As society and science are catching up with just how great prevention is for living a long, healthy life, health coaching has taken off as a popular career choice. Coaches are popping up in hospitals, wellness centers, private medical practices, and corporate wellness programs.
Health coaching is a perfect fit for that ambitious entrepreneur as well, making it a flexible career option that fits a variety of personalities and lifestyles.
Having a health coach certification is also great in combination with other licenses and certifications. Examples of this include doctors or dieticians becoming certified in coaching to add another skill set to their medical toolkit. Or a personal trainer could add in health coaching to get better at helping clients transform their bodies from a focus on weight loss to a more well-rounded perspective.
For a deeper dive into all things health coaching, check out our article that covers what health coaches are and what they do.
Our Top Picks
Best Overall: International Association of Wellness Professionals
Best for Long-term Business Success: International Association of Wellness Professionals
Best for Academics: Emory University
Best for a Focus on Nutrition & Exercise: The American Council on Exercise (ACE)
How Long Does it Take to Become a Certified Health Coach?
The great news is that health coach training tends to be pretty flexible and coaching programs run in different lengths and styles to fit various goals and needs.
Many programs are set up for adult learners, so they fit with busy schedules and full-time jobs.
Some programs are as short as 3 months in length and others are 2 years long. Knowing which program is right for you depends on understanding what you need from a program, both as a student and after graduation.
We’ve put together a list of the best health coach programs to help you compare and contrast various options to consider in your research for the right school for you.
1. International Association of Wellness Professionals (IAWP)
If you’re here now, you’re likely wondering if becoming a certified Health Coach is possible for you and exploring how to get the best possible training for your new career.
If you are passionate about holistic health, committed to building a purposeful career helping others live healthier, happier lives, and are ready to join an amazing community that is dedicated to your success, well, you’re in the right place.
An Evolution in Health Coach Training
At the IAWP, our training goes above and beyond the traditional training, you will find in most health coaching schools. The IAWP specializes in training and certifying Holistic Wellness Coaches.
Our Holistic Wellness Coaches are trained to work with a person’s whole life in order to create lasting transformations as opposed to health coaches who focus primarily on a person’s physical health, diet, or weight issues.
Our coaches use a holistic framework that helps you guide clients towards meaningful, long-lasting changes. With our holistic framework, you can help clients create healthy lifestyle changes that create well-being for a lifetime.
Our Holistic Wellness Coach Certification program is a powerful, effective and transformational training that will guide you step by step as you launch a successful career as a Holistic Wellness Coach.
The Key to an Effective Training Program is Systems and Support
When you start out on a new career path, it’s important to choose a training that has the right combination of systems and support.
The right systems ensure you have a step-by-step process to build your Wellness, Coaching, and Business knowledge, so when you launch your career you can hit the ground running.
But systems alone aren’t enough. You also need real, personal support to ensure you gain real-life, practical experience during your training.
When you join the IAWP, you can feel confident that you will get both.
Let’s jump into our three core systems and review how you will be supported during every phase of your training experience.
Wellness 360™ is a Paradigm Shift in Health and Wellness
The first element we will cover is our proprietary Wellness 360 System. Wellness 360 is holistic philosophy, backed by a proven system that connects the 12 elements of your life and allows you to create wellness transformations using a unique, three-level system.
Unlike most health solutions, Wellness 360 is not a quick fix or a rigid plan, it’s an evolving tool you can use with yourself and your clients for a lifetime. With Wellness 360 you have the tools and confidence to support your new clients with any wellness challenges they might present.
“I started feeling like me again. And it was amazing! My energy was coming back, my vibrance, my color. There are so many great things that I gained from Wellness 360 and of course, as I started healing, I wanted to start sharing this information with everyone I could. I knew there was so many people who could be helped. This program not only healed me but provided me a new opportunity to create a career I love helping others.”
– Kim Goeltom, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
CORE COACHING™ is a Proprietary Methodology That Will Help You Change Lives
The second element you’ll receive in your training is our CORE Coaching System, which includes our proven CORE Coaching Method™, a powerful nine-step process that our coaches and their clients say is like no other coaching method they have ever experienced before.
The CORE Coaching Method™ combines the art of coaching with proven, cutting-edge psychology techniques that address how the brain works in order to help your client make lasting changes.
But CCM is not just about “changing our habits” for the short-term, instead, it’s about creating lasting transformations for life by helping clients get to the root of their patterns.
Our CORE Coaching Method™ is a powerful coaching system that our students, graduates, and their clients have said is like no other self-growth process they have ever experienced before.
“The CORE Coaching Method not only helped me with my own challenges but it helped me to help others. It helps me to this day to be a better coach for people and help them through the challenges that come up as they go through life – insert any life challenge and it works!”
– Natalia Edelmann, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
Discover How Our Proven Business Model Will Help You Build a Purposeful and Profitable Practice
The third element you’ll receive in your training is our Coach Launch System, which guides you through the exact steps you will take to attract and sign up your first ten coaching clients so you know what’s needed to establish and grow a thriving coaching business.
