After comparing numerous certification courses, we picked out the best health coach certification programs with the most comprehensive training that will equip you to start a career in this field.
Qualified health coaches are more sought after than ever, so this is the perfect time to start a career in this field. To become a certified health coach, you’ll want to enroll in a trusted certification program to ensure you know the best coaching practices and to build credibility with your potential clients.
Here are our top picks for the best health and wellness coach certification programs:
- Nickerson Institute – Best Overall
- Natural Wellness Academy – Best Wellness Option
- Primal Health Coach Institute – Best for Building a Business
- American Council on Exercise (ACE) – Best for Professionals
- Health Coach Institute – Best for Perfecting Coaching Skills
- International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) – Best for Level Learning
- Transformation Academy Master Wellness Life Coach Certification – Best for Multiple Health Niches
- Transformation Academy Health and Nutrition Life Coach Certification – Best for Beginners
- iPEC – Best for Core Energy Coaching
Table of Contents
What Is a Health Coach?
A health coach is an expert in the fields of health, exercise, and well-being. They work with clients individually or in groups to support and guide them through making health-related changes. They also motivate their clients to maintain a healthy lifestyle that will improve the overall quality of their lives. It’s important to emphasize that health coaches shouldn’t diagnose medical conditions or treat them.
Health coaches can focus on numerous health-related issues, or they can choose a niche, such as:
- Diet and nutrition
- Physical activity
- Stress management
- Sleep hygiene
- Addiction
- Weight loss
How Do I Start a Career as a Health Coach?
Enrolling in the best health coach training is a good place to start. You’ll meet fellow health coaches, get insight from experienced instructors, and learn how to confidently manage your practice.
Some of the best health coach schools and organizations include business advice in their curriculum as well. Besides robust knowledge in health coaching, you can learn how to organize your coaching sessions, communicate with clients, market your products, and much more.
Is Getting a Health Coach Certification Worth It?
You can find innumerable free resources online; however, a certification program will lead you to a professional coaching level much faster—not to mention the competition is growing rapidly, and certification from a reputable program can help you woo prospective clients.
The programs will provide you with the necessary knowledge and techniques and help you these hone key skills for successful life coaching:
- Confidence in your coaching capabilities
- Listening skills
- Communication skills
- Motivational speaking
- Problem-solving skills
- Organizational skills
Factors to Consider When Choosing the Best Health Coach Programs
The pursuit of the best health and wellness coach certifications can be difficult. Here’s what can help you with the decision-making process.
Program Cost
Are you working on a budget, or are you ready to go all out? Programs come at a variety of price points, and some training can even cost over ten thousand dollars. If you have a budget in mind, this can help you reduce the number of possibilities and find the right program faster.
Course Length
Another key factor is the time commitment. Some programs demand in-person attendance and can last for over a year. If you have a busy schedule or you simply don’t feel like traveling back and forth, online courses are the best choice. Many online courses can be done at your own pace, which is great if you want complete flexibility.
Accreditation
Coaching programs can be accredited by reputable entities that verify the curriculum and ensure that the content and procedures respect their ethics and standards. The gold standard of coaching is the International Coaching Federation (ICF), but there are other well-known entities like the Continuing Professional Development Standards Agency (CPD) and the Health Coach Alliance (HCA).
Top Health Coaching Certification Programs
Best Overall: Nickerson Institute
Nickerson Institute offers a variety of health-related courses and programs with a robust curriculum, interactive exercises, engaging activities, and practical tools. Their Integrative Health Coach Training covers quite the variety of content, from anxiety strategies to the effects of trauma to substance usage.
The program takes the bio-psycho-social-spiritual approach to health coaching, meaning that it encompasses mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral techniques, neuroscience, health psychology, positive psychology, energy psychology, and behavioral nutrition in its teachings. The course is very hands-on, so you’ll learn to develop a personalized integrative health coaching toolbox, practice interviewing skills and techniques, conduct mock integrative health coaching sessions, and more.
If you’d like to specialize in workplace health coaching, they have a corporate version of the same program. You can review their course catalog if you’d like to explore more courses.
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: $3,799
- Accreditation: Health Coach Alliance (HCA); American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP); Canadian Association of Integrative Nutrition (CAIN)
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Wellness Option: Natural Wellness Academy
If you want your niche to be wellness, then we suggest the Natural Wellness Academy. They offer a practical approach to learning and teach cutting-edge coaching techniques.
Our primary recommendation for wellness coaching is their Holistic Health Coaching program, but if you’d like to see more options, you can check out the Mind-Gut Guru program or browse through their expansive catalog of courses. The Holistic Health Coaching covers This course teaches you how to motivate others to improve their health through nutrition and change in mindset and control their weight naturally. You’ll also learn practical things like how to facilitate a wellness workshop, create a healthy living program, and come up with original recipes.
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: $1,495
- Accreditation: American Association of Drugless Practitioners (AADP)
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Business Option: Primal Health Coach Institute
Primal Health Coach Institute can set you up with knowledge and skills for both health education and how to successfully be your own boss. They have a huge variety of courses, including Primal Health Coach, Primal Health and Nutrition Expert, and Primal Fitness Coach.
If you want to boost your business skills, there’s a Launch Your Coaching Business program. That’s why we recommend PHCI to those who want to take a deeper dive into developing a business.
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: Starts at $1,895 (use promo code “500TODAY” when enrolling for a $500 discount)
- Accreditation: National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC)
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Professional Development Option: American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Do you have a background in health and fitness and want to develop your reputation as an expert in the field? Then the American Council on Exercise is likely the best training provider for you. They offer two health coach programs: Health Coach Study Program and Health Coach Advanced Study Program, depending on your experience.
