We are happy to announce that we moving forwards, at quite a pace with our Actively Ageing program in response to the thousands of participants around Australia and their Actively Ageing Physios. Our Actively Ageing Physiotherapists are all (or soon to be ‘all’) qualified  Health Coaches as well as Clinical Physiotherapists.

The Health Coaching qualification gives our physios the skills required to help our over 50’s clients to achieve their desired health outcomes in as smooth a way as possible.

The 10-step framework of the Health Coaching Australia Model of Health Change allows practitioners to assist clients to identify and prioritise their health changes, increase their motivation, make appropriate decisions and increase their self-efficacy to engage in sustainable health behaviour change.

These 10 steps represent ten different points in a health consultation when barriers to change can commonly emerge for a client or for a clinician who is attempting to facilitate change. Each step also provides guidance regarding brief techniques that can be used firstly to check for these potential barriers and secondly to address them.

The HCA 10 Steps help practitioners to systematically consider and work with the client’s readiness, importance, confidence and knowledge in relation to taking the required actions to better manage their health.

Different health behaviour change processes and techniques are recommended for the clinician to apply according to the client in question. For example, a different approach would be recommended for a client who didn’t think it was personally important to take action on a particular health issue versus a client who did.

We have restructured our Actively Ageing Course for our clients to work better with the Health Coaching Australia model and also with the Enhanced Primary Care Program through Medicare Australia. The requirement for a referral to an allied health practitioner is that you have a chronic health condition and are under the care of a specialist for this condition.

We have reduced the number of attendances at the Actively Ageing Course to 5, including the Initial Assessment. A client can receive a referral from the GP for 5 EPC sessions.  This makes it very affordable for the client. The course is still structured around the Actively Ageing ‘Kit’, which will be provided by your physio at your Initial Assessment.

The course now consists of 1 x initial Assessment and 4 Education / Exercise Sessions, each taking a little over an hour. You will do it in a small group setting in your physio’s clinic. By the time you graduate (in 2 weeks), you will already be on the path to better health and be equipped with the knowledge and techniques required to achieve those health outcomes. Your journey through life will then be a whole lot better for you and your family!

We also have a plethora of Mini Courses, which we offer to all of our clients. They cover an extensive list of chronic diseases as well as lifestyle issues. Check our website for more information about the topics covered. For these, you will need to see the physio 3 times to include 1 x Initial Assessment followed by 2 x education / exercises sessions.

Ask your Physio about the Actively Ageing Program and also, if you have a chronic disease of any sort, chat to your GP about an EPC referral for the physiotherapy sessions.