Have you been wondering how to be a Health Coach? Who can train to become a Health Coach? Which Health Coaching course is the best? And which ones should you avoid? How much does it cost? Where would you work?
The good news is that I have just completed my full PreKure Health Coaching Certificate and would love to let you in on everything I learned along the way.
These are university-level courses, at a fraction of the cost, with the flexibility of online learning accompanied by live interactive coaching labs.
Want to know more about becoming a Health Coach? CLICK HERE.
In this article you will learn:
How To Be A Health Coach – why/how/who
- What is a Health Coach?
- Why we need Health Coaches?
- Are Health Coaches the new face of wellness?
- Who can train to become a Health Coach?
- What does it take to be a Health Coach?
- Are there jobs for Health Coaches?
How To Be A Health Coach – the nuts and bolts
- Are all Health Coaching course the same? Are they certified? Do they have the correct credentials?
- What topics do you learn?
- What is a live coaching lab?
- What qualification will you receive?
- Is the Health Coaching course applicable worldwide?
- Can I study at home?
- How long does it take?
- How much will it cost?
PreKure – their core values
Before we begin, I want to explain why I love PreKure so much. It’s their core values. Not only do they provide incredible courses with live interactive coaching labs, at the centre of everything they do is the belief that healthcare needs to change. Prevention should be a fundamental part of healthcare, and prescribing more pills is not the answer to our healthcare crisis.
As you may know, I am a registered pharmacist and I gave up my entire 25-year career because I believe this too. I know I have helped more people in the last few years with my low-carb nutritious recipes, than over the last 25 years dispensing medication.
Who Is PreKure?
“PreKure is a social enterprise that exists to inspire the medical profession to become more focused on disease prevention. PreKure’s vision is to make prescribing lifestyle medicine as easy as prescribing pills. Up-to-date university-level education, backed by science.
We do this in three ways:
- Develop, train and accredit Health Coaches
- Provide Continuing Medical Education (CME) to Health Professionals in all areas that make up Lifestyle Medicine
- Offer FREE behaviour change programs to the people who need it most
Together we can change medicine.
Prevention is cure. Lifestyle is medicine.”
How To Be A Health Coach – why/how/who
What is a health coach?
Health Coaches are the future of wellness. Health Coaches are the future of disease prevention. Health Coaches have the power to turn the tide on chronic disease. They have often been referred to as the missing link in healthcare.
At the moment we don’t have health-care, we have sick-care. Healthcare currently focusses on diagnosing and treating symptoms, rather than preventing disease in the first place.
This is where Health Coaches are becoming a critical part of people’s wellness and disease prevention.
Health Coaches, guide, support and encourage people to set and achieve their health and wellness goals. Health Coaches motivate and support people to make positive lifestyle changes. This may include helping the client to formulate strategies to improve their diet, exercise, mindfulness, positivity, and lifestyle decision making.
Why we need Health Coaches?
Most people know what they should be doing to live the healthiest life they can. Maybe it’s eating the right things (and what does that even mean), maybe it’s getting better quality sleep, drinking less, moving more or a habit they need to break.
Often knowledge isn’t the problem, it’s how to put knowledge into action. How to truly change behaviours and habits. How to motivate yourself well after Health Coaching sessions have finished.
Health Coaches are agents of change.
Are health Coaches the new face of wellness?
Healthcare currently diagnoses then treats disease symptoms, Health Coaching may be the new face of disease prevention.
Health Coaches empower people to formulate their own health and wellness goals. The client is listened to, rather than talked to. This is where the powerful motivating force lies. The Health Coach listens, guides, motivates and gives them strategies for change.
Who can train to become a Health Coach?
You don’t need a medical background to become a qualified and certified Health Coach. A desire to make a real difference and help change the face of true healthcare is the most desirable quality.
What does it take to be a Health Coach?
Health Coaches work as a team with their client. It’s a partnership. Coaches will ask, listen, and coach their client to facilitate change.
They help their client to –
- formulate their own health and wellness goals.
- understand their “why”. What is the real underlying motivation and driving force? It’s often not what you think.
- uncover deeper issues that could be preventing them from making progress. What/who is your saboteur?
