From Social Work to Well being Teaching: An AFPA Graduate Story

Posted by

May 24, 2026

On May 24, 2026

A number of the most significant profession pivots don’t come from ambition alone. They arrive from lived expertise. For Rae, a former social employee and AFPA Licensed Grasp Well being and Wellness Coach, the shift into well being teaching grew out of one thing deeply private: the conclusion that sustainable wellness begins lengthy earlier than a disaster level.

After years of supporting others by means of trauma and high-stress environments, Rae discovered herself navigating her personal well being challenges and noticing how interconnected every little thing really was. Stress, hormones, digestion, vitality, mindset. None of it existed in isolation. That perception grew to become the inspiration of her teaching philosophy and her follow, Rae of Daylight, the place she helps professionals, particularly caregivers and social staff, construct actual, sustainable habits that defend in opposition to burnout earlier than it takes maintain.

We sat down with Rae to speak about her journey from social work to well being teaching, what shocked her in regards to the AFPA program, and what she’d inform anybody who’s excited about making the same leap.

What have been you doing earlier than well being teaching, and what made you begin excited about a change?

Earlier than coming to well being teaching, I labored in colleges, non-profits, and residential therapy services, usually supporting folks experiencing trauma and high-stress conditions. The work was fast-paced but in addition extremely rewarding.

Over time, although, I began to really feel the consequences of persistent stress and overwhelm, not solely mentally, however bodily as nicely, forcing me to take a step again. I spotted that a lot of the work I used to be doing, each professionally and personally, occurred after already reaching a disaster level. That led me to grow to be extra considering prevention and sustainable wellness.

I appreciated how well being teaching particularly centered on well being from a holistic perspective. It supplied a proactive and sustainable method to creating way of life modifications. By means of my background in social work, I developed a deep appreciation for supporting folks by means of troublesome experiences and previous trauma. However I additionally realized I used to be particularly drawn to serving to folks construct every day habits, routines, and stress-management practices that assist long-term wellbeing.

Whereas social work usually focuses on evaluation, prognosis, emotional processing, and therapeutic, well being teaching felt extra aligned with my want to assist folks reconnect with themselves, create more healthy patterns, and making way of life modifications based mostly on what motivates them.

Well being teaching allowed me to mix my background in human conduct with my ardour for vitamin, train, and holistic wellness in a method that felt significant to me.

What shocked you most in regards to the AFPA program?

What shocked me most in regards to the AFPA program was how in-depth and complete it was. I anticipated it to construct on my present background in social work, particularly round motivational interviewing, however I used to be shocked by how a lot it expanded my understanding of it. Training and specializing in intrinsic motivation actually deepened my understanding of it and helped me begin recognizing it extra naturally in conversations.

I additionally gained a a lot deeper understanding of well being metrics and interpret fundamental physiological and way of life information in a method that’s sensible and helpful in on a regular basis life. General, this system helped me join my social work basis with a extra structured and utilized method to well being teaching.

What does your teaching follow appear to be proper now, and who’re you hoping to work with?

Proper now, my teaching follow is concentrated on working with people who’re navigating excessive ranges of persistent stress and overwhelm, notably for professionals. My expertise in social work has given me a deep understanding of caregiver fatigue and the way simply burnout can develop.

I’m particularly captivated with working with social staff, educators, and different care-giving professionals as a result of I perceive each the emotional calls for of the work and the tendency to push private wellbeing apart. My purpose is to assist purchasers construct sensible, sustainable instruments for stress administration and design every day habits that assist stability and stop burnout.

I believe it is dependent upon the best way you need to present up in a serving to career. For me, well being teaching has felt like a pure shift right into a extra unbiased, self-directed area the place I’m constructing my very own follow that comes with different areas of well being, similar to vitamin and train, that I’m captivated with.

Forging my very own path into well being teaching has required extra self-discipline, nevertheless it’s additionally been very rewarding. I’ve particularly loved making use of my background in motivational interviewing and conduct change in a extra prevention-focused method.

From my expertise, well being teaching additionally requires clearly speaking your scope and method, because it’s a more recent and a much less understood subject in comparison with social work. For me, that has really helped me construct readability and confidence in what I supply.

General, it seems like a significant shift that aligns with how I need to assist folks transferring ahead.

Is there something you would like you’d recognized earlier than beginning—both about this system or about making the transition?

I believe the primary factor I want I had recognized earlier is that attempting one thing new doesn’t imply you’ve failed at what you have been doing earlier than. At one level, I felt like stepping away from conventional social work meant I had failed in it, and that merely wasn’t true.

What I’ve discovered is that it’s okay to outgrow paths and shift into one thing that aligns extra deeply with who you might be and the way you need to work. I’ve discovered a course that matches me higher, and I see it now as a part of an ongoing strategy of studying and progress, altering course when wanted.

Discover Rae on-line on her web site and Substack.

Able to construct a follow rooted in whole-person wellness?

AFPA’s Licensed Grasp Well being and Wellness Coach program provides you the instruments, credentials, and confidence to information purchasers towards lasting change. Whether or not you’re beginning recent or deepening an present profession in well being and wellness, this program meets you the place you might be.