Sharing my review (so far!) of the Integrative Health Practitioner certification and my thoughts on the program. I’m so thrilled to be partnering with Dr. Stephen Cabral on a few podcast episodes, and he also generously gifted access to my level 1 and level 2 certification programs. In this post, I’ll be sharing an update on the course and my thoughts so far. If you’d like to join me as a study buddy, head here and use the code FITNESSISTA for $100 off Level 1 and $250 off levels 1 and 2.
Helloooooo. How’s the week? I hope you’re having a lovely morning. I’m taking a F45 class with a friend and looking forward to dinner tonight at a new Tucson restaurant. I’ll definitely report back! The rest of the day is going to be spend working on new Fit Team content, interacting with our amazing Total Body reset group, and getting tomorrow’s Friday Faves post ready to go.
For today’s post, I’m excited to share my experience with the Integrative Health Practitioner course and how I plan to use this certification. I’ve loved diving into these modules and know that it will be an entirely new layer to my coaching.
There have been times when I’ve worked with a nutrition client online and wished I could suggest specific labs (it’s NOT in the scope of practice for a nutrition coach or personal trainer to do this. All you can do is refer out to an RD or doctor). This is one of the many reasons why I asked Mia to work with me this year. Mia can do all of these things, but as my online practice continues to grow, I’ve wanted to be able to learn how to do all of this myself.
Integrative Health Practitioner Certification
What is the IHP certification?
The Integrative Health Practitioner certification was created by Dr. Stephen Cabral. If you’re not familiar with his work, Dr. Stephen Cabral is a Board Certified Doctor of Naturopathy and founder of the EquiLife & the Integrative Health Practitioner Institute, and Author of the International Best-Selling Book, The Rain Barrel Effect. After almost 20 years and over 600,000 pages of research study completed, dozens of certifications in the natural health field, over a quarter of a million private client sessions, and a doctoral degree in Naturopathy – Dr. Cabral‘s knowledge, experience, and passion are at the top of his field.
I’ve been following him on Instagram for a couple of years and recently had him as a guest on the podcast. I’d looked at this certification a handful of times and knew I wanted to do it eventually — this partnership was a sign that it was meant to happen right now. 🙂
I’ve had a huge benefit from working with naturopathic doctors and functional medicine practitioners throughout the years, particularly when I was told, “Nothing is wrong” or that I’d, “Just have to live with it” by various physicians. (This is not the case with everyone! Also worth mentioning here that my Nurse Practitioner here in Tucson, who is my Primary Care, is AMAZING.) But there have been a handful of times in my life when I thought things were hopeless… and were told they were actually hopeless. All I needed to do was seek out another physician (sometimes you just need a second or third opinion!) or alternative options to get the help we needed.
I’ve been soaking in all of the lessons and can’t wait until I’m fully certified so I can help clients in a different way.
IHP is based on 7 integrative disciplines:
– Ayurvedic medicine (the science of life and body-typing)
– Bioregulatory medicine (the science of self healing and rebalancing)
– Chinese medicine and herbalism (unlocking nature’s healing wisdom)
– Eastern Philosophy (using the mind to heal the body)
– Traditional Naturopathy (the “right living” to reverse illness)
– Orthomolecular medicine (the science of vitamins and minerals as “medicine”)
– and Functional medicine (state-of-the-art lab testing to determine underlying root causes)
There are two levels of IHP: Level 1, which teaches you how to introduce healthy habits based on the DESTRESS method (diet, exercise, stress, toxin removal, rest, emotional balance, supplements, and success mindset) and Level 2, which focuses on 7 functional medicine labs (including HTMA, OAT, DUTCH), the ability to recommend and analyze these labs, and suggest an action plan depending on the results.
Each lesson is about 30 minutes, and Dr. Cabral includes suggested reading material, complementary podcast episodes, and shares tons of resources and handouts to use for clients. Since it’s so in-depth, the full course can take about 6 months and level 2 can take 6 months to a year. I’m a couple of months in, and not even halfway through the first level.
What I like about IHP:
– This is exactly what I want to be learning and know I can use these skills to help 1:1 clients, with the content I create here on the blog, and also with group coaching and courses I develop. I want to help as many people as possible to have happy, balanced hormones, optimal energy, and help them break through the *noise* to create consistent and sustainable healthy habits. This is another step in my education process and I’ve loving it so far.
– Dr. Cabral. If you follow him on Instagram or listen to his podcast, you know that he’s incredibly knowledgeable but also can tell that he’s a genuinely *good person* who truly wants to help others on their path to healing. I enjoy watching each lesson video and learn something valuable from every.single.one. He really did an incredible job with the content and delivery of the course.
– Extra support. They offer a private Facebook group for IHP candidates and certified practitioners, live calls, and will even refer clients to IHP Level 2 graduates. I also appreciate all of the handouts and resources we can use and share with clients when we’re finished with the certification process.
Any cons?
– It’s hard for me to study on the go, and feel like I need to be at my computer taking notes. Dr. Cabral dives into a LOT of information, and I know that it will be even more prevalent in Level 2. I just feel like time is the only thing standing in the way, since the lessons are around 30 minutes each and I need to be at home to complete them. I think my only frustration is that I can’t blast through the information as quickly as I would like, but at the same time, it’s enabling me to truly absorb all of the lessons.
I think that’s the only con!
If any of my fellow health professional friends are looking for another way to help their clients, I highly recommend IHP. You can also use this information to heal yourself and then go one to heal others, which I think is a beautiful mission.
You can use my referral link here and the code FITNESSISTA for $100 or $250 off (depending on whether you’re doing Level 1 only or both levels for a higher discount).
So, tell me friends: what’s a healthy habit you do every day that makes you feel amazing?
If you could change careers or add another certification to your resume, which one would you choose?
xo
Gina
The post Integrative Health Practitioner Certification appeared first on The Fitnessista.
