The Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program is a one-of-a-kind experience that blends evidence-based skill sets with insightful mentor coaching in a flexible learning environment. With synchronous and asynchronous immersive learning and discussion, our goal is to help you grow your skills to become a confident wellness coach. Whether you are learning strategies to use in your current profession or are launching your own wellness coaching practice, our training program will prepare you to help individuals reach their greatest health potential. The blended learning environment affords the learners with an experience that is collegial, accommodating, accessible and academically rigorous. We encourage connection, discussion and learning from peers and faculty- drawing from the variety of coaching experiences from clinical to worksite wellness.

Our Unique Approach

Students learn how to establish relationships and practice core coaching skills that assist individuals in identifying their values and desires, transforming them into action and maintaining lasting change over time. You will partner in dynamic collaboration with your peers as you advance through the Mayo Clinic 5-E Model of Wellness Coaching, bringing coaching to life with your clients. The course is grounded in established research and theory of behavior change and incorporates current published research by Mayo Clinic faculty into the effective elements of Wellness Coaching.

World-Class Faculty

The Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program is coordinated and taught by clinical, scientific and practicing wellness coaches of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Faculty members are chosen for their commitment to teaching, as well as clinical practice or research. In addition, our core faculty are board certified through the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching.

Nationally Accredited

The Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program is accredited through the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC), meeting the coaching competencies and highest standards in the field. Our program has trained more than 1300 coaches since beginning in 2011. The Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program is approved by the NBHWC, PAC for the continuing education and training of National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBC-HWC) (CEP #100103)

The Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program is an approved training program through the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching (NBHWC). Successfully completing our training program prepares you for eligibility to sit for the national board exam. In addition, you have the option to become a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach.

Why is accreditation important?  These programs are held accountable to teach the tasks, knowledge, and skills as defined by the Health and Wellness Job Task Analysis published by the National Board. (NBHWC, 2014) 

• Education and experience requirements for approved program faculty are monitored
• Approved programs are reviewed by a multidisciplinary panel of experts
• Approval is a key source of external validity for this program and your training
• Expert reviewers agree that this program meets stringent standards
• Assurance of quality control makes your attendance at an accredited institution attractive to employers and enhances your marketability 
   

“During your training with the Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program, we hope to provide a lot of opportunities for live interaction and feedback. Coaching brings a new and fresh approach to behavior change and to support students in learning the skills and practice of coaching… live interaction is key! We also have a large team of professionals currently working as certified health and wellness coaches. Your learning is built from and facilitated by those individuals currently working with the very same skills you are learning daily, within a variety of professional roles. Our mission is to create a rich, interactive, and connected learning environment for professionals interested in supporting people as they reconnect to the best version of themselves.” -Jamie Friend, NBC-HWC, Course Director 

Wellness coaching is a fluid and multi-dimensional skill. You are always striving to help someone progress in the areas they are stuck. This is done by always viewing the client as the expert in their own life, listening to them intently and without judgment and finding sources of inspiration that help them progress. Graduates of our program have utilized their coaching skills in a wide variety of professions, including but not limited to- certified wellness coach, worksite wellness coordinator, physician, resiliency specialist, registered yoga instructor, executive coach and consultant, registered dietician, certified tobacco treatment specialist.

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.

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. 

Advantages of becoming a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach

• Acknowledgement of having a recognized, comprehensive skillset from Mayo Clinic
• Competitive advantage over non-certified individuals
• Improved employability and career advancement opportunities
• Contribution to and elevation of the field of health and wellness coaching

Guidelines for becoming a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach

Step One- Successfully complete the Wellness Coach Training Program- Our flexible 12-week program provides students with the opportunity to learn and practice key coaching skills in a safe and supportive environment. During the program, you will be completing online assignments, attending a four full-day immersive virtual workshop, completing peer-to-peer coaching calls, receiving mentored coaching feedback and participating in live webinars. All this will be done with a group of like-minded students from around the country and world.

Step Two- Complete 50 hours of coaching within 2 years after finishing the training program- Client interactions should emphasize coaching skills and strategies taught in the Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program. Students must complete a case study documenting a series of sessions with one individual, highlighting the skills learned through the course. These skills include, but are not limited to, discussing roles, expectations and logistics of meetings and can also include:

• ​​​Enhancing motivation for health behavior change
• Assessing strengths, barriers, coping skills
• Establishing a wellness vision
• Applying coaching skills such as curious inquiry, empathy, reflective listening, or experimental goal setting
• Client interaction guidelines are provided within the training course
• Certification website - (alumni only) https://certification.ndceducation.mayo.edu/ -Alumni of the course return to this website to submit documentation for the initial certification and later, for recertification every three years. 

Volunteer Clients for Practice Hours
Volunteer clients are eligible for practice hour submission. However, time coaching significant others (for example, a spouse or partner) and first-degree relatives - a parent, sibling or child- will not be considered for practice hours. You may not coach your peers from class. All clients considered for practice must be 18 years or older.

Certification Time Period
Participants who meet the practice hour requirement will be certified for a three-year period beginning on the first day of the month following the completion of all paperwork and grading by Mayo Clinic staff. The initial Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Certification fee is included in your training registration.

Certification Renewal Requirements

• During the three-year period that participants are certified, documentation in the form of certificates of attendance will be required showing 30 hours of continuing education. At least 15 of the 30 hours must be from continuing education courses. Facilitating a course does not count. The additional 15 hours may come from coaching hours with a client.
• Continuing education hours include completed coursework and workshops relating to counseling, psychology, coaching or health behavior change. Education that is specific to a "specialty" area, such as sleep, nutrition, weight management or diabetes, also is acceptable. Coursework on topics unrelated to coaching or health are not accepted.
• When submitting, the students must include a certificate of completion that includes the number of credits earned, student name, course title, instructor and date. Mayo Clinic goes by the hours/credits that are earned based on that certificate. We do not accept just a syllabus, course agenda or estimated hours per week as proof of credit earned in lieu of the certificate of completion.
• Participants may be asked to provide goals, objectives, and information about the facilitator or speaker for any educational event submitted.
• The NBHWC has a directory of pre-approved continuing education providers that can be a very helpful starting point.
• If you would like to be notified of continuing education opportunities available through Mayo Clinic, be sure to opt-in for marketing within your profile. Select the Get Updates tab to review.

NBHWC Certification:
The Mayo Clinic Wellness Coach Training Program is an approved training program by the National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching. (NBHWC)
As an accredited course, we meet or exceed the NBHWC published standards for health and wellness coach training and education. Graduates from accredited programs qualify to apply for the NBHWC National Board Certification Exam and have the opportunity to earn the designation, National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC).