The UKIHCA Professional Standards for Education and Training in Whole-Health & Wellbeing Coaching 2024

Health Coaching: A Whole-Health Approach

UKIHCA and its members are committed to playing a leading role in the movement for whole-health creation – a movement which considers the impact of the unique bio-psycho-emotional-social-spiritual-environmental factors on individual health, reaching out across borders to influence the development of international professional standards and the profession of health coaching globally.

Unpinning the UKIHCA Professional Standards for Education and Training in Whole-Health & Wellbeing Coaching is the concept of whole-health. We believe that a whole-health approach, which places a whole-person at the centre of their lived experience and is rooted in each individual finding purpose, meaning and community is fundamental to sustaining lifestyle and behaviour change.

As our understanding evolves, UKIHCA-Approved Members and UKIHCA Registered Health Coaches will be equipped with this context, knowledge and skills not only to work competently with individuals and groups, but to build the bridges and open the doors to create the connections and foster relationships that will enable and encourage fellow health care practitioners and all professionals with an interest in improving population health, to work collaboratively across every discipline and sector to empower people, communities and society to create whole-health at every level.

The UKIHCA Professional Standards for Education and Training in Whole-Health & Wellbeing Coaching (Standards) set a framework for the provision and quality of education and training for professional health coaches.

They include:

standards of education and quality assurance for training providers
taught knowledge and skills
competencies expected for graduating professional health coaches
The competencies are based upon and dependent on the relevant foundational taught knowledge and skills.

The UKIHCA 2024 Standards, published today, are the result of the Association’s policy to review standards for education and training on a triennial basis and the review process initiated in Sept 2023. These Standards are a revision of the original Standards published in 2021.

If you have queries in relation to the revised Standards, please reach out to [email protected]