ICHWC National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coaches have met a minimum training and education requirement and demonstrated an understanding of the coaching competencies that set the standard in the health &
wellness coaching profession.
Not exact matches
Without agreed upon standards for the training and practice of health and
wellness coaches, the public and healthcare professionals are confused about what to expect from
coaches and how they complement other
professions.
Vigorous discussions ensued on the backgrounds (education and credentials), definition, roles (e.g.
profession, professional, job or role), tasks and competencies, i.e. what a health and
wellness coach does and how, and scope of practice, for example how
coaching is differentiated from other health and allied health
professions, and how
coaching processes and education on disease prevention and healthy lifestyle education are integrated.
The qualifications and training standards for health or
wellness coaches, as well as their skills and competencies, are under debate although some initiatives are underway to develop national standards and certifications to legitimize this
profession.
While the
profession has grown, so has variability in the standards of health &
wellness coaches who are employed from clinical settings to universities, health plans to private practices and health clubs.
To deliver consistent standards for the new
profession, the ICHWC, a consortium of thought leaders and 52 health &
wellness coach training and education programs, and the NBME, which develops and administers physician licensing examinations in the United States, joined forces to establish standards for health and
wellness coach training and education programs and a
coach certification exam.
While gathering as much knowledge as I could to help them, my passion eventually turned into a lifestyle, and then eventually into my
profession as a personal trainer and
wellness coach.