DHWCT Alumni FAQs

As a graduate of the Duke Integrative Health Coach Professional Training, you may continue to use Integrative Health Coach or Health Coach in your title. If you would like to use Duke Health & Well-Being, we have included some options below.  

As a reminder, although you may use the Duke name when discussing your training, please do not use the Duke name in a way that implies you are employed, supported, endorsed, or sponsored by Duke.  

Below are some examples of correct and incorrect references depending on your current certification

For Foundation Course graduates:

YES – This is OK:

• Integrative Health Coach, Trained at Duke IM or Health & Well-Being Coach, Trained at Duke Health
• Duke IM Trained Integrative Health Coach or Duke Health Trained Health & Well-Being Coach
• Graduate of the Duke IM Integrative Health Coach Professional Training Program

NO – This is not OK: 

• Duke Integrative Health Coach
• Duke IM Integrative Health Coach

For those who have also completed the IHCPT Certification course, you may further distinguish yourself by adding “Certified” to your title. Here are some examples of that. 

This is OK for Certified Coaches: 

• Certified Integrative Health Coach, Trained at Duke IM or 
• Certified Health & Well-Being Coach, Trained at Duke Health & Well-Being 

• Integrative Health Coach, Certified by Duke IM or 
• Health & Well-Being Coach, Certified by Duke Health & Well-Being 

• Duke IM Trained Certified Integrative Health Coach or
• Duke Health & Well-Being Coach Certified 

• Certified Graduate of the Duke IM Integrative Health Coach Professional Training Program or
• Certified Graduate of the Duke Health & Well-Being Professional Coach Training 

If a participant represents that they are currently affiliated with Duke in any way, Duke Health & Well-Being can revoke that title at their sole discretion. 

This course is not the same, but the curriculum includes content from both the Foundation and Certification training programs previously offered, plus additional deeper dives into content, mentoring sessions, and current research. As you may know, the National Board now requires completion of content from both the previous Foundation and Certification courses to sit for the exam. The DHWCT prepares the learner for a career as a health coach while also qualifying as the required training by the National Board for credentialing.  

Our mission is to deliver high-quality, experiential training that best supports the development of professional health & well-being coaches to partner with clients effectively and skillfully for successful, sustainable health behavior change. 

In order to best meet this mission and to support our alignment with the professionalization of health coaching via the National Board Certification, we have decided to: 

1. Change the name of our program to Duke Health & Well-Being Coach Training. 
2. Combine our current Foundation and Certification Courses into a single training including core competencies and advanced skills:

• • Phase 1: Core Competencies
    • The Core Competencies phase is delivered through live instructor-led training and an online curriculum which includes coaching demonstrations, experiential practice, facilitated feedback, and abilities to test learning objectives throughout the course.  

• • Phase 2: Advanced Skills
    • The Advanced Skills phase is focused on more in-depth practice and work with experienced coach mentors. Students will participate in 4 one-on-one mentor sessions for personalized feedback, be a part of self-directed peer practice groups and attend expert-led advanced application seminars.  The Advanced Skills phase concludes with successful completion of an oral exam, which serves as the final practical skills assessment to ensure graduates are proficient in applying the training principles in a real-world setting. 

We believe these changes will allow our graduates to be eligible for the board exam and provide practice of both foundational and advanced skills and concepts.