Youth Coaching Expert Insights
Stay informed, inspired, and engaged in mentoring and coaching tweens, teens, and young adults with the Youth Coaching Institute blog. Here you’ll discover expert strategies, research, and tools to empower your practice or organization and foster growth and resilience in adolescents.

Why Human-Centered Skills Like Coaching Will Always Matter in an AI World, Especially for Young People
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more powerful, it’s changing the way we live and work. Machines can now write emails, solve math problems, and even help doctors find diseases. Some jobs are already being done faster—and sometimes better—by AI. So, where does that leave humans, especially those of us who work with young people? Here’s the truth: no matter how smart AI gets, it can’t replace the human heart or

How Meaning and Purpose Shape Fulfillment (Coaching Tips Inside)
Introduction: This article introduces the concepts of meaning and purpose, and explains the ways in which they contribute to inner peace and fulfillment. It also provides insight on ways to create meaning, and how to coach clients to identify opportunities to discover meaning, purpose, community, and belonging in their own lives. Purpose and Meaning Defined: What is purpose? The American Psychological Association defines purpose as “the reason for which

Three Ways Coaches Can Help Teens Create Meaningful Friendships
Introduction This article explains how values and attitudes impact the bonds we form with other people. It also examines the nuances of making friends as an adolescent, and what they seem to value in the relationships they keep. Finally, it provides three tips on how to coach adolescents to create meaningful friendships. How Values and Attitudes Impact Friendship Values are the principles that we live by. They are indicators of

How Community and Connection Can Change Your Health and Wellbeing
Introduction Contrary to popular belief, our health is not simply a result of our individual choices. Our environment, combined with the people and resources within it, are major determinants of our overall health and wellbeing. This article explains the meaning of community, and highlights the major impacts connection has on physical, mental, social, and emotional wellness. What are communities? Communities are where we live, work, and play. They are made

Why Health Coaches and Clients Need to Know about The Mind Body Connection
What is the mind-body connection? The mind body connection refers to the relationship between the brain and the body – specifically, how mental and physical processes interact with each other. A recent study at The Washington University School of Medicine discovered the physical links in the brain that enable the mind body connection, called the Somato-Congitive Action Network (SCAN). This finding speaks to the power of the mind on behavior.

Physical Activity 101: What It Is, and Why (and How) You Do It
What is physical activity? Physical activity refers to any bodily movement produced by the contraction of the skeletal muscle that increases energy expenditure beyond a basal level. Exercise is a form of physical activity that is planned, structured, repetitive, and performed with the goal of improving health or fitness. Although all exercise is physical activity, not all physical activity is exercise. When it comes to promoting overall health, fitness, longevity,