NBHWC Practice Questions
A 40-year-old man speaks with the coach on the phone as part of a lifestyle management
program to decrease his stress. During today's session, the client sets a goal of practicing
relaxation exercises that consist of deep breathing, light stretching, and visualization for at
least 15 minutes daily. Based on his goal, the coach asks the client to rate his confidence. A
10-point scale is used, in which 0 is "not confident" and 10 is "extremely confident." The
client says "6."
Which of the following is the most appropriate response from the coach?
A. "Are you sure you can achieve that goal?"
B. "What are you going to do to increase your confidence from a 6 to a 10?"
C. "How come you rated yourself a 6 and not an 8?"
D. "Why did you rate your confidence a 6 and not a 4?" - correct answer-Answer: D
Focus: Scaling ruler. They are testing your knowledge of using one, and how to evoke
change talk.
Distractor: Age, gender, details on relaxation exercises.
NOTE: It is important to practice the style of test questions and how they are created. What
are the true questions and what is extra information not critical to the answer.
You want to focus on specifics of the question and not extra information that is irrelevant.
In preparing to set up your business you must mandatorily have key information in your
coaching agreement. Which of the following is mandatory to include?
A. Area of Specialty
B. Training programs you completed
C. Guarantee of client outcomes
D. Client testimonials with approved consent
E. Client and coach responsibilities - correct answer-Answer: E
Focus: Coaching Agreement
Key Word: Mandatory
, Distractor: A & B: A coaching agreement may include the coach's areas of specialty or
training programs they completed, but these are not required.
Distractor: C: A coaching agreement would not include guarantee of client outcomes.
A 55-year-old man comes to the coach's office for his 18th weekly session. He has improved
his sleep hygiene and stated he has decreased his level of daily stress. He now wants to
lose weight. A part of their session conversation is below:
Client: I have struggled with being overweight since childhood and have suffered verbal
judgment from peers.
Coach: That must be very upsetting and disheartening.
What skill is the coach most likely demonstrating?
A. Pausing
B. Bottom-lining
C. Patience
D. Summarizing
E. Empathizing - correct answer-Answer: E
Type of question: Case Study Question.
Focus: Coaching Skill
Distractors: Pausing, summarizing are distractors and not the skill being demonstrated.
Distractor: Patience "could" be an answer.
Distractor: Age, gender and session # are not relevant to the specific question.
NOTE: Many questions will be related to client sharing and Coach response, as a large
percentage of the test is on the coaching process, as stated on NBHWC.org exam prep.
A 60-year-old woman meets with her male coach at the clinic for her first session. The client
says, "My provider sent me for health coaching for my diabetes because my blood sugar
level is up, but I really believe everything is okay. I do not have any diabetes in my family
and I feel awesome!" This client is in which stage of change?
A. Maintenance
A 40-year-old man speaks with the coach on the phone as part of a lifestyle management
program to decrease his stress. During today's session, the client sets a goal of practicing
relaxation exercises that consist of deep breathing, light stretching, and visualization for at
least 15 minutes daily. Based on his goal, the coach asks the client to rate his confidence. A
10-point scale is used, in which 0 is "not confident" and 10 is "extremely confident." The
client says "6."
Which of the following is the most appropriate response from the coach?
A. "Are you sure you can achieve that goal?"
B. "What are you going to do to increase your confidence from a 6 to a 10?"
C. "How come you rated yourself a 6 and not an 8?"
D. "Why did you rate your confidence a 6 and not a 4?" - correct answer-Answer: D
Focus: Scaling ruler. They are testing your knowledge of using one, and how to evoke
change talk.
Distractor: Age, gender, details on relaxation exercises.
NOTE: It is important to practice the style of test questions and how they are created. What
are the true questions and what is extra information not critical to the answer.
You want to focus on specifics of the question and not extra information that is irrelevant.
In preparing to set up your business you must mandatorily have key information in your
coaching agreement. Which of the following is mandatory to include?
A. Area of Specialty
B. Training programs you completed
C. Guarantee of client outcomes
D. Client testimonials with approved consent
E. Client and coach responsibilities - correct answer-Answer: E
Focus: Coaching Agreement
Key Word: Mandatory
, Distractor: A & B: A coaching agreement may include the coach's areas of specialty or
training programs they completed, but these are not required.
Distractor: C: A coaching agreement would not include guarantee of client outcomes.
A 55-year-old man comes to the coach's office for his 18th weekly session. He has improved
his sleep hygiene and stated he has decreased his level of daily stress. He now wants to
lose weight. A part of their session conversation is below:
Client: I have struggled with being overweight since childhood and have suffered verbal
judgment from peers.
Coach: That must be very upsetting and disheartening.
What skill is the coach most likely demonstrating?
A. Pausing
B. Bottom-lining
C. Patience
D. Summarizing
E. Empathizing - correct answer-Answer: E
Type of question: Case Study Question.
Focus: Coaching Skill
Distractors: Pausing, summarizing are distractors and not the skill being demonstrated.
Distractor: Patience "could" be an answer.
Distractor: Age, gender and session # are not relevant to the specific question.
NOTE: Many questions will be related to client sharing and Coach response, as a large
percentage of the test is on the coaching process, as stated on NBHWC.org exam prep.
A 60-year-old woman meets with her male coach at the clinic for her first session. The client
says, "My provider sent me for health coaching for my diabetes because my blood sugar
level is up, but I really believe everything is okay. I do not have any diabetes in my family
and I feel awesome!" This client is in which stage of change?
A. Maintenance