This business system is so powerful, we guarantee you will attract at least one new client by the time you graduate. We are the only Health or Wellness Coaching training organization in the world to guarantee your success as a coach.
Now, that’s the bare minimum we expect from our graduates. Since our program is hands-on and centered around building practice during your training, most of our coaches in training have many more by then.
More importantly, after you graduate, you will have a proven system that you can use to attract new clients on demand.
“Business was one of my weak points – knowing how to start one and put myself out there. And here I am today – a successful coach with clients! Who knew that in less than a year my life would take this turn. I’m so grateful to the IAWP for the education, guidance and direction I’ve received.”
– Eileen Franco, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
The Most Hands On, Personal, Immersive Training Program Available Today
And finally, the fourth element you will receive is an experiential learning experience unlike any other in the training industry.
We call it our Immersive Transformation Training Method™, where you will personally experience and practice everything you learn in your program, allowing you complete mastery of your wellness, coaching, and business skills so you are ready to confidently coach clients and build a profitable practice.
Through our Immersive Transformation Training Method™, you’ll experience unlimited, personal, live support every step of your journey.
Even better, the support continues after you graduate, so you will never be left alone to figure out how to help a client or how to grow your practice.
“Sometimes when you’re doing things online you feel like things are going into a black hole. At the IAWP, it was the complete opposite. Having the support and interaction they provide during training was key. And even after my training, they’re still here supporting me. There’s always somewhere to go for support!”
– Molly Sommerhalder, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
A Training Program Designed Around Your Life and Schedule
All of your training is delivered through our online, virtual classroom where you will have the flexibility to complete your program at your own pace.
Your virtual classroom is designed to work on any device, so you can keep up with your studies via desktop, tablet, or mobile. Which means you can stay on track anywhere in the world.
While the average student completes our program in 6 months, many of our coaches in training choose to go faster or slower, based on their individual needs.
See, at the IAWP, you won’t be forced to complete the program on our timeline to get industry-leading personal support, the IAWP Holistic Wellness Certification program is set up to work on your schedule.
At each stage in your training, you will have unlimited access to live calls and labs where you will practice what you learn, implementing the systems and skills until you achieve mastery.
With over 25 monthly live immersion events every month, you can pick the days and times to dive into your training and get the support you need.
“The coaching labs give you real practice on coaching people, it’s tremendous. I can’t imagine going through a program that didn’t offer those types of experiences. It takes me a long time to buy something. I research and do a lot of thinking. The support I got at the IAWP was amazing and it keeps continuing, even after graduation. I definitely made the right choice!”
– Kelly Williams, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
Extensive, In Depth Curriculum in Wellness, Coaching and Business
The IAWP Holistic Wellness Coach Certification is designed to help you build a strong foundation. If your goal is to educate others and share the message of holistic health, you are in the right place.
As we have reviewed, the IAWP’s training program is focused on three essentials:
- First, wellness education is needed to help people with their wellness goals and health challenges.
- Second, a proven coaching method that creates lasting changes.
- And third, the systems + support for launching a wellness coach business.
With the IAWP Holistic Wellness Coach Certification curriculum, you will gain all the skills and knowledge you need to help others and create success as a Wellness Coach.
Our Wellness 360 Education™ provides you a comprehensive training in wellness, holistic health, nutrition and natural healing. You’ll feel confident coaching clients and supporting them to achieve their health goals.
But Wellness 360 is more than an education. It’s a powerful, multi-layered, dynamic system across 12 elements and three layers of well-being that allows you to provide a unique solution to your coaching clients.
Get oriented with our state of the art classroom and receive a complete guided tour of your journey as a Holistic Wellness Coach.
In Wellness 360, the body represents not only your physical body, but your internal one. In this module, you’ll learn what you can do to create a healthy body both inside and out.
This module includes:
- How to identify your unique body type and work with it rather than against it
- Understanding biochemical individuality and the role it plays in wellness
- The science of Ayurveda and how to coach clients based on various Ayurvedic types
- Holistic fitness and how to develop an exercise plan that supports you
- An understanding of alternative health therapies that complement Holistic Wellness coaching
- Plus, you’ll gain clarity on what lifestyle choices will support you to feel best for years to come in your own body.
Food is more than what you eat, it’s how you eat. In this module, you’ll cover both important aspects of food and dig into the fundamentals of holistic nutrition.
This module includes:
- Holistic Nutrition essentials including macronutrients, micronutrients, phytonutrients, antioxidants and various dietary theories
- The best way to supercharge your metabolism
- How to get to the root of food cravings and overcome them with simple strategies
- How to identify food sensitivities and create holistic meal plans for special diets
- How to help your client develop healthy cooking skills for life
- Why our connection to or food and the Earth matters
- Step-by-step method to develop a mindful eating practice
- Plus, you’ll learn about the greater connection between food and you so that you can finally answer the question “What truly nourishes me?”
Get ready to dive into what “rest” truly means on all levels – sleep, self-care and learning how to support ourselves while living a busy lifestyle. If you struggle with sleep or energy or want to help those who do, this module will show you how to naturally work with those challenges and create lasting changes so you can feel your very best, everyday.
