Wellness Certification Programs
Wellness coaches work together within the interdisciplinary team. They focus on helping clients who are well to stay well and assist others to recover from illness and discover their best selves with a new emphasis on wellness. The role of the coach is to help the individual identify personal reasons for pursuing greater wellness and to enhance motivation for behavior change using evidence-based strategies.
wellness certification programs
Opportunities exist for wellness coaches to work as independent consultants on the staff of sports or fitness facilities, as an insurance company employee, or as part of an interdisciplinary team in clinics and hospitals. Wellness coaches can set their own schedules and pay rates, choose their clientele, work from nearly any location and enjoy creativity and flexibility in their coaching approach.
There is a lot of misinformation regarding the need for corporate wellness certifications. For the most part, the worksite wellness industry is not regulated even though there are a few federal and state laws to guide how programs are conducted.
Wellness certifications are an attempt to self-regulate the industry so that employees get access to well-designed and well-run wellness programs. To help you navigate all of the benefits and pitfalls of wellness certifications, WellSteps has created this comprehensive guide that contains everything you need to know about corporate and worksite wellness certifications.
There are three types of wellness certifications that are commonly found in corporate wellness programs. These include wellness program certifications, health coach certifications, and fitness/personal training certifications.
Wellness Program Certifications are available to individuals who will be planning, managing, and directing the day-to-day activities of a worksite wellness program. These include several levels of training from wellness assistants and wellness staff on one end to wellness program mangers and directors on the other end of the spectrum.
In small to medium-sized worksites, it is common for the benefits or HR department to be given the responsibility of administering a wellness program. Typically these programs are organized by benefits specialists or HR specialists who have little to no training in worksite wellness.
Other wellness certifications are more extensive and are designed to train people to actually be a wellness coordinator or wellness program director. Most of the high-level wellness positions are being filled by employees who have undergraduate or graduate college wellness degrees as part of their academic preparation.
Health Coach Certifications are often required for individuals who are providing one-on-one health and wellness coaching. As a certified wellness coach you can help clients reach their health goals and improve their well-being by working in a fitness or healthcare setting, or starting your own business. The health and wellness coach certifications are relatively easy to acquire in a short amount of time and give employers the assurance that the health coach knows how to provide effective behavior change counseling and safe and effective health advice.
This also means that more people can get these certifications making it much easier to find and hire individuals to be personal trainers. Personal training, like health coaching tends to be on the low end of the pay scale.
There is one exception to this. Employers want to know that health coaches (or personal trainers) are going to be professional, effective, and safe. Anyone can call themselves a health coach or a personal trainer, so having a certification can make a difference.
Getting any wellness certification certainly will not hurt your job prospects, but it many cases it may make no difference. Actual wellness job experience is always the most important qualification. You can also read a recent post on the 3 best ideas and tips to get a wellness job.
Wellness certifications, health coaching certifications, and personal training certifications will only help you to be better qualified to work in the wellness industry. These certifications can help in several ways even though they may not always be required for your job. The following are reasons why getting a health and wellness certification may be worth it for you.
More comprehensive training can cost up to $900 per level of training. The cost of health coaching certifications ranges from just under $500 to up to $2000. Personal training certifications can be acquired for between $400 and $700.
Unfortunately there are some dishonest companies that provide certifications that are nothing more than certification mills. The main goal of these companies is to make as much money as possible by doing a poor job of educating participants and handing out certifications that mean little.
Most certifications can be completed online, in person at intensive all-day workshops, or through books and printed materials. Most require you to pass a competency examination. Wellness certification companies go to great lengths to work with your schedule and study preferences.
Anyone who has a bachelors degree or masters degree in worksite wellness or worksite health promotion programs has had a very deep and broad exposure to wellness programs. The 4 to 6 years of intensive coursework is far more valuable and impactful than any certification could ever be.
The problem is that it takes 4 to 6 years and a whole bunch of money to reach this level of proficiency. At WellSteps, we only hire individuals who have wellness or health promotion academic degrees. Many universities now offer 4 year degrees in health and wellness and here is a list of universities that offer online degrees in health and wellness.
In addition to personal training, health coaching, and running, designing, and managing wellness programs, WellSteps employees wear multiple hats and have very broad job descriptions. A college degree in health and wellness is required if they are to be successful in these particular jobs.
You have come to the right place. we have identified all of the wellness certification companies and classified them into three categories: wellness certifications, health coaching certifications, and personal training certifications.
In the table below, we have summarized what each of them does. But more importantly each certification has been verified by this symbol. If they have a lengthy history and are reputable, they can be trusted to provide you with a quality training experience.
The International Association for Worksite Health Promotion is an affiliated society of the prestigious American College of Sports Medicine. IAWHP has a mission to provide valuable information and services to health and wellness practitioners in the workplace. This is achieved through educational activities as well as networking with other professionals in the field. The IAWHP Online Certificate Course teaches students the best ways to create worksite health programs which are scalable and maintainable. This is a very interactive course which includes real-world activities and audio presentations. If you successfully pass the course and receive your certificate, you will be qualified to train employees on how to stay healthy. In fact, you can create an entire work culture which supports the idea of a healthy workplace. This will increase overall productivity in the organization while reducing unnecessary expenses over wasted time or poor work performance.
Out of all the designations that wellness specialists strive for, the Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist designation is the most sought-after one. The Corporate Health and Wellness Association has provided health and wellness education and certification to more than 1.5 million wellness professionals worldwide. Members of the association get to interact with other members and receive a continuing education on the current methodologies for engaging employees in the corporate world and helping them become healthier and more productive. Corporate Health and Wellness Association is a non-profit organization which is open to business-to-business professionals around the globe
The National Society of Health Coaches has created health coach certification programs which use an evidence-based clinical model for coaching students about health. In the United States, these programs are ranked as being some of the most popular programs taught to coaching students. What makes them different are the fact that they were created by other healthcare providers and clinicians. The students who generally enroll in these programs are clinicians themselves. They study a particular program which relates to their own experiences and knowledge of a clinical setting. By learning new skills and information from other clinicians, it helps the students become better clinicians themselves in the field of health coaching. That way, they can apply evidence-based practices while coaching their own clients rather than just theoretical practices.
The Spencer Institute offers a Corporate Wellness Coaching Program which will allow you to earn your Corporate Wellness Coach Certification. Anyone who wants to become a Corporate Wellness Coach should get this certification because it shows companies that you are knowledgeable in the field of corporate wellness. They will actually hire you to create health and wellness programs for their employees to participate in so that they can become healthier in the workplace. The Spencer Institute offers this program completely online, so you can take the courses from any location that has an internet connection. As for accreditation, the American Association of Drugless Practitioners has accredited the Spencer Institute and its wellness coaching programs.
The Dr. Sears Wellness Institute was started by Dr. Bill Sears. He has been a medical practitioner for more than 4 decades and has written over 40 books on wellness and nutrition topics. The objective of the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute is to train organizations and people in the 4 main principles of health; Nutrition, Attitude, Exercise, and Lifestyle. They will also provide resources to assist them in performing these principles successfully. To receive this education, you can become a student of their Health Coach Certification program. Once you graduate, you will be a Certified Health Coach that has the qualifications to teach companies, employees, and individuals about how to improve their physical and mental health. 041b061a72