Active IQ is preparing to launch a Level 3, nested wellbeing qualification that covers coaching for positive behavioural change, mental resilience and lifestyle programming.

MD of Active IQ, Jenny Patrickson, says: “It's the right time to launch this qualification, as there's a commercial opportunity for physical activity professionals to increase the breadth of what they do and get another string to their bow. The content can be adapted for one-to-one, small group or corporate settings.”

The guided learning for the diploma totals 270 hours and modules can be completed in any order. Any one module gives CPD credits. Completion of modules one to