To enroll in their courses, you need to submit at least one of the following: NCCA-accredited certification in fitness, nutrition, healthcare, or a related field; an Associate’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university in a related field; a minimum of two years of documented relevant work experience (lifestyle coaching, nutritional coaching, and similar).
- Course Length: Starts at 3 months
- Program Cost: Starts at $1,299
- Accreditation: National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA)
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Building Coaching Skills Option: Health Coach Institute
Health Coach Institute provides a well-structured and robust curriculum for training coaches. It can help you transform into a confident and knowledgeable coach in 6 months. The Health & Life Coach program consists of 4 pillars: Holistic Nutrition for Coaches, Habit Change Coaching Method, Personal Growth & Life Coach Certification, and Launch Your Coaching Career. The program is offered in two tiers, with a base-level and master-level program.
- Course Length: 6-9 months
- Program Cost: $5,450
- Accreditation: ICF
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Choose your Level Option: International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
With ISSA, you can choose a program based on your interests and broaden your health coaching skill set. Three levels are available: Health Coach, Health Coach Elite (prepares you for a health coach, nutritionist, and online coach career), and Health Coach Master (adds to the previous content exercise recovery, transformation, yoga instructing, and weight management).
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: Starts at $1,188
- Accreditation: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA)
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Beginner Option: Dr. Sears Wellness Institute
You don’t need any prerequisite or previous knowledge in the health industry to enroll in the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute Health Coach Program, so we recommend this to students, recent graduates, and beginners looking to make a career change. The program’s holistic, science-based health coach training will educate you on the four pillars of health: lifestyle, exercise, attitude, and nutrition.
- Course Length: Starts at 6 weeks
- Program Cost: Starts at $945
- Accreditation: ICF; National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC); Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR)
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Multiple Niches Option: Transformation Academy Master Wellness Life Coach Certification
Do you want to specialize in several health niches at once? Transformation Academy’s Master Wellness Life Coach Certification bundle comes with 4 niche coaching certifications. You’ll be certified as a Health & Nutrition Coach, Diet Coach, and Mindfulness Coach, and for the fourth niche, you can choose between Yoga Coach, Ketogenic Diet Coach, and BellyCore Fitness Instructor.
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: $497 (Get 80% off using our link. Discount applied at checkout.)
- Accreditation: Continuing Professional Development Standards Agency (CPD)
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Budget Option: Transformation Academy Health and Nutrition Life Coach Certification
For a high-quality certification course on a budget, you can choose the Health and Nutrition Life Coach Certification by Transformation Academy. What stood out for us is that they teach you practical knowledge like how to design a custom health-coaching package and how to screen clients successfully. Plus, the course materials include customizable assessments to gauge client health and progress, and proven tools for managing a coaching business.
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: $197 (Get 80% off using our link. Discount applied at checkout.)
- Accreditation: ICF
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Core Energy Coaching Option: Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (iPEC)
iPEC’s life coach certification is the whole package for those looking to get their coaching training and specialize in their chosen niche. iPEC offers a robust program that includes 3 certifications: Certified Professional Coach (CPC), Energy Leadership™ Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP), and COR.E Dynamics™ Specialist in one of four niches (including health and wellness).
Core Energy Coaching is a style of coaching that incorporates clients’ core beliefs, perceptions, values, and blocks into the coaching practice. If you want to apply this method in your own sessions, iPEC has a Health and Wellness Coach Certification program that will train you to become a COR.E Wellbeing Dynamics Specialist (CWDS).
- Course Length: Phase One: Certified Professional Coach (CPC) and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner (ELI-MP) – 7-8 months; Phase Two: COR.E Dynamics Specialist certification – 3-4 months
- Program Cost: $13,995
- Accreditation: ICF
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Alternatives (non-niche)
Before becoming an expert in a life coaching niche like health and wellness, you can enhance your coaching capabilities with a more general life coaching certification program.
Our top pick for a hands-on and comprehensive life coaching program is Coach Training Alliance. You can learn the reasons behind our choice and compare CTA to many other well-known life coach training programs in our review.
FAQ
- How much does a health coach make?
The average yearly salary for a health coach in the US is $49,376, according to GlassDoor.
- Do you need a certification to be a health coach?
Rarely will a client put their health in the hands of an uncertified coach. So even though a certification or a degree isn’t required, it does help you to demonstrate expertise and knowledge in this field.
- How much does a health coach certification cost?
A health coach certification program can cost between $100 and $15,000.
- Does accreditation matter in a health coach certification program?
You can become a certified health coach even if you enroll in a program that isn’t accredited. Accreditation can be valuable if you want to be certain that a program respects the standards of a reputable accrediting body in the health and coaching industry.
- What is the most recognized coaching certification?
If you want recognition, you should focus on accreditation rather than the name of the certification program. Certification programs are numerous, and clients can’t be familiar with all of them, but well-known accrediting institutions like ICF and CPD hold clout in the coaching world.
Conclusion
With the plethora of health coach certification programs to choose from, a list of the best health coach programs can save you a lot of time and help you with your decision. Whether you want to target a wider audience by covering several health and wellness niches or you want to focus on one area like wellness, you can easily find a course that is a good fit for you among our top choices.
Still not sure if health coaching is for you? Get a taste of health coaching principles without making a big commitment with the brief Health Coaching Conversations course from Coursera.
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This article was written by the Life Coach Magazine staff. We cover everything from personal development, to coaching tips, to how to grow your coaching business.
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