Coaching shares common ground with many helping professions—like therapy, nutrition, fitness, and education. While all aim to support personal growth and wellness, they differ in scope, methods, and professional boundaries. Coaching has a distinct focus: it centers on behavior change, skill-building, and goal achievement, particularly in areas like motivation, lifestyle habits, wellness, and personal development.

Coaches do not diagnose or treat mental or physical health conditions. Instead, they provide structured support, accountability, and forward momentum to help clients take meaningful action in their lives.

Therapy vs. Coaching

• Therapy: Helps individuals process emotions, navigate mental health challenges, and build insight, often integrating past, present and future experiences and goals.
• Coaching: Focuses on structured support for goal-setting, skill-building, and behavior change. Coaches do not diagnose or treat mental health conditions, but help clients gain clarity, stay accountable, and take action.

Therapists help you heal, adapt, and grow. Coaches help you build momentum, stay consistent, and move forward with intention.

Dietitian vs. Coaching

• Dietitian: Provides medical nutrition therapy and personalized plans for conditions like diabetes, heart disease, eating disorders, and GI issues. Also supports broader goals like improving energy, managing weight, and building sustainable habits.
• Coaching: Helps clients implement healthy eating habits, stay consistent, and set realistic goals—often alongside or after medical guidance.

Think of coaches as the "practice partner" for behavior change—not the medical expert.

Physical Therapy vs. Coaching

• Physical Therapy: Diagnoses and treats physical injuries, and prescribes rehabilitation exercises.
• Coaching: Supports clients in building wellness routines and staying motivated in long-term recovery or fitness—within scope and in collaboration with providers when needed.

PT restores function. Coaching helps you create momentum and stick with healthy movement routines.

Mentorship vs. Coaching

• Mentorship: Involves sharing personal experience, advice, and direct guidance based on the mentor's expertise.
• Coaching: Uses open-ended questions, frameworks, and accountability to help clients discover their own solutions.

Mentors tell you what worked for them. Coaches help you find what works for you.

Today’s healthcare system is mostly reactive—it often steps in only after problems become urgent. While doctors and clinicians are essential for treating illness, there’s usually little support for the day-to-day changes people need to stay well or keep making progress.

That’s where health and wellness coaches come in.

Coaches fill this critical gap by offering proactive, personalized support. They help clients build sustainable habits, develop resilience, and live healthier lives—before challenges turn into clinical concerns.

At HG Institute, we teach a whole-person approach built for the digital age. Wellness isn’t just about diet and exercise—it includes relationships, career, screen habits, stress management, purpose, and emotional well-being.

Our graduates help clients navigate a world where mental, physical, and digital lives are deeply connected—supporting real, lasting change.

We don’t just teach coaching. We forge future-ready coaches equipped for today’s real-world challenges:

• Integrated Mental Health and Digital Wellness Training: We teach not only traditional coaching, but how digital life impacts mental, emotional, and social health.


• Real Practice, Real Feedback: Multiple supervised coaching sessions and personalized feedback ensure you’re not just learning—you’re living the skills.


• Mentorship by Experts: Learn from board-certified coaches, licensed clinicians, and leaders in video game addiction and digital mental health.


• Community and Ongoing Growth: After graduation, you’ll join a professional network for continuing education, collaboration, and career support.

Showing up — fully and consistently — is one of the most important ways you’ll grow as a coach. Our live sessions are where practice, feedback, and connection come together to help you build real-world coaching skills. Attendance isn’t just a box to check — it’s how you get the full value of the program and become a coach clients can trust.

Why Attendance Matters

Coaching is more than a concept, it’s a practice. And practice requires presence. Each live session is a chance to grow your skills, receive real-time feedback, and engage with your community of future coaches. Missing a session means missing an opportunity to deepen your understanding and confidence. Consistent attendance isn’t just a requirement — it’s how you become the kind of coach clients trust and grow with.

Attendance Requirements

To successfully complete the Coaching Elements Quest and receive your Certificate of Attendance, you’ll need to:

• Attend all scheduled class sessions in full.
• Complete all lesson feedback surveys (your reflections help us make the program even stronger).
• Score 75% or higher on all required quizzes.
• Complete all required assignments, including contributing to discussion/forum posts and completing assigned readings.
• Complete all mandatory asynchronous material/courses.

Life Happens: What to Do if You Miss a Session

We get it — sometimes life throws a curveball. If something major comes up (like a medical emergency or serious personal situation), we’re committed to working with you to find a way forward.

Makeup sessions are available for documented, extenuating circumstances. If you know you’ll miss a session, let us know as soon as you can so we can talk through your options.

Depending on the situation, a makeup might involve watching a recording, attending a different session, or scheduling an individual meeting.

Each student is allowed up to three makeup sessions at no additional cost. After that, additional makeups may incur a fee, as outlined in the financial agreement. This helps us ensure we can continue offering high-quality, flexible support to everyone in the program.

While we can’t guarantee makeup options for every situation, we’ll do our best to support you.

What Happens if You Miss Without a Makeup Plan

• Missing a session without arranging an approved makeup means you won’t meet the completion requirements for Coaching Elements Quest.
• In some cases, you might need to re-enroll in a future cohort (space permitting, and with additional fees) if you want to finish the program.

Tracking Attendance

• We’ll be keeping track of attendance throughout the course.
• It’s your responsibility to make sure your tech setup is ready (reliable internet, working camera/mic, etc.) so you can participate fully.