Interested in helping people make healthy lifestyle changes? It’s never too late to realize your goal of becoming a health and wellness coach.
UVM’s Integrative Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate is a 15-credit online/hybrid program for non-degree students. This Certificate follows the academic calendar and accepts new students in both the fall and spring semesters. Students can select electives that allow them to be prepared to work in special settings such as employee wellness or with children and families.
Integrative health and wellness coaches work with employee wellness programs, community health teams, youth and families, people recovering from addiction, veterans, people with disabilities, and others. Health coaches focus on promoting the health of individuals by engaging clients in positive behavior change.
What makes it integrative?
Integrative health involves a blend of traditional medical care, complementary care, and self-care to provide the best individualized whole-person treatment. Taking care of the whole person involves many different aspects of health, including:
- Food and nourishment
- Exercise and movement
- Stress management
- Work-life balance
- Healthy environment
- Sleep and rest
- Relationships and community
- Mind-body connection
- Self-compassion
Fast Track: 8 credit option for Integrative Health and Wellness Coaching
Fast track your credential by taking the first 8 credits required to take the national exam to certify you to become an Integrative Health and Wellness Coach, then decide if you want to specialize with more courses and complete the full certificate or start practicing.
Students who complete the required 8-credit sequence, embedded within the Integrative Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate, collect 50 practice coaching sessions and have 60 additional credits from UVM or another institution, will be eligible to sit to sit the NBHWC National Certification Exam. Upon completion of the required coursework and passing of the National Certification Exam, an individual can use the following credentials: Juan Smith, NBC-HWC. (National Board Certified – Health and Wellness Coach).
Certification Exam for Health and Wellness Coaches
The National Board for Health & Wellness Coaches (NBHWC) introduced a certification exam for health and wellness coaches in 2017, formally recognizing the profession and the increasing demand for certified coaches.
To Qualify for the National Board Certification Exam you must:
- complete an NBHWC Approved Training Program
- complete 50 health & wellness coaching sessions (click link for requirements).
- have an associate’s degree or higher or 4,000 hours work experience (any field).
The NBHWC Exam is offered three times per year at testing centers across the U.S.
Upon completion of the required coursework and passing the National Certification Exam, an individual can use the following credentials: Juan Smith, NBC-HWC (National Board Certified – Health and Wellness Coach).
Watch our recent info session to learn more!
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects high employment growth for integrative health and wellness coaches from 2014-2024, as an emphasis on preventative healthcare grows. Integrative health and wellness coaches work with employee wellness programs, community health teams, youth and families, people recovering from addiction, veterans, people with disabilities, and others. Health coaches focus on promoting the health of individuals by engaging clients in positive behavior change.
Watch our recent webinar:
