Wellbeing Coaching

Struggling with stress, motivation, or self-care? Wellbeing Coaching is a free service for ALL Emory students that can help you improve your well-being and achieve your personal goals.


What is Wellbeing Coaching?

A Wellbeing Coach works with you in a strengths-based and goal-oriented way to help you navigate challenges, build resilience, and create meaningful change in your life. Where therapy is clinical mental health treatment and may focus more on processing the past, Wellbeing Coaching is future-focused and action-baseddesigned tohelp you move forward toward your goals.

Coaching provides: 

  • Personalized support from a professional coach tailored to your needs 
  • A practical lifestyle and behavioral approach to enhance your well-being 
  • A structured, supportive space to explore, set, and achieve goals 
  • Ongoing support, encouragement, and accountability from your coach 

Think of coaching as a collaborative partnership that empowers you to create the changes you want to see in your life. 

Who is Coaching For?

  • Explore the 8 Elements of Wellbeing to improve personal well-being
  • Develop sustainable habits around sleep, nutrition, movement, or mindfulness
  • Manage personal and academic stress to avoid burnout and overwhelm
  • Improve time/task management and reduce procrastination 
  • Navigate relationships with more confidence and healthy boundaries 
  • Expand social connections and build a sense of community and belonging 
  • Cultivate mindset, skills, and capacity for resilience to stress and challenges
  • Discover more purpose, meaning, and alignment in their life 
  • Find clarity, motivation, and momentum toward achieving any personal goals 
 Whether you're navigating stress, seeking clarity, or simply looking to grow, coaching is a space where all aspects of your well-being can be explored. 

What to Expect

Many students have never heard of or worked with a coach before. Here is what you can expect:  

  1. Schedule Your Session - Complete a short intake form and use our online booking system to find a time that fits your schedule. Virtual and in-person sessions are available. In-person sessions are held on the Atlanta Campus at the Center for Student Wellbeing (Alumni Memorial Center, Suite 237).  
  2. Meet with a Coach - Your professional Wellbeing Coach will create a welcoming, nonjudgmental space to listen, ask insightful questions, and help you explore what matters most to you. 
  3. Co-Create an Action Plan - Together, you’ll develop realistic, personalized strategies to find motivation and move forward toward goals that are meaningful to you.  
  4. Track Your Progress - Book follow-up sessions as needed to adjust your plan, stay motivated and accountable, and explore new goals as you grow.

Coaching is not about giving advice; it’s about helping you uncover your own solutions to take meaningful action.

Questions? Email wellbeing.coach@emory.edu  

Meet Your Coaches

Our team of dedicated Wellbeing Coaches are trained to support Emory students in their personal and academic journeys. Each coach brings a compassionate, empowering approach to help you work toward goals that are meaningful to you. 

Michael Eberhard, MEd, NBC-HWC

Wellbeing Coach

meberhard@emory.edu

Michael is a national board-certified health and wellness coach serving as an administrator, educator, advisor, and coach in higher education settings throughout his career. Michael serves as a Wellbeing Coach with the Center for Student Wellbeing providing coaching to support students in developing sustainable habits around stress management, sleep, nutrition, mindfulness, and resilience. He integrates evidence-based approaches and trauma-informed practices to foster holistic well-being and academic success.   

With over a decade of experience in student development, health education, and organizational leadership in higher education, Michael's career has been centered in promoting student wellbeing, retention, and academic success. Prior to Emory, Michael served as Director of Wellness and Health Promotion at Louisiana State University, overseeing an interdisciplinary clinic providing wellness coaching, health education, nutrition counseling, and case management to students and managing campus-wide health promotion initiatives.   

Michael holds a master’s degree in education & organizational leadership from the University of the Pacific and a bachelor’s degree in social work from California State University, Fresno. In his free time, Michael enjoys reading, being in nature, watching live sports, and attending community events with his with his wife, daughter, and their three Siberian huskies



Jennifer Hart Knapp, MS, NBC-HWC

Wellbeing Coach 

jknapp3@emory.edu

Jennifer is a national board-certified health and wellness coach with more than 20 years of experience helping individuals uncover their strengths, rediscover their passions, and create meaningful, lasting change. Her coaching is grounded in the principles of positive psychology, motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavior change—evidence-based approaches that empower clients to move forward with clarity, confidence, and purpose.   

Before joining Emory, Jennifer partnered with corporations to provide one-on-one coaching for individuals striving to improve their health and well-being. She takes a whole-person approach, helping clients explore and address the root causes that may be holding them back. Her work integrates key areas such as stress management, mindfulness, healthy sleep habits, navigating healthcare systems, physical activity, self-advocacy, and self-monitoring to support sustainable lifestyle changes.   

Jennifer holds a master’s degree in professional counseling from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Georgia. She is certified by the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching (NBC-HWC) and completed her health coach training at Emory University.   



FAQs

No. Coaching is considered a lower level of care that is focused on setting goals for the future and identifying actions steps in the present, while therapy tends to focus more on the past and is treatment for deeper emotional concerns. If you're unsure, schedule with us and we can help you explore what feels right. 

Students can start with one session and schedule additional follow-ups based on their needs. There are currently no session limits.

Coaching is private, not confidential. Wellbeing Coaches are mandated reporters and limitations to confidentiality include issues related to Title IX or serious mental health concerns.

Not at all! It might be helpful to consider goals you’d like to work towards, but that will become more clear during the session, so just bring an open mind and a willingness to explore new possibilities.

No, the Wellbeing Coaches serve ALL students at Emory, including graduate and professional students as well as students enrolled at the Oxford Campus. 

If you are a returning student (enrolled in the concluding spring and the upcoming fall semester) you are eligible to work with a Wellbeing Coach over the summer for free.  

Our coaches are trained in evidence-based practices rooted in behavior change science, motivational interviewing, and positive psychology. Our coaches have completed a certified health and wellness coach training program that meets the standards set by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching(NBHWC)—a leading organization that upholds rigorous standards for professional wellness coaching. Our Wellbeing Coaches are NBHWC-certified and follow a Code of Ethics that prioritizes your safety, autonomy, and confidentiality (with limitations mentioned above). This includes respecting your values and goals; maintaining clear boundaries and scope of practice; and providing a nonjudgmental and inclusive coaching relationship.
Other questions? 
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