HW450 Unit 10 Coaching Barrier Decision Guide Example

Reviewed by Elspeth Marlowe, MSN, RN Applied Health Coaching Purdue University Global Free custom sample in 24 to 48h

Five questions a new health coach can ask in order when a client names a barrier make up this HW450 Unit 10 professional resource. Whose barrier is it, how ready is she, what does the barrier give her, does the strategy protect her autonomy, competence and connection and what will she do at the moment it gets hard. Each question draws on a framework from the course, the stages model of Prochaska and DiClemente, Miller and Rollnick's motivational interviewing, Ryan and Deci's self-determination theory and Gollwitzer and Sheeran's implementation intentions, and each comes with an example from the Teresa case. Page two covers when to use the guide, how long it takes, what it does not replace and a five-item strategy checklist. Purdue Global HW 450 closes the BS in Health and Wellness applied course here. Two practicum coaches tested it, and their suggestions changed it.

CourseHW450 Applied Health Coaching
UnitUnit 10
Paper typeProfessional resource
LengthAbout 640 words, 5 pages double-spaced
FormatAPA 7 student paper
SchoolPurdue University Global
ProgramBS in Health and Wellness
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for HW450 Unit 10

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From Barrier to Strategy in Five Questions: A Unit 10 Professional Resource for New Health Coaches

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

HW450: Applied Health Coaching

Unit 10 Professional Resource

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The resource and its examples are composite and drawn from a teaching case; the frameworks cited are real.

What this part is doingDescribing the guide as five ordered questions in the lead tells a new coach immediately how it is meant to be used.
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Page One: The Five Questions

Question 1. Whose barrier is it? Ask whether the barrier sits in the client's behavior, in her circumstances or in something only another professional can address. If it belongs to a clinician, refer. If it belongs to circumstances, look for help and resources before strategies.

Example: Teresa's broken sleep came from her mother's illness, so the response was respite and family help, not a sleep routine.

Question 2. How ready is she for this change? Readiness differs by behavior, as the stages of change model holds (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983). For a behavior she is ready to change, plan action. For one she is not, explore without pushing.

Example: Teresa was ready to change lunches early but not to talk about wine until session three.

Question 3. What does the barrier give her? Many barriers meet a real need. A strategy that removes the need will fail; one that meets it differently may last. Asking with open questions and reflections, rather than assuming, is the core of motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2013).

Example: Wine gave Teresa the first moment of the day that was hers. The porch tea ritual kept the moment and changed the cup.

Question 4. Does the strategy protect her autonomy, competence and connection? Strategies the client chooses, that she can succeed at and that involve people she cares about are more likely to last, according to self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Example: Teresa chose Sunday lunch preparation with her son, which she could manage and which involved him.

Question 5. What will she do at the moment it gets hard? Write the strategy as an if-then plan tied to the cue where the barrier appears. Linking a response to a specific situation improves follow-through in experimental studies (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006).

Example: once her mother was asleep on a weeknight, Teresa would take tea to the porch instead of pouring wine.

The guide's first question is the one most new coaches skip, and skipping it is how a coach ends up treating a caregiver's exhaustion as a motivation problem.

Page Two: Using the Guide

When to use it. When a client names a barrier, after a setback or when progress stalls.

How long it takes. The five questions can be covered in ten to fifteen minutes of a session, and not every question needs an answer in one session.

What it does not replace. The guide does not replace training in motivational interviewing, the program's referral procedures or clinical judgment by the client's providers.

A short checklist for each strategy. Chosen by the client. Small enough to succeed this week. Tied to a cue. Involves someone she trusts, if she wishes. Recorded in her log.

How the Guide Was Built

The guide condenses the course's frameworks into the order I found myself using them with Teresa. I tested a draft with two practicum classmates, who each used it in one session. Both found Question 1 the most useful, because it stopped them from offering strategies for problems the client could not control. One suggested adding the checklist, which is now on page two. The other found Question 3 hard to ask without sounding like a therapist, so the guide now suggests an opening line: "What does that part of your day give you?"

What this part is doingReporting how test users changed the guide shows it was refined in practice rather than written in isolation.
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Limits

The guide simplifies frameworks that have their own complexities, and it is drawn largely from one case. It is meant as a starting point for new coaches, not as a substitute for supervision.

What this part is doingStating the guide's limits keeps it honest about what a two-page synthesis can and cannot do.
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References

Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects and processes. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(06)38002-1

Miller, W. R., & Rollnick, S. (2013). Motivational interviewing: Helping people change (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.

Prochaska, J. O., & DiClemente, C. C. (1983). Stages and processes of self-change of smoking: Toward an integrative model of change. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51(3), 390-395. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.51.3.390

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68

What the HW450 Unit 10 assignment asks for

Unit 10 often closes HW450 with a professional resource that synthesizes the course's frameworks into something a working coach could use, such as a guide, toolkit or decision aid. Choose an audience and a practical problem, then organize the frameworks around how a coach would actually use them. Instructors look for synthesis rather than summary: the resource should combine ideas into steps or questions, with examples. Brief citations and a reference list are expected. Many prompts ask how the resource was built and tested and what its limits are. A resource short enough to use in practice is better than a comprehensive one nobody will read. Including a worked example for each step helps new coaches see how the guide applies to a real client.

Inside the HW450 Unit 10 example

Page one sets out five questions in the order a coach would ask them, each with a sentence of explanation, a framework citation and an example from the Teresa case, from respite for her broken sleep to the porch tea ritual. A highlighted line explains why the first question, whose barrier it is, matters most and is most often skipped. Page two covers when to use the guide, the ten to fifteen minutes it takes, what it does not replace and a checklist for every strategy: chosen by the client, small, tied to a cue, involving someone she trusts and logged. A section reports how two practicum coaches tested it and what changed. Limits close the resource.

HW450 Unit 10 rubric: what earns full points

Professional resources earn their points through synthesis, usability and accuracy. Frameworks should be combined into a coherent sequence, not listed. Each element should be explained briefly and illustrated with an example. Graders reward a resource short enough to use in a session. Accurate representation of each framework, with citations, is expected. Testing with intended users, and changes made as a result, shows the resource was refined in practice. Clear statements of what the resource does not replace, such as training or referral procedures, show scope awareness. The four framework sources should be listed in APA 7.

HW450 Unit 10 help from the desk

Professional resources often become long literature reviews that no working coach would read. Another weakness is a list of frameworks with no guidance on when to use which. Some writers present a simplified tool as a substitute for training or supervision. Examples are frequently missing, which leaves new coaches unsure how to apply the steps. Resources that were never tested tend to include steps that sound good but do not fit a session. Before writing, recall the last time you were unsure what to do with a client's barrier and list the questions you wished you had asked. Send that list and your frameworks, and the resource can be drafted around them.

Get an HW450 Unit 10 example written to your instructions

Send the frameworks, the audience and the instructions with the rubric. A custom resource brings the frameworks together in a usable form. The first one is free and comes back within 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More HW450 papers and BS in Health and Wellness samples

HW450 Unit 10 questions, answered

What kind of resource fits?

A guide, toolkit or decision aid that a working coach could use.

Should it cite sources?

Yes, briefly, with a reference list.

How long should it be?

Short enough to use in practice, often a few pages.

Where can I find a free HW450 Unit 10 sample paper?

The complete HW450 Unit 10 professional resource can be read here, a two-page decision guide that turns the course's frameworks into five questions for new coaches.

What is the first question in the HW450 Unit 10 sample guide?

Whose barrier is it, because a barrier in the client's circumstances or in a clinician's domain calls for help or referral, not a behavior strategy.