By Jill E. Duffy
When I first heard the term “menopause coach” on the show Bad Sisters, I didn’t know if it was real or a joke. What would a menopause coach do and who would hire one?
It turns out that menopause coaches are real, and what they do runs the gamut. Like any other kind of coaching, they work with clients in an ongoing relationship toward a desired outcome. Most coaches are not clinical, but in rare cases, they can be doctors. Most do not accept insurance. Costs vary, but roughly speaking you can expect to pay around $100 per hour, which likely includes some amount of messaging with your coach, too. A menopause coach with a medical degree might charge twice as much, but what’s included (prescriptions, follow-ups, etc.) will also vary.
The most common problems menopause coaches address are weight gain, hot flashes, and lack of sleep, though I learned they tend to take a holistic approach, so instead of dealing with issues in isolation, they address your overall quality of life and mindset to find ways to live happier, healthier, and more comfortably. A lot of coaches have already reached menopause, and since they’ve been there, they can take on a mentorship role, too.
Midi and Re-spin are two big menopause wellness businesses that you may have heard of. Both offer coaching, although they aggressively market the prescription and supplement side of the business. Among smaller providers, you can find menopause coaches with expertise in certain areas, such as those who help gender non-conforming people or who’ve had additional training in sexual health.
Dr. Tes Jordens, D.O., runs a telehealth practice called 1988 Wellness. She’s one of the rare medical professionals who is a menopause coach. She doesn’t love the term “coach,” but the subscription model ($1,079 for six months) she offers women in the throes of perimenopause and menopause does resemble a coach-like relationship.
Generally speaking, Jordens’ patients are women from age 40 to 65, “but we know that perimenopause can start much earlier, especially if a woman has had surgical menopause, so there certainly isn’t any cutoff,” she said.
When I asked what she does as a menopause coach, she said, “Basically, I’m here as a guide and to support women through this time period.” As a physician, she has one big advantage over others: “I can prescribe, and often that’s what women are coming to see me for, or that’s the main thing,” she said.
A woman’s primary care physician, whether it’s a GP or a GYN, can also write prescriptions, but they don’t necessarily make themselves available for follow-up appointments and ongoing support the way Jordens does.
“My big thing is there isn’t any pill, shot, patch, cream, gel, spray — it doesn’t matter what it is — none of that is going to help with all of the things” related to menopause, Jordens said. “It’s everything we do, from our brain and our mindset to what we’re doing with our physical bodies.”
One of Jordens’ patients recently told her that she chose her for menopause care because the flood of information online was overwhelming, and she wanted one trustworthy person who could make recommendations tailored specifically to her. As a physician, Jordens can offer that.
When choosing a menopause coach, the most important factor is determining whether you need one with a medical background. Several coaches I spoke to mentioned that anyone with a history of cancer treatment probably needs an MD or a DO. It doesn’t mean they can’t work with a nonmedical coach, but the coach might insist that they have ongoing medical guidance in addition. Another consideration is whether you want a coach who has training in a particular area, whether it’s nutrition, physical fitness, sex, or something else.
Concierge medical services sometimes have doctors who specialize in women’s health as well, though their business model is slightly different. There, you may pay a monthly fee that allows you to book appointments with little to no wait time. You might also get longer appointments and greater flexibility in canceling. A number of medical services might be included in your fee, or each appointment could be billed separately as its own service, and may be covered by insurance. Because they’re medical practices, concierge services follow the same regulations as other doctors, and the patient must be physically in a state where they’re licensed. They cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars per month to tens of thousands of dollars per year, depending on how exclusive the practice is.
Nonmedical menopause coaches cost significantly less. Jenna Moore is an integrative health and menopause coach at Meno-Me, a New Zealand-based company that also sells supplements. Her type of coaching runs about $88 USD for a 60-minute virtual appointment. When I asked her to describe the kind of client who hires her, she said there isn’t one prototype.
Some are “seekers,” she said, “the people who search for answers and always like to dive a bit deeper to get a thorough understanding of what they’re experiencing and what options are out there.” Others have all the signs and symptoms of perimenopause and are “going up the wall” trying to get relief.
I asked the same question of Victoria Gill, who runs Juicy Menopause in the UK. “By the time they come to me, they’re normally at rock bottom,” she said. “They’ve tried to deal with this on their own. A lot of women have already gone to the doctor and been rejected, especially with perimenopause at age 40 to 46. They’ll be told they’re too young,” she said. Gill’s firm offers not only individual coaching, but also corporate workshops to increase awareness about menopause in the workplace A 90-minute Clarity Call with Gill costs about $200 USD.
Moore at Meno-Me said that from time to time, she meets women who are totally in the dark. “There are still women out there who don’t know what perimenopause is,” she said. They may have mood swings, rage, and other issues, and “they’re confused. They don’t know what’s going on.”
To be clear, menopause is a normal phase of life that occurs when a woman hasn’t had a period for 12 consecutive months. Perimenopause is the stage leading up to menopause, when periods may become less regular or less frequent, and women may experience other symptoms caused by a decrease in hormone production. Perimenopause can last months or years, and a small fraction of women don’t even know they’re going through it because they have no symptoms at all. For others, symptoms (especially hot flashes) can continue for years after one reaches menopause. The experience varies so widely that women may have a hard time determining if something like memory loss or brain fog is a normal menopause response or if it requires medical testing and intervention.
A typical menopause coaching experience begins with an intake form. Your coach sends you a questionnaire before your first meeting to find out how you feel, what you want to address, your family medical history, etc. After that, the sessions can take different directions depending on the type of coach you see and what you want to achieve.
Tanya Leake, a menopause coach and owner of EmBODY WELL, offers both individual and group coaching ($85 per 45-minute session for one-on-one, or $399 for six 90-minute group sessions). When working with a group, she has topics prepared for each session. She also creates documents that she shares with clients, like a checklist of screenings that women over 40 can ask their doctors to run. If she can’t be in the room with the person (although, as a certified patient advocate, sometimes she can), she can equip them with information in advance.
“Education, to me, is paramount,” Leake said. “Women don’t even know what they should be going to talk to their doctors about. And then there’s shame,” she said, mentioning changes related to sex and sexual health.
Leake also noted that women can feel a change to their identity. “Either your body is changing or your feelings about your body are changing. For some, realizing your child-bearing years are over may come with some grief,” she said. Being in community with other women in group sessions can help.
Another reason an integrative coach may be a good resource for navigating perimenopause and menopause is they understand how one symptom or problem can compound into a major disruption to your life. Leake explained it with this example: “If someone is experiencing significant hot flashes, they may have anxiety about being in public spaces and the way it affects them. They may be having night sweats, which are basically hot flashes at night, which is affecting their sleep. Then that’s having a trickle-down effect on their performance at work, their emotional irritability, their anger.” A doctor might see a problem with body temperature regulation, but a menopause coach is better positioned to understand the totality of the fallout and work with the person to put everything in perspective.
“There are people out there, good physicians and coaches, that can guide you so you don’t feel like you’re losing your mind,” Dr. Jordens said. “If you don’t feel tired and in pain — all of the symptoms that can come along in perimenopause and menopause — you can really live a full, happy, healthy, and extended healthy life,” she said. “I think women should make themselves a priority and know that they deserve to feel good and live a long healthy life.”