This module includes:
- The top strategies to overcome stress without adding more to your to-do list.
- How to use natural solutions for common sleep challenges and clients experiencing insomnia
- Proven techniques to boost your energy naturally
- Lifestyle solutions to support clients who experience chronic fatigue
- The science behind the hormones cortisol and oxytocin and the role they play in stress management
- Self care strategies you can begin to practice as a coach and share with your own clients
In Wellness 360, Water is not just about what you drink, it also represents your emotional health and your ability to work through life’s challenges. In this element you’ll explore beverages for your body’s health, the food-mood connection and take a deep dive into your emotional well-being.
This module includes:
- The importance of water and how to determine the amount each individual should drink
- How to optimize health with wellness beverages and support your clients to reduce caffeine and sugar
- The interconnection between what we eat and how we feel
- How to support clients who experience emotional eating
- Proven strategies to create greater balance and get into the flow of life
Sun represents not only sunshine, but also our immune system and our personal power. You’ll take a deep dive into these three layers of the Sun element through lessons that include reducing inflammation, thyroid health, adrenal health, hormone health and much more.
This module includes:
- How to naturally boost and support your immune system using preventative health strategies
- Chronic Inflammation natural management approaches
- How to support your coaching clients to achieve optimum Vitamin D levels
- Expert protocols for clients with autoimmune concerns including thyroid disorders, adrenal fatigue and hormone imbalances
- Supplement approaches for immune health
- How to guide your clients to adopt an Anti-inflammatory lifestyle that increases their energy and improves their health
- How to develop your personal power on your journey to becoming a Wellness Coach
- Empowerment techniques both you and your coaching clients can practice to improve self-esteem, confidence and mental health
Air represents not only the air we breathe, but our ability to let go and adapt to change. In this module, you’ll explore the three layers of Air and how to create more balance within this element with strategies that support you to avoid toxins, breathe properly and tap into your life force energy so that you can open up to all that is possible for you on your wellness journey.
This module includes:
- Proper Breathing Techniques to reduce stress and improve overall health
- Simple methods to improve air quality at home
- How Nature impacts Wellness and how to support clients to incorporate green living
- Identifying and Avoiding Toxic Ingredients, including the top 20 Toxins to Avoid in Your Food
- How to develop a Local, Seasonal Nutrition Plan
- Discover steps to adapt to change and help others make life transitions with ease
- Techniques for Tapping into your life force energy so you can learn to let go of what no longer serves you
Often overlooked when it comes to wellness, how we view our life and our world directly impacts the choices we make and how we feel every day. During your Wellness 360 Mindset module, you will learn how to create a healthy brain, both physically and mentally.
This modules includes:
- The brain-gut connection and natural approaches to improving both
- A study of microbiome and it’s role in gut health, including how to coach clients with digestive concerns
- An understanding of the Acid-Alkaline Chemistry of the body
- Intuitive Eating and how to coach your clients to listen to their bodies using The Four Step Slow Eating Process
- Cravings – How to listen to your own body, identify the root of your cravings and reduce sugar without deprivation or dieting
- How to master your own mindset and easily overcome stressful situations
- A proven method for developing new patterns that will support you to make lasting changes
- How to use Mindfulness techniques to support busy, overwhelmed clients
Your health can be drastically affected by what you do every day. Learning how to balance our careers with the rest of our lives is important for overall wellness. In this module, you’ll learn how to develop healthy work habits and develop a career approach that helps you lead a fulfilling professional and personal life.
This modules includes:
How to create a healthy workplace
- Effective strategies for setting boundaries at work
- The top tips for healthy eating on-the-go and meal prep for busy clients
- Strategies to support clients to achieve work-life balance
- Navigating career transitions for Wellness Coaches
- How to support your clients to find a career they enjoy as part of their wellness plan
- How to create an impact in your career as a Wellness Coach
Our well-being is hugely dependent on the nature and quality of our relationships. This means all the relationships in your life, including partners, spouses, parents, siblings, coworkers, neighbors, and the most important relationship, the one with yourself. In this module, you’ll learn healthy relationship skills and how to navigate relationships on your path to wellness.
This module includes:
- How to coach clients for relationship health
- Healthy strategies for developing positive workplace relationships
- Developing healthy parent and child relationships
- Family Health and Wellness
- How to resolve conflict and develop positive communication skills
- Proven practices to support you in cultivating self awareness and self-love
- How to create community to enhance relationships
Financial health is all about our relationship with money. That relationship is so much deeper than just our budgets, financial investments, and spending habits. Money has its own energy that carries a certain weight and can affect us on a deep level. In this module, you’ll explore your own money mindset and financial well-being.
This module includes:
- An understanding of financial health and its impact on well-being
- How to heal your relationship with money
- A proven tool to assess your current financial well-being
- Coaching clients for financial health within Wellness 360
- How to overcome resistance to money
- Developing an abundance mindset
- A step-by-step guide to changing your money mindset
- Strategies to develop self-worth
In Wellness 360, we recognize that spirituality is a part of our well-being and an essential to creating a healthy, balanced life. In this module, you will take your own personal journey to discover what spiritual practices contribute to your wellness and learn how to support your coaching clients to incorporate this element into their wellness plan.
