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Frequently
Asked Questions
What is
the history of the Wellness Mentor Program?
| 1960 |
The Human Resources
Institute, parent company of WellnessMentor.net,
was founded to assist groups in organizations
with culture change.
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| 1978 |
The Human Resources Institute
developed its first wellness programs for
Johnson & Johnson and Hoffman-LaRoche. The book
Lifegain was published to make the model more
widely available. The culture-based program has
been used in more than 500 businesses and
communities. More than 30 additional books and
articles have been written about the Lifegain
approach to wellness.
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| 1985 |
A survey, called the Lifegain
Health Culture Audit, was developed to assess
lifestyle change efforts and cultural support
systems. The survey has been used to plan and
evaluate efforts to create healthier and more
productive cultural environments. Peer support
was one of the factors measured by the Lifegain
Health Culture Audit. The data indicated that
most organizations could benefit from increasing
the quantity and quality of peer support.
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| 1996 |
A video, called With a Little
Help from My Friends, was created to teach
people peer support skills. The video features
testimonials from five people who had been
successful in changing their lifestyles.
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| 1997 |
A professional board of
advisors was created to assist with the
development of the Wellness Mentor Training. The
first training was facilitated by Judd Allen,
Ph.D. and Sheri Levine, M.P.H. in Burlington,
Vermont. Training resources were made available
at Human Resources Institute's website,
www.healthyculture.com.
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| 1998 |
Judd Allen, Ph.D. offered
training throughout the United States. Most of
this training was organized under the auspices
of the Wellness Councils of America. Training
was also held at the National Wellness
Conference in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
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| 1999 |
Union Pacific Railroad
partnered with the Human Resources Institute to
develop a train-the-trainer package. Union
Pacific employees were featured in the Wellness
Mentor Training video.
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| 2000 |
The Wellness Mentor
Facilitator's Guide and Wellness Mentor Resource
Manual were completed. In addition,
WellnessMentor.net was created to provide online
support to program participants.
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| 2004 |
The online Wellness Mentor
Training was developed to make wellness mentoring more
widely available and convenient.
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What
technology do I need to take the training?
This self-paced course combines
streaming video, readings and mentoring assignments. The training
was designed to be accessed with
Microsoft Internet Explorer. You must have speakers connected to
your computer to hear the video segments. The video is being
delivered in Windows Media format. A dial-up Internet connection
can be used to view the video content. However, a faster
connection allows for a larger video image. You must be online while viewing the video
segments. In addition, it is recommended that dial-up users
print out reading materials while online. Then tread the printed
pages and prepare your email reports while
you are not on the Internet. You will need be online to email
your homework.
Do I
need a peer to practice with?
Yes. We have found that
people learn best when they are applying what they are
learning. You will be mentoring someone by the second
lesson. The class material
will explain how to recruit a friend, family member or
coworker for peer mentoring learning exercises. You will
be having several conversations with this person to plan
and then carry forward a lifestyle change. The
conversations will last between 15 and 45 minutes. To
make these learning exercises meaningful, the person
must be considering a lifestyle change. One fun strategy
is take the Wellness Mentor Training at the same time as
a coworker, friend or family member. Those who do this can take turns
mentoring each other while
completing the course assignments.
How long does it
take to complete the training?
The training consists of 8 learning
units. Approximately 20 minutes per course unit is spent viewing
videos and reading course materials. An additional 60 minutes
per unit should be budgeted for a practice mentoring session and
for completing a brief report.
This is a self-paced course.
The ideal is to complete one learning unit each week. To
maintain
momentum, it is recommended that you complete at least
one learning unit every two weeks.
What are
the qualifications of my Wellness Mentor Training instructor?
You will be getting feedback on your
class assignments from someone who has had extensive experience
with mentoring and coaching. Instructors must hold a graduate
degree in health promotion, psychology or counseling. Many of
the instructors work as professional wellness coaches. All
instructors are members of the National Wellness Institute.
Where can I get
further information?
Dr. Judd Allen has
been responsible for the development of this online
course. He can be reached at (802) 862-8855 or by email
at
JuddA@healthyculture.com. You can also learn more by
reading the American Journal of Health Promotion's
Art of Health
Promotion publication, Wellness Council of America's
Absolute
Advantage publication or the Human Resources
Institute's research
report about wellness mentoring. Wellness Mentor-related videos, a
train-the-trainer package and participant resource manuals (for
worksite and colleges/universities) are available at the Healthyculture.com
web site.
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