The world’s first certification for fitness professionals to support mental wellbeing will be launched early next year.

Created by the John W Brick Mental Health Foundation, the Mental Well-Being certification for Fitness Professionals will provide the tools to create self-care programmes and environments to support mental wellbeing.

The 20-hour certification is rooted in evidence-based research and has been curated with the input of some of the world’s leading experts in this area, including Dr Gerard Bodeker, chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Mental Wellness Initiative.

“We're bridging the gap between traditional fitness and mental wellbeing,” says Victor Brick, founder of the John W Brick Mental Health Foundation. “This certification will benefit not only fitness professionals, but also their staff, their clients and their communities.”

With 78 per cent of people now exercising for their mental/emotional wellbeing, and 94 per cent of clients talking to their personal trainers about nutrition, stress, sleep and injury, this certification is a resource that fills a gap in training provision.

Available online, the course can be undertaken at the individuals’ own pace and from anywhere in the world. It explores effective coaching practices for nurturing client relationships, defines the role of fitness professionals in managing mental wellbeing concerns and explains the protocols for referrals.

Modules include movement and exercise; nutrition; mindfulness and meditation; social connection; combating stigma; basic health and wellness coaching skills and ethics and collaboration.

The qualification will arm fitness professionals to support global mental health, which has nosedived since the pandemic. One in five Americans are now living with mental illness, with one and three adolescents meeting the criteria for an anxiety order by the age of 18.

ACE Fitness ran a mental health summit last month to empower fitness professionals to support clients in this area. Look out for the report in an upcoming edition of HCM.

The Mental Well-Being certification for Fitness Professionals is currently available at a 40 per cent discount for US$299 and can be pre-purchased here.