Overview of my health coaching education & online courses review
One of the biggest questions I am asked is which programs I completed to gain my health coaching certifications. In this post, I am breaking down all the courses I have taken and my final review/opinion of each.
The institute for integrative nutrition (IIN)
The first course I took to dive into the world of holistic health was the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in 2020. This course provided an amazing way to dip my toes in and experience learning a wide variety of health topics from 95+ visiting faculty, including Deepak Chopra, Zach Bush, Gabby Bernstein, Mark Hyman, Frank Lipman, Will Cole, and more!
Basic Breakdown of IIN
Length of Course: 6-month accelerated or 1-year option (I did the 1-year)
Format: A self-paced online course primarily consisting of video lectures & handouts
Topics Covered: An array of health topics, including digestion, functional medicine, healing the gut, herbal remedies, holistic weight loss, label reading, home cooking, intermittent fasting, mind body medicine, genes and the environment, food bias, as well as coaching and business modules
Requirements:
Pass 2 of 4 online tests (you need at least a 70% or greater and they are open note)
Attend 4 out of 6 coaching circle calls
Complete at least 6 practice coaching sessions
Time Commitment: If you choose the 6-month option, 2 modules are released per week. If you complete the 1-year option, 1 module is released each week. Both options are totally doable with a full-time job, however only you know your time commitments. Because the course is self-paced, it is up to you to stay on track (however it’s no big deal if you fall behind a few weeks). The course does offer weeks where no new modules are released, allowing you some time to catch up.
Quizzes/Homework: There is a quiz each module that is open note and has unlimited attempts. Homework consists mostly of discussion-based forums, practicing health histories and attending coaching circle calls where you practice coaching in small groups.
Price: $6,995 with option for payment plans
INTEGRATIVE HEALTH PRACTITIONER (IHP)
After IIN I wanted to find a course that went deeper into the science-based learning of holistic health and covered topics in more detail. I was also interested in finding one that gave me access to supplement lines or some type of testing I could offer my clients. I came across Steven Cabral’s course, Integrative Health Practitioner, which satisfied all the above.
Basic Breakdown of IHP
Length of Course: Unlimited
Format: A self-paced online course consisting of video lectures & handouts. There are 2 levels to the course, which can be purchased individually or together (cheaper).
Topics Covered: In Level 1, you’ll learn Steven Cabral’s DESTRESS protocol (diet, exercise, stress, toxin removal, rest, emotional balance, success mindset and supplements) as well as career and business modules. He gives you his exact protocols he uses in his daily practice with proven success. In Level 2, you’ll learn 7 of the top functional medicine lab tests (food sensitivity test, hair tissue mineral analysis, gut, bacteria & stool test, organic acids test, omega-3 inflammation test, thyroid adrenal hormone test, and adrenal hormone test) with case studies and real-life protocols used by Dr. Cabral. For more info on the DESTRESS protocol, read his book called The Rain Barrel Effect (this is the book version of the information found in Level 1).
Requirements:
Complete all modules, which consist of watching video lectures by Dr. Cabral
Level 1 is a prerequisite for Level 2
Upon finishing Level 2, you will need to purchase health coaching insurance before gaining access to the labs to order for clients
Time Commitment: This course is entirely self-paced and you can move through it at your leisure. There are no time requirements and videos range from 15 minutes in length to an hour.
Quizzes/Homework: There is a quiz each module that is open note and has unlimited attempts. There is no homework.
Price: $7,990 with option for payment plans (*there are always discounts going on for this course, so watch out for those. When I enrolled, I saved $3,000!)
MASTER BLOOD CHEMISTRY WITH EMILY (MBCE)
After IHP I came across a course called Master Blood Chemistry with Emily (MBCE) to learn how to understand functional blood chemistry. Because functional medicine lab testing can be so expensive, and a foreign concept for many clients coming from conventional medicine, I wanted to be able to add bloodwork to my services, and the reviews on MBCE were simply amazing. To this day, this was my hands down, all time favorite course. The information is INVALUABLE.
Basic Breakdown of MBCE
Length of Course: Unlimited
Format: A self-paced online course consisting of video lectures, handouts & case studies
Topics Covered: Emily teaches you how to read bloodwork with a functional lens and gives you her roadmap to follow to help heal clients at the root cause level. You go in depth on blood markers, such as complete blood count panel, thyroid panel, iron panel, cholesterol panel, urinalysis, etc. as well gaining in depth knowledge on hormones, blood sugar, vitamins & minerals, the liver, inflammation & immune system, and more. She provides real-life case studies for practice, as well as gaining access to an online lab to order bloodwork for your clients. This course also provides you entry to the Doctor Supplement Store, with access to hundreds of professional supplement lines (how many products you get access to depends on your level of education outside of MBCE). Emily continues to poor knowledge into the course and updates it frequently providing you with the newest, greatest information in her MBCE Membership!
Requirements:
Complete all modules, which consist of watching video lectures
Complete final exam at the end, which is open note and unlimited attempts
MBCE membership: in order to continue to gain access to the course after completion, there is a small membership fee ($50/year)
Time Commitment: This course is entirely self-paced and you can move through it at your leisure. There are no time requirements and videos are about an hour in length.
Quizzes/Homework: There are no quizzes or homework. You have access to the Facebook group with other students where you can ask questions, share case studies and learn from other health coaches doing the same work as you.
