When it comes to wellness coaching, there is a lot of misinformation available out there. Some people think a wellness coach is like a healthcare professional who helps you heal. However, this couldn’t be any far from the truth.
A wellness coach does not treat your diseases. In fact, these professionals allow you to identify and create a goal that will lead to a healthy lifestyle. Wellness coaches allow you to achieve your full potential by targeting your unique skills and gifts. These professionals create a plan that permits you to live a better life.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about wellness coaches.
Furthermore, below, we have also mentioned some of the best wellness coach certification online programs that will help you a lot in your journey.
What Is A Wellness Coach?
Let’s start with the basics: what is a wellness coach? What does a wellness coach do?
The main focus of a wellness coach is on your emotional and physical state. These professionals create a plan that includes coaching tools and motivation to help you attain your emotional and physical health goals.
In simplest words, a wellness coach is a professional who acts as a supportive guide to help individuals set goals related to health, such as weight loss, healthy habits, and more. Wellness coaches motivate and empower people to become their own experts.
This field is quite rewarding. With wellness coaching, you can help other human beings while making a decent living. So, keep reading to learn how to become a wellness coach:
Requirements To Become A Wellness Coach
Before starting a career as a wellness coach, you must know the essential requirements of this field. Overall, life coaching is the 2nd fastest growing industry with total revenue of $3 billion. Even though this field is quite popular, wellness coaching is still an unregulated business, meaning you can start your business without any legal obligations.
Here are some of the significant requirements to become a wellness coach:
Skills and Abilities
To thrive as a wellness coach, there are some skills you must possess. For instance, you don’t need an advanced degree for this industry; however, you must have the ambition to help others. In contrast, you should also have a mindset of a businessman to make six figures while helping others.
Communication and listening skills are the backbones of the wellness coach industry. Without these skills, you cannot start your business. If you are not good at communication, you won’t be able to satisfy your clients and deliver your ideas properly.
On the other hand, if you are not a good listener, your personality will clash with your client. As a result, you will get bad feedback. Besides these, a wellness coach must be:
- Passionate
- Intuitive
- Non-Judgmental
- Strategic
- Ethical and Civic-Minded
- Learner
- Self-Aware
Qualification
As mentioned earlier, wellness coaching is an unregulated industry, which means you don’t need an unadvanced degree or a certification program to start your wellness coaching career. Therefore, whether you have a high school degree or a master’s degree, you can start your wellness coaching career.
However, we recommended enrolling in a wellness coach certification program. There are two types of programs available out there:
- Wellness Coach Certification Program – Online
- Wellness Coach Certification Program – In-Person
You can enroll in any one of these programs according to your budget and preferences. Keep in mind that these programs have hundreds of benefits. As a newbie without any experience, a wellness coach certification will indicate that you know what you are doing.
Wellness Professionals VS Healthcare Professionals
One of the most common myths out there is that life coaching and therapy are the same fields. In reality, this couldn’t be any far from the truth. A life coach is a wellness professional, while a therapist is considered healthcare professionals.
Unlike wellness coaches, therapists require an advanced degree and a license to practice. Plus, these professionals focus on their clients’ past, including past traumas and mental illness.
In comparison, a wellness coach focuses on the present to improve the future. These professionals do not heal you or treat your mental illnesses. They just create a plan to help you achieve your desired physical and emotional state.
7 Best Wellness Coach Certification Online Programs
Now that you know the fundamental information about wellness coaching, it’s time to see some of the best wellness coach certification programs. These certification programs give you an opportunity to learn everything about the coaching industry.
Furthermore, some certification programs are so comprehensive that they even teach you how to thrive as a professional wellness coach. Here are our top picks when it comes to the best online life coach certification programs:
Certified Wellness Specialist – CWS
Compared to all other wellness coach certification programs, the CWS is probably the most sought-after one. The Corporative Health & Wellness Association offers this certification program. According to an estimate, there are over 1.5 million certified wellness specialists available out there.
With this program, you get a chance to connect with hundreds of other wellness coaching and learn from their experience. As a certified wellness specialist, you will have enough knowledge to help your clients become more productive and healthier.
Certification Details
- Comprehensive Program
- Offer Wellness Coaching Community
Precision Nutrition
Dr. John Berardi, the co-founder of Precision Nutrition, has established a team of wellness and health professionals who have educated over 100,000 students to this date. This organization is an international one and offers numerous wellness coach certification online programs in more than 100 nations.
Precision Nutrition has been offering an online wellness coach certification program for more than fifteen years. Furthermore, many well-known organizations and business people have partnered with this firm for counseling and advice. They truly have made a significant difference in the fitness, health, and wellness industries.
Certification Detail
- Online Workplaces and Webinars
- Detailed Nutritional Changed
National Associates of Health Under-Writers – NAHU
Another certification program that deserves a spot on our list is Wellness Certified by NAHU. This program focuses on creating new, healthy habits while controlling and eliminating the old, unhealthy ones.
This certification program allows you to learn numerous wellness coaching techniques and tools related to three fields; physical activity, unhealthy eating, and smoking. This course will teach you how to create new habits in no time and control unhealthy behaviors.
Certification Detail
- Focuses on Physical Activities, Smoking and Eating
- Free of Prerequisites
American Fitness Professionals & Associates – AFPA
The AFPA already has more than 115,000 certified wellness coaches all around the world. This organization is known for its detailed wellness coach certification online and business training. It allows you to learn how to become a wellness coach and how to grow as a wellness coach.
Besides the online wellness coach certification program, the AFPA offers more than twenty-five training programs in various industries, including senior fitness,
fitness training, nutrition, weight loss, youth fitness, and health.
Certification Details
- Multiple Programs
- Can be Completed in 3 Months
International Association of Wellness Professionals – IAWHP
The IAWHP is an affiliated community that has only one mission: to provide valuable services and information to wellness and health practitioners all around the world. With this program, this goal can be achieved through networking as well as educational activities.
The best thing about IAWHP is that this training course is flexible and interactive, which includes audio presentations and real-world activities. Through this wellness coach certification online program, you’ll be able to create your own healthy workplace.
Certification Details
- Online Sources and Comprehensive Curriculum
- Best for both Healthcare and Wellness Professionals
Chapman Institute
Larry Chapman, the founder of Chapman Institute, is a veteran in the wellness field with more than 40 years of experience. When it comes to wellness coach certification online, this institute is the largest and oldest provider out there.
The training programs offered by the Chapman Institute are not that comprehensive. This organization offers four programs that usually take up to 30 hours to complete. Furthermore, this one is completely online and comes will the necessary resources.
Certification Details
- Basic Certification
- Skill-Based Training Program
Wellness Council of America – WELCOA
The WELCOA is an authorized, nationally recognized firm that provides all crucial resources related to the online wellness coach certification programs. This course will teach you how to be more productive and achieve better health in any work environment.
The WELCOA has been in this business for more than 30 years and has up to five thousand active members. The programs offered by this organization are comprehensive and come with accreditation. This program also includes an online workplace that gives you an opportunity to understand your field in-depth.
Certification Details
- Nationally Recognized Certification Program
- Free of Prerequisites
Final Verdict
There are numerous wellness coach certifications available online with a variety of specifications and price tags. When it comes to comprehensive and most sought-after programs, we suggest CWS by the Cooperative Health and Wellness Association.
Happy Learning!