You’ll also examine a variety of strategies that will help you to stay connected and tap into your body’s innate wisdom.
This module includes:
- An understanding of spiritual health and its role in wellness
- A comprehensive study of Heart Health including both its role in spirituality and impact on our physical body
- Healing heart strategies for various disease states including hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol
- The Chakra System and its role in wellness
- How to connect with your own spirituality
- Powerful ways to support you clients to develop a spiritual practice
- Proven methods to tap into your body’s innate wisdom
Purpose is far more than what we do for a living. It’s an inner knowing that guides us as we move through the world, grow within ourselves, and tells us what we are here to do. In this module, you’ll tap into your true purpose, discover your passion and create more meaning in your life, while learning how to guide your clients to do the same.
This module includes:
- The element of Purpose and its role in Wellness 360
- How to find your purpose in life and help others to find theirs
- Proven methods to explore your passions and discover your purpose
- How to help your clients to find more meaning in their lives
- How to stay true to yourself
- An step-by-step process to develop authenticity and vulnerability
- Plus, embark on a journey to meet your true self and find fulfillment
Our CORE Coaching Method™ combines the art of coaching with proven, cutting-edge psychology techniques that address how the brain works in order to help your client make lasting changes.
But the CORE Coaching Method is not just about “changing our habits” for the short-term. Instead you will create lasting transformations for life by helping clients get to the root of their patterns.
Discover our proprietary coaching method that has helped thousands of coaches lead client sessions with clarity and confidence and help people transform their lives.
This module includes:
- Discover how The CORE Coaching Method will unlock your client’s true potential and finally allow them to achieve their deepest desires
- The 4 Step Transformation Process – A step-by-step process you can use every time to create client breakthroughs
- The 7 most powerful questions to unlock your client’s subconscious mind and get to the real reason they haven’t reached their goals
- Go beyond traditional coaching techniques and learn how to unlock the core issues that are really holding people back from achieving their goals
Explore the workings of the brain, including how the conscious and subconscious mind function and play a role in coaching. In this module, you will uncover your own programming and begin applying the CORE Coaching Method.
This module includes:
- How your programming affects your reality
- The science behind behavior change and coaching
- How to determine verbal and non-verbal cues in coaching
- What to do when a clients says “I don’t know”
- How to step into your role as a guide for your clients
Learn the steps every coach must know to conduct successful coaching sessions that have clients coming back for more.
This module includes:
- How to create transformation following the four primary steps of CORE.
- How to successfully prepare for a session without wasting time and show up as an empowered coach in the moment
- The most common mistake coaches make during sessions that leave clients unfulfilled
- Exactly what to say during a coaching session to help a client get unstuck in 30 minutes or less
- Discover how to set up and start off successful sessions, so you can stop “overgiving” with sessions that never end on time and leave you feeling like you haven’t done enough.
Learn a step-by-step process for supporting your coaching clients to align their goals with their actions. In this module you will learn how to ask powerful questions and discovery specific tools for preparing your coaching space.
This module includes:
- A proven roadmap you can follow for session success with every client
- An examination of how and when clients are ready to make changes
- The 4 steps of the client commitment journey
- The three things you must do during a coaching session to ensure your client follows through and takes action between sessions
- How to ask powerful questions to get to the root of your client’s challenges
Learn how to gain your client’s confidence and build trust in your professional relationship. This module will support you to help your client’s set goals and feel empowered in their coaching program.
This module includes:
- How to build client rapport authentically and quickly
- The role of self-esteem in coaching
- The Theory of Planned Behavior and how to support your client’s to reach their goals
- The Art of Mirroring and using highly effective coaching tools
Discover the five steps to creating lasting changes and transformation while learning how to support your client’s to create new patterns that support their goals. In this module, you’ll begin working with proven neuro linguistic programming tools to add to your coaching skills.
This module includes:
- Top tools for igniting lasting change
- A five step process to take your client from inaction to action
- The science of neuro linguistic programming
- How to coach clients to discover what’s truly standing in their way
Take an in-depth dive into the nine steps of the CORE Coaching Method and gain powerful insight into how to deliver transformation for your clients. Gain confidence to use these nine steps in initial consultations to inspire new clients and to motivate change for existing clients.
This module includes:
- The 9 Steps Successful Session Model – a proven roadmap you can follow for every session
- How to get and stay in a Flow State while you deliver your coaching
- The #1 most important and often missing step in a coaching conversation
- A formula to determine your session length and format, guiding you to feel empowered to start and end sessions on time without guilt
- A powerful process to dive into the past, present and future with your clients and create action steps they will stick with
Every client has different challenges and ways of learning. In this module, you’ll learn how to work with different client types and overcome obstacles with challenging clients.