Price: $1,895 (one-time payment)
NUTRITIONAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION (NTA)
The most recent course I’ve taken is the Nutritional Therapy Association in 2022. This course goes greatly in depth on the science of nutrition, as well as sourcing high-quality food, culinary wellness skills, sleep and movement, stress and its effects on the body, environmental factors and the impact of toxins, the consequences that can lead to disease and chronic symptoms, and anatomy and physiology. It also goes into how to properly use supplements and the use of the NUTRIQ software to help understand where your client needs the most support, assist with recommendations and provide you a professional platform to send your client intake forms and a comprehensive nutritional assessment questionnaire (NAQ). Lastly the course gives you real-time coaching practice as you are required to work with 2 practice clients throughout.
Basic Breakdown of NTA
Length of Course: 10 months
Format: online, partially self-paced, primarily video lectures, handouts and readings with a live class once per week via zoom. The live class is recorded for viewing at a later date if needed, and attendance is not required. This course is mostly self-paced, but there are hard deadlines for assignments. If you fall behind slightly, there is time to catch up and the instructors are very gracious with late submissions. There are also small group calls that occur roughly once per month to practice coaching, ask questions and prepare for the capstone presentation. These are not mandatory, however highly encouraged.
Topics Covered:
The Six Foundations of Health: Nutrient-Dense Diet, Digestion, Blood Sugar Regulation, Fatty Acids, Mineral Balance & Hydration
The Four Consequences: Endocrine, Immune, Cardiovascular & Detoxification Systems
Coaching Practice, Business Resources, NUTRIQ Software, Supplements
Requirements:
80% or greater in the course (from homework, quizzes & assignments)
Must pass a midterm and cumulative final exam (80% or greater)
2 Real Life Practice Clients
Final Capstone Project and Presentation
Time Commitment: 5-10 hours weekly, sometimes more. The reading in this course (about 7 books total) can be extensive, requiring more time weekly. The information in these books is for your knowledge only, and is not tested on, so if you fall behind, it’s okay. You can really read the books at your own leisure.
Quizzes/Homework: There are 4 terms to the program, with 4-6 modules in each term. There is one quiz every module, with 10 questions, unlimited attempts and open book. Each module also contains a practical application assignment, which is due at the end of each week. Additionally there is a client consultation assignment and original content assignment that you have the entire term (2 months or so) to complete, as they are more extensive projects. Additionally, there are 2 exams, a midterm and a cumulative final, both of which are open note. Lastly, there is a capstone project at the end of the course which is a final submission of your second practice client folder and presentation of it in small groups.
Price: $5,999 with option for payment plans
The course does provide a reading list (about 7 books or so) that is NOT included in tuition. You have the ability to purchase these however you prefer, whether that’s a hard copy, a rental, or a digital copy.
MY FINAL REVIEW
IIN: This is a great course for an introduction into the world of holistic health, as it skims a wide variety of topics and you learn from a variety of instructors. This is not the best course for starting your own practice/career as a health coach. In my opinion, it does not go into enough detail on any one topic where you feel confident enough to help someone with their health. I also found it to be a struggle to compile all the information and take the views of so many instructors into one, solid program I could offer to clients. It also doesn’t provide credibility to work with supplements or lab testing, which I wanted to be able to offer to my clients. This course was great for building knowledge and learning, but not for building confidence in practice.
IHP: This course provided me with exactly what I was missing from IIN. It’s taught by one, very credible functional medicine doctor (Dr. Steven Cabral) and gave me access to supplement education and functional medicine lab testing. I left this course feeling extremely confident I could help people and had access to all the tools to do so. It goes into enough depth on learning the textbook, science-based information where you feel you can truly understand a subject in detail, while also proving you with case studies and exact protocols to apply the information in real life. The business component of this course was also very helpful, going in great depth on how to set up your business, set pricing and be successful. The only part I did not like about this course is that I was limited to only one line of supplement products, Dr. Cabral’s brand Equi.Life and can only order labs through Equi.Life as well.
MBCE: This course was my all-time favorite. Emily is a true angel and her course taught me how to read bloodwork with a functional lens. The information in this course is truly invaluable and I could not believe how much I learned. While there is no prerequisite for this course, I would would consider this course to be advanced. It is very overwhelming at first, and Emily goes IN DEPTH, but it does all come together in the end and you’ll be so thankful you took this course at the end of the day. This course also provides access to the Doctor Supplement Store, which carries hundreds of professional supplement lines, allowing me to expand beyond only the Equi.Life line, and access to Evexia Diagnostics, the lab to order bloodwork and various functional medicine labs. I found that this course complimented IHP perfectly. MBCE is what I have modeled my own practice off of the most, and I would take it 10x over. *Side note: Emily also took IHP and NTA, and then went on to create MBCE, so the three together are a truly powerful combo!
NTA: This course provided me the most in-depth knowledge on nutrition and how to take a food first approach with clients. It really breaks down the science of nutrition and how the body works. This is probably the most basic and fundamental course that I believe everyone should take! With that, it was also the most time consuming course out of all the others. This felt like a college course with exams, quizzes, weekly assignments and reading, big projects, presentations, real-life clients, etc. While all these courses are possible while working full-time, this one was the most difficult to manage and something I actively had to schedule into my day to get done. However, this course is also the most credibly accepted allowing you to sit for the holistic health coach board certification and apply to work with more restricted supplement lines, such as Cellcore. This course gave me the most real-life practice with clients and going through the whole process from intake forms to consultations to creating protocols to follow-up consultations and beyond. Lastly, the NUTRI-Q software & NAQ are two tools that you get access to through NTA and they are both very helpful for evaluating your client’s signs and symptoms and helping uncover the root cause of their health issues.
If I could do it all over again, I would start with NTA and then take MBCE. In my opinion, these two courses have been invaluable, complement each other amazingly and provided me with everything I need to help my clients heal*
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