- set realistic and achievable goals for the next day, week, month, the year ahead
- visualise what success would look like for them (again, it’s often not what you think)
- set accountability
Are there jobs for Health Coaches?
We live in exciting times. Additional roles for Health Coaches are being developed every day. You may wish to work inside a local medical centre. At a hospital. At a corporate wellness centre. Your local gym. You could run your own health coaching practice from home or online. Via Zoom. Via phone. And even in your local pharmacy or health store.
The possibilities are endless.
And make no mistake, Health Coaches are the future of health and wellness.
Want to know more about becoming a Health Coach? CLICK HERE.
How To Be A Health Coach – the nuts and bolts
Are all Health Coaching course the same? Are they certified? Do they have the correct credentials?
Sadly no. Some health coaching courses are run online with no support, no credentials and no recognised qualification at the end. And how will you know? Well, you often don’t until it’s too late. You’ve signed up, paid a small fortune then you are left on your own and discover your certificate is not recognised or accepted.
I am a registered pharmacist, and as soon as I first discovered the health benefits of low-carb and ketogenic nutrition 5 years ago I wanted to take the leap to retrain as a dietician, specialising in the low-carb and ketogenic approach.
I searched for a nutrition course. I searched for a health coaching course. A university course. An online course. Anything. I looked at them ALL. The cost. The time. The qualifications. None even came close to what I was looking for. Then this year, PreKure launched its Health Coach course, with an incredible international faculty second to none and the live support and live interactive coaching labs that teach the practical skills of being a Health Coach. I signed up on the spot.
And if you have heard my story before, not finding a qualified, recognised course, was the exact reason why I started Ditch The Carbs. [ You can listen to my story here ]
What topics do you learn?
There are 6 incredible courses. Each teaching you the necessary skills to make you the best Health Coach possible. Each course is online, available worldwide, at your own pace, with accompanying handbooks and a list of resources that supplement each lesson.
- PK101: Behaviour as Medicine
- PK102: Nutrition as Medicine
- PK103: Fitness as Medicine
- PK104: Mind-Body Medicine
- PK105: Making Sense of Research
- PK106: Medications and Navigating the Healthcare System
What is a live coaching lab?
This is where science meets practice. This is the unique aspect that PreKure provides. You will complete 12 live coaching labs where you will be taught the art of coaching.
Topics include ethics, power questions, setting goals, accountability, how to handle situations, what is included in your scope of practice… and even the business side of Health Coaching.
What qualification will you receive? Is it internationally recognised?
You will become a PreKure qualified Health Coach.
PreKure follow the International Coaches Federation (ICF) core competencies, the definition of coaching and code of ethics.
Is the Health Coaching course applicable worldwide?
Yes, PreKure is a worldwide certificate. I can’t think of any health course that has more international board affiliations (see above) than PreKure.
PreKure expects to have more international students in 2020 than students locally from New Zealand and Australia.
Can I study at home?
Yes. All the courses are online and available 24/7. The interactive coaching labs are via zoom so you can join in from the comfort of home.
How long does it take?
You have 12 months to complete all the 6 courses and the coaching labs. You can, however, go at a faster pace and complete the Health Coach Certificate within 6 months.
The live interactive coaching labs have a variety of days and times that you may attend.
How much will it cost?
This depends on whether you pay for each course, one by one, or whether you decide to commit and purchase the entire Health Coach Certificate and spread the payments (this is the cheaper option).
Want to know more about becoming a Health Coach? CLICK HERE.
Carmen says
I have been looking for exactly this! My husband has stage one prostate cancer and I looked everywhere for nutritional support none to be found the followed the keto,paleo concept. I have been reading so much to change our diet and slow his cancer down. So far 55 lbs down for him and 35 for me and a sugar free lifestyle. I want to learn and help, teach others.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
How wonderful Carmen that the PreKure Health Coach course is what you have been searching for. I looked for 5 years for a coaching course that was scientific, taught from the latest academic research and has the most amazing faculty. And to top it all off, the live coaching labs are absolutely superb! I am always intrigued by the health journeys that lead people to want to become a health coach. It is people like you who can make a real difference and can speak from experience to help others in their journey to health.