What’s the Best Health Coach Certification Program?

A health coach is a fitness, nutrition, and wellness coach all in one. It’s common for professionals in this role to work with clients who have sometimes complex health care needs. As their coach, you can help them achieve higher levels of wellness while hitting their physical and mental health goals. This involves giving them steps they can take to get where they want to be, along with providing health education.

If a health coach feels like a good fit, getting your certification can help prepare you to succeed in this important role. Let’s talk about why certification is important, then we’ll get into how to find the best health coach certification program for you.

Why Pursue Health Coach Certification?

If you’ve never worked as a health coach, a certification course provides the knowledge and skills you need. You learn about some of the most common health conditions and the challenges they create for overall wellness. You also learn techniques for creating positive lifestyle changes, such as how to lower stress and increase motivation.

What if you’ve already been working as a health coach? What can certification do for you? Being a certified coach gives you the credential to back up your experience. It tells potential clients that you have a certain level of knowledge. It also signifies a higher level of professional excellence.

Health coaching certification can even open up more career options. Many companies that employ health and wellness coaches require certification. Completing a health coaching certification program helps you qualify for these positions.

Or maybe you want to open a business as a health coach. A certification program that includes business advice helps prepare you for this step. It gives you tips for not just creating but also marketing and selling your health coaching program. It can also help you set your health coach rates.

Finding the Best Health Coach Certification Program: What to Look For

If you’ve done any amount of looking for a health coach certification program, you likely found that each one is different. This can make it difficult to decide on the best coach certification for you.

To help with this, here is a checklist of things to look for:

• An established certification program. A coach certification course with a long-standing record has had time to fine-tune its program. This provides a stronger, more streamlined course. It also shows that the certifying agency understands the necessary elements of certification. Look for the year that the certifying agency was formed. The more time between then and now, the better.

• Accreditations and affiliations. Accreditation means that the health coach certification provider has gone through a rigorous qualification process. These accreditations don’t even necessarily have to do with health coaching. Taking the time to obtain any accreditation shows that the organization finds it important to uphold high standards in training and education. Affiliations are important because they show the organizations that are willing to be linked with that health coach institute. When those affiliations are high in quality, the health coach certification provider is likely high in quality too.

• Health coaching role overview. Why does this matter? Research indicates that there is no singular definition for health coaching (1). If the coach certification course that you select defines it differently than you, you may not receive the information you want. An overview also helps you better understand a health coach’s scope of practice. Go through the program information and see what it says about health coaching. Does it tell you why this role is important? Does it share the challenges that you would help clients face? Consider whether this explanation is aligned with the service you want to provide.

• Utilization of research-backed methods and techniques. Some health coach certification courses boast their innovative materials or processes. While newer materials are good, they also need to be backed by science. This validates that they work. It also prevents you from learning health coaching methods that won’t help your clients. Phrases to look for when talking about their approaches include “research-proven,” “science-backed,” and “evidence-based.”

• Varied learning materials. People have different learning styles. This makes it important for a health coach certification program to provide course materials in a variety of formats. Look at what is included in the course. Are you given text-based materials, such as a textbook or printable handout? What about video lectures, study guides, or something else? The materials provided should be engaging for you, making the certification process interesting (and even fun). 

• Access to support. Imagine that you’re in the middle of your health coaching certification course and have a question. You want to know that you have someone you can go to for an answer. If you don’t, you risk getting frustrated and potentially even quitting the certification program altogether. Look at the level of support the certification course provides. Is it a level you are comfortable with? Also, how is the support provided? Do you call a certain number, send an email, or are you given a dedicated success coach? Each option offers a different type and level of support. So, you want to choose a coach certification course that aligns with the support you want and/or need.

An In-Person vs. Online Health Coaching Program

Another factor to consider is whether the coaching course is available in person or online. Some people prefer in-person certification programs because they like face-to-face instruction. They learn best in a traditional classroom and want one-on-one interaction with the instructor and other health coaching students.

That said, if the coach certification program is in person, you must be prepared to go to classes at predesignated times. You also need to figure in time for the commute, decide how you’ll get there, and budget for transportation costs.

If you want a health coach certification but have limits on time, an online program can provide greater flexibility. In a self-paced certification course, you choose when, where, and how much you study each week. 

Some aspects of the course might require an internet connection, such as when taking weekly quizzes. Others may be available offline, such as downloadable text and videos.

Neither type of health coaching certification is superior to the other. It’s more a matter of what style of coach certification fits your preferences and lifestyle best.

Before You Enroll in a Health Coaching Certification Course

Once you’ve found the health coach certification you want, the next step is to enroll. Before doing this, there are a few more elements of the course to consider. This helps you know what to expect if becoming a certified health coach with that institution.

Elements of the certification course to keep in mind before making your decision:

• Completion time. How much time does it take to complete the course? Some health coach certification courses can be completed over several weeks. Others may take months. An online coach certification often allows you to set the pace. As long as you are done by the deadline, you’re fine. Choose a coach certification course that you can finish in your desired time.

• Areas of focus. Some health coaches specialize in a specific approach. There are health coaches who focus on integrative health, for example. This involves a holistic approach to helping clients achieve greater health and wellness. Other health coaches use an approach more focused on finding the root cause of a client’s issues, then addressing them, similar to functional medicine. If you want to use a specific approach when health coaching, it’s helpful to choose a certification course that provides instruction in this area. Otherwise, a basic health science approach should supply the information you need.

• Skill development. A good way to assess a coach certification program is the skills it helps develop. Picture yourself working as a certified health coach. What coaching skills would help you thrive in this role? One is the ability to communicate effectively. Another is being able to motivate people. If you don’t currently have these skills, you don’t need them to enroll as long as the course helps you build them.

• Continuing education. You’ll need to take continuing education classes to maintain your health coach certification. Before enrolling in a course, consider whether it provides these post-certification courses. If it does, look at your options. The more it offers, the greater your ability to learn more about the areas of health coaching that interest you most.

Taking the time to do all this research may feel overwhelming. But it also enables you to choose the best health coach certification for you. This sets the foundation for a thriving career in health and wellness coaching. And the stronger the foundation, the greater your success as a health coach.

ISSA offers a Health Coach Certification course. This online course covers fitness and nutrition for optimal health and chronic disease management. You also learn effective strategies for creating lasting change, motivational interviewing techniques, and more.

References

1. Dejonghe, L. A., Becker, J., Froboese, I., & Schaller, A. (2017). Long-term effectiveness of health coaching in rehabilitation and prevention: A systematic review. Patient Education and Counseling, 100(9), 1643–1653. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2017.04.012