This module includes:
- How to relate to your coaching clients
- Diversity in coaching – how to develop empathy and awareness
- The 4 Client Styles and becoming a skilled coach
- The secret to supporting clients who are resistant
- Biochemical individuality and How We Think
- Meta-programming in Coaching
You’ve been practicing coaching and growing as a coach. Now it’s time to
build on your coaching skills with advanced techniques to support your clients. In this module, you’ll learn the top three reasons clients could be stuck and gain insight into how to go deeper to remove their obstacles.
This module includes:
- The five advanced coaching tools every seasoned coach needs to know
- How to support your coaching clients to discover past memories that may be affecting their present reality and what to do about it
- Coaching tools for working with emotions and fears
- Discovering the Shadow side of our patterns and empowering your clients to know themselves
As you hone your skills and gain more experience, you’ll learn how to not only help your clients reach a goal but make lasting changes for life. In this module, you’ll discover how to create client transformations using powerful techniques.
This module includes:
- How to support you clients to unhook from their past
- When to refer your clients to a licensed professional or therapist
- Accountability and responsibility in coaching
- The art of self-talk and how to change our daily mindset
- The #1 coaching technique used to support clients to shift their patterns
In this module you’ll explore the inner working of the mind and gain confidence in supporting your clients to shift their thinking. Discover how to tame the inner critic and help your clients address the parts that are holding them back.
This module includes:
- How to connect with your inner critic so you and your clients can heal old patterns
- The top 3 mindsets every coach must master and exactly how to do it
- Supportive exercises to distinguish the inner critic from the inner voice and take empowered action
Learn how to set up your virtual coaching office for success. From staying organized to client communication, you’ll learn the essentials to staying productive and purposeful. Expand your goals as you learn into support, practice and feedback.
This module includes:
- The #1 Tools you must use to run a successful, virtual coaching practice
- How to leverage technology to stay organized and professional
- Powerful productivity tools to apply both in your practice and in your personal life
Our Coach Launch™ Business Pillar, contains all the tools and support you need to quickly build an authentic and profitable coaching business you love.
When you’re passionate about helping others, “business” may not be the first thing on your mind. We get that. That’s why we give you the systems you need so you can focus your time and energy on what you do best – supporting your coaching clients.
- The truth about creating success as a coach and mistakes to avoid
- How to discover your talents and apply them to your new coaching career
- The 8 steps of preparation and how to create your customized roadmap
- The simple time management solution successful coaches use to 3x their productivity, while avoiding distractions and overwhelm
- The why, when and how of sharing your story
- How to create connection and impact through storytelling
- The Share Your Story Blueprint to guide you to unlock your own story
- How to authentically market your passion to your ideal clients
- The 5 Steps to Uncover Your Niche from Your Story
Discover who you truly want to serve as a coach and how you can help them. In this module you’ll gain clarity on your people and learn how to connect with your tribe.
This module includes:
- How to find and lead a tribe you love
- How to build authentic relationships with your ideal coaching clients
- How to share your message in an authentic way
- A simple formula to align your passion with your people
- The 5 Steps to Track Your Tribe and make meaningful connections with your clients
- Your Niche for Now – How to pick a profitable, purposeful niche in 30 minutes and start attracting clients right away
- Narrowing Your Niche – A four step guide to clarify your cients and uncover the secret language that will magnetically attract your tribe
- The Niche Matrix – If you have more than one niche in mind, use this powerful tool to quickly determine the most profitable group of clients to work with now
- The Nail Your Niche Blueprint – a powerful guide to support you in helping others both as you get started and for years to come
Follow the IAWP’s proven formula to design your unique signature coaching program. In this module you’ll learn how to organize, share and powerfully attract new clients to your coaching program while you provide tons of value to solve their biggest challenges.
This module includes:
- Learn how to position your coaching program as a must-have essential rather than a luxury clients can’t afford.
- Discover the simple steps to package what you do and avoid trading dollars for hours
- The Top 10 Places to Find New Coaching Clients
- How to customize your client’s experience to meet their exact needs, while staying within your system
- The hidden trap most coaches fall into that sabotages their marketing and how to avoid it
- The #1 way to authentically market your coaching program that most coaches never learn
- The Three Coaching Superpower Types and understanding your own type
- Potential Pitfalls to avoid based on your Coaching Superpower
- Your Superpower Track and how to build your business so that it supports your superpower
- Your Specific Superpower Pathway to guide you on which types of programs and types of clients will be your best fit
- Pick your Perfect Podium – Instead of being everything to everyone, learn how to show up as you and make authentic connections.
- Craft your Signature Message so your ideal clients recognize you are the coach for them.
- Tap into the Power of Workshops – both local and virtual – to educate and build rapport, rather than feel trapped by marketing.
- Workshop Mindset Must-Haves – Powerful strategies to overcome pre-workshop jitters so you can show up confident and ready to deliver a powerful workshop.
- The Six Step System to Planning a WOW Workshop
- The two proven, powerful methods to share your Signature Message both offline and online.
