meeting their goals.

 

A Flexible Wellness Solution

The Wellness Inventory offers maximum flexibility for implementation in a wide range of settings - corporate wellness programs, hospitals, spas, health practitioners, life coaches, government agencies and churches.

 

Reporting, coaching and communication tools for licensing organizations facilitate individual and group needs assessment, one-on-one coaching, increased levels of participation, and ongoing wellness education.
 

The Wellness Inventory may be utilized as the centerpiece of a custom wellness solution for an organization. Optional wellness program components that may be built around the Wellness Inventory include wellness coaching, monthly lectures and e-newsletters, and specific modules such as resiliency training, nutrition, or a walking program.

 

Sample Custom Corporate Program Using The Wellness Inventory
	Assessment: Administer Wellness Inventory to employees.
	Wellness Coaching: Offer wellness coaching to employees who need assistance in formulating their personalized wellness action plans.
	Monthly Wellness Lecture: Ongoing employee education through a monthly lecture series on the 12 dimensions of lifestyle in the Wellness Inventory. Optional wellness e-newsletter sent through the email broadcast feature.
	Needs Assessment: Use scores from the first assessment to determine the companywide needs. Design program modules to address the needs. Or, design modules into the overall wellness program from the outset – walking program, resiliency training, etc.
	Final Assessment with Wellness Inventory: Scores from the final assessment determine companywide progress.