- Plus, Virtual Business strategies you’ll be able to implement with ease
- Discovery Sessions vs. Free Consults – how knowing the difference will make you a successful coach rather than a struggling one
- Learn the secret language successful coaches use during discovery sessions so that they can confidently enroll new coaching clients
- The 5 most powerful questions to ask a client during a discovery session
- The #1 mistake most coaches make during discovery sessions that cost them clients and cash
- How to create a mission for your new wellness coaching practice
- The 2 Types of Partnerships Every Coach Must Have in their business and how to foster them
- The benefits of partnerships in a holistic coaching business and how to collaborate with others for the benefit of all
- How to choose a partner wisely and the mistakes to avoid in business partnerships
- Your Partnership Action Plan – the 7 Steps to connect with your ideal partners, even if you’re an introvert or don’t have a network yet
- How to avoid hustle mode and bring laser focus to your business
- A proven technique our coaches use to organize their schedule to stay energized and productive every week
- Discover how to focus on what you do best and leverage your talents without compromising your goals
- Top tips for reducing clutter and managing your business like a pro
- Exactly how to set up your client records and business systems so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel
- Plus, powerful rituals to stay clear and calm every day
- Money Mindset strategies to evolve your thinking and create prosperity
- Discover then heal your own money story so it doesn’t hold you back any longer
- Develop a powerful Prosperity Mindset using a simple strategy that works for anyone, even for those who are reading this right now and feeling doubtful it’s possible
- Define what success personally means to you and how to build your new business around this vision
- Plus, how to powerfully price your programs with two proven, authentic methods aligned with service and transformation
- Measuring Your Metrics – the top things to evaluate in your business and how to tweak them for even greater success as you grow
- Milestone Management – learn our technique for keeping tabs on what’s most important in your business
- Three simple strategies to enroll more clients as you grow without more work
- How to expand your offerings to group coaching or online program
- The nine must-have strategies for coaches who want to go from local to global
- Time-saving technology that every coach must use to leverage their unique gifts
Learn from the World’s Greatest Leaders in Wellness, Coaching & Business
All of this training is delivered by top experts in wellness, coaching, and holistic business. We are adding new faculty and guest teachers every month to ensure your education is always up to date and evolving. Plus, you have the personal support of our Master Holistic Wellness Coaches and our staff, who are here to guide you every step of the way.
“The training, the staff and faculty – it’s all been life transforming. I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for the IAWP.”
– Tania Mather, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
With everything you receive by enrolling in our program, you’ll have everything you need to become a successful Holistic Wellness Coach – you’ll master your own wellness, become a highly effective coach, and launch a profitable practice.
The IAWP is Globally Recognized and Accredited
It’s also important to note that the IAWP Holistic Wellness Certification Program is independently approved and accredited by the most reputable and longest-standing organizations in the world.
The IAWP Wellness Coach Certification is CCE accredited through the International Coach Federation. Plus we have accreditations from the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP), the Canadian Health Coach Alliance, and the Canadian Association for Integrative Nutrition.
It’s also important to note that the IAWP Holistic Wellness Certification Program is independently approved and accredited by the most reputable and longest-standing organizations in the world.
The IAWP Wellness Coach Certification is CCE accredited through the International Coach Federation. Plus we have accreditations from the American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP), the Canadian Health Coach Alliance, and the Canadian Association for Integrative Nutrition.
It’s important to make sure that the program you choose is fully accredited like ours is because that means the curriculum has met a high standard in terms of the education and support you will receive.
So if you’ve been stuck up until now, whether you’re stuck in a career that doesn’t light you up or stuck in a life that isn’t in alignment with who you are or you simply know that you’re meant to do something more.
There’s no need for you to continue feeling purposeless.
You can create a life and career you love. You can transform your life and learn how to transform others.
“Over the years, I’d fallen into some bad health habits like poor eating and toxic relationships. Worse yet, I felt completely lost and disconnected from my life’s purpose. Through my training at the IAWP, I found the missing answers to aligning my purpose with the rest of my life. Now I’ve created a career I love and am living life on my own terms.”
– Catherine Spriggs, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
Take the Next Step Today
Yes, it takes courage to follow your passion, pursue a new career and do something different. But if you want to make a difference, live life on your own terms, and help others, you have to lean into that courage.
And when you do, our team at the IAWP will be here to ensure you get the best training, the most powerful systems, and unlimited personal support so you can build the career of your dreams as a Holistic Wellness Coach.
And you’ll do it all with the support of a thriving, holistic community.
“Despite the fears and limiting beliefs I had, I chose to listen to my gut feeling that becoming an IAWP Holistic Wellness Coach was the ideal career for me. I allowed myself to fully believe and take the leap. Being in the IAWP Community, it’s just amazing to be surrounded by like-minded people who are spreading that same message of health and wellness and so passionate, supportive and inspiring.”
– Alie Harwood, IAWP Certified Holistic Wellness Coach
Today, we invite you to start your journey and take the next step to follow your passion. Simply click here to schedule your complimentary Wellness Coach Career Session with one of our Admission Advisors. Our Advisors are all graduates of the IAWP, so they can share what it’s like to train with us and the advantages of a career as a Holistic Wellness Coach.
We look forward to meeting you personally and supporting you on your journey to becoming a Certified Holistic Wellness Coach.
2. ACE Health Coach Certification
As a leader in the field of certifying personal trainers, ACE has a focus on exercise and behavior change in their educational perspective.
Certification Programs Offered
ACE offers a Health Coach certification program with two levels: Basic and Plus. The two levels differ only in the supportive materials offered. The program has a fitness-minded approach with the foundational education needed to be an effective coach.
It’s a self-paced program that can be completed in 80-100 hours. The only time limit is that the certification exam needs to be taken within 6 months of course purchase.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
In order to take the ACE certifying exam, you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Hold a current adult CPR and AED certificate including live skills check
- Present a current government-issued photo ID with signature (driver’s license, passport or military ID)
Additionally, you’ll need to prove that you also have one of the following:
- Current NCCA-accredited certification in fitness, nutrition, healthcare, wellness, human resources, or a related field
- An associate’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university in fitness, exercise science, nutrition, healthcare, wellness, or a related field
- You will also have the option to upload a professional license (e.g. RN, LCSW, etc.) if applicable.
- A completed health coach training and education program approved by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC)
- A minimum of two years of documented work experience in coaching, leading, designing, implementing, or facilitating one or more of the following: behavior or lifestyle change, exercise, wellness, nutrition, or physical activity
Pricing
The Basic program is $999 and the Plus program is $1,299. The exam cost is included in the price of the training.
3. ADAPT Certified Functional Health Coach
The Kresser Institute was founded in 2015 to promote a framework of evolutionary and ancestral diet and lifestyle, as well as a Functional Medicine approach to healthcare.
Certification Programs Offered
The Kresser Institute offers just a single health coach certification program. It is focused on functional nutrition and takes an “ancestral” view on what constitutes good nutrition (a variation of the Paleo diet).
The training teaches nutrition, coaching skills, and business skills, and is a 12-month online training program.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
In order to qualify to enroll in the program, applicants must have:
- A professional license, certification, or associate’s degree or higher in any healthcare or wellness-related field
- Or have at least two years of full-time work experience in a healthcare or wellness-related field
Pricing
Current pricing for the program is $9,997 paid upfront or $899 per month for 12 months (for a total of $10,788).
4. AFPA Health & Wellness Coach Certification
The AFPA (American Fitness Professionals Association) was founded in 1994 with a mission to certify professionals who help people live fit and healthy lives.
Certification Programs Offered
The AFPA offers a wide variety of certifications in the health, nutrition, and fitness fields. Their programs don’t come from one particular nutritional slant and they focus more on general health principles and coaching practices.
They offer two different coaching certifications: the Health & Wellness Coach Certification and the Holistic Health Coach Certification.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
The program only requires a couple of things to sign up:
- Students must be at least 18 years old
- They must be able to speak and read English well
Pricing
Each program has a different price point. The Health & Wellness Coach Certification is $699 and the Holistic Health Coach Certification is $1,599. Payment plans are available.
If a student doesn’t get at least an 85 score on the certification exam, they are also responsible for a $75 retake fee.
5. Duke Integrative Medicine Health Coach Professional Training Program
Located in Durham, North Carolina, Duke University’s program is one of the only health coach training offered by a medical center that also offers a hybrid model of learning.
Certification Programs Offered
Duke offers an Integrative Health Coach training program that is primarily online. The training is offered in two stages. The Foundation Course is offered as both an in-person class over a total of 8 intensive days at the college or as a fully online program completed over 18 weeks. This is then followed by the Certification Course that takes students through the process of wrapping up their coaching skills training and getting certified.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
To apply to the Duke program, you must have at least a bachelor’s degree in any field. They will make an exception for people with 3 or more years of experience in a medical or allied health field.
Pricing
The Foundation Course is $4,440 and the Certification Course is $1,440.
6. Primal Health Coach Program
The Primal Health Coach Institute was founded by Paleo diet expert Mark Sission in 2016 in response to his enthusiastic fans’ request for deeper training in his methodology.
Certification Programs Offered
The Institute offers a health coach program with a nutritional and wellness emphasis on “ancestral” health perspectives (a paleo, low-carb approach). It’s entirely self-paced and online with rolling admissions.
There is an additional Level 2 Certification Course that focuses on helping coaches to become board certified. It’s a 12-week live training held online with limited enrollment and is only open twice per year.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
There are no prerequisites to participating in the program, however, it is based on a lot of science so it can be helpful to at least have comfort with scientific principles.
For the Level 2 program, students must have completed and become certified in the foundational coaching program.
Pricing
The Primal Health Coach training is $4,495 and the Level 2 Certification Course is $1,895. Payment plans are offered.
7. Institute for Integrative Nutrition
Founded in 1992, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition started as a collaborative effort in New York City, which grew to eventually become an online coach training program.
Certification Programs Offered
The IIN core Health Coach program is focused on nutrition and wellness. It is a completely online program and offers a broad perspective on health and wellness from multiple cultures and traditions.
It typically takes 1 year to complete the program and is generally self-paced.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
You only need a high school diploma, GED, or equivalent to apply to the program.
Pricing
The program is currently $6,795 and they offer payment plans.
8. Health Coach Institute
The Health Coach Institute emphasizes training its coaches in how to inspire behavior change in clients.
Certification Programs Offered
The Health Coach Institute offers two levels of programs. The foundational program is what students take to become a Health Coach. It’s focused on behavior change paired with introductory business training and nutrition. It is fully online and can be completed in 6 months.
The next level training is a Coach Mastery program focused on increasing coaching skills and building a practice. This training is a 12-month program and is available to any life or health coach who would benefit from the program.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
There are no prerequisites to apply for the program.
Pricing
The foundational course is $3,995 when you pay in full or $4,495 when broken down into 5-month payments.
9. Dr. Sears Wellness Institute
The Dr. Sears Wellness Institute was co-founded by a father-son physician team that is both well-known in the world of alternative and functional medicine.
Certification Programs Offered
The Health Coach training at the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute is unique in its structure. You can build your own training based on life stages, which allows for customization.
They offer training for various life stages, including: Families, Adults & Seniors, and Pregnancy. They also offer advanced coach training.
Each life stage training takes an initial 6 weeks, with additional programs adding on another 3 weeks of training. All programs are held online and are self-directed.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
There are no prerequisites for enrollment.
Pricing
Prices are based on how many life stages you want to include in your training. One course is $945, two combined life-stage courses are $1,345, and three combined courses are $1,645.
To add the Advanced Course to your training, the pricing is as follows:
- Advanced Course + 1 life stage course = $2,995
- Advanced Course + 2 life stage courses = $3,345
- Advanced Course + 3 life stage courses = $3,645
Payment plans are available.
10. Emory University
Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Emory University is a leader in medical education and one of the few universities to offer a health coach training program.
Certification Programs Offered
The Health and Wellness Coaching certificate is offered through Emory’s Continuing Education department and is a fully online 20-week program.
The program emphasizes nutrition and chronic disease, plus it focuses on training students for becoming certified with the National Board of Health and Wellness Coaches (NBHWC). Training is live (synchronous) and it’s mandatory that classes be attended online.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
In order to qualify to apply to this program, you’ll need at least a bachelor’s degree. There may be exceptions for those with an associate’s degree and specific work experience.
Pricing
The program is a total of $3,595.
11. National Society of Health Coaches (NSHC)
The National Society of Health Coaches is one of the only health coach training programs that specifically focus on licensed medical professionals.
Certification Programs Offered
As this program was created for licensed healthcare professionals, students can only become certified if they have a specific license listed on the NSHC’s website (no exceptions allowed). If you aren’t a licensed provider, you can still complete the program but you’ll only get a certificate of completion.
The program is fully online, with a heavy emphasis on evidence-based research and scientific principles from the perspective of a clinician. It’s a self-study program that relies on a textbook that prepares you to pass the certification test. It should take at least 85 hours to prepare for the test.
Requirements Needed Before Enrollment
Anyone can sign up for the program, but only licensed healthcare providers can become certified.
Pricing
It’s $595 to complete the program and group discounts are available (typically used for group medical practices).
Is Certification Required to Become a Health Coach?
While there isn’t a regulatory body in the United States that requires certification or licensure of any kind, it’s considered an industry standard that coaches be certified by an accredited program.
Employers won’t consider hiring a coach that’s not certified and clients will be skeptical of coaches who don’t appear to be properly trained with documented credentials.
By achieving certification, you’re demonstrating that you’ve got the experience, skills, and education necessary to do the job right.
Your certification will give you the confidence that you can be the best coach for your clients that you can be. And you’ll know that you’re giving them the best advice, support, and up-to-date information that will create the biggest changes in their lives.
Choose the Right Program for You
There are many different certified Health Coach training programs out there, with various perspectives and frameworks for all sorts of career goals. If you’re interested in helping people achieve whole-life wellness and create more well-being, a Holistic Wellness Coach training program might be the right fit for you.
By combining an understanding of health with perspectives on lifestyle and behavioral choices, you’ll be able to help clients connect the dots between things going on in their lives and their overall wellness.
With expert coaching training, you’ll then be able to help them make sustainable changes that lead to meaningful improvements that they feel confident about.
The IAWP’s business training model sets you up for success as an entrepreneur, offering ready-to-go marketing materials and systems that help you hit the ground running.
You won’t be left in the dark or without mentors, as can be common in other programs. You’ll get access to support for a lifetime, guaranteeing your business’ success.
Today, we invite you to start your journey and learn more about becoming a Certified Holistic Wellness Coach with the IAWP.
Simply click here to schedule your complimentary Wellness Coach Career Session with one of our Admission Advisors. Our Advisors are all graduates of the IAWP, so they can share what it’s like to train with us and the advantages of a career as a Holistic Wellness Coach.
We look forward to meeting you personally and supporting you on your journey to becoming a Certified Holistic Wellness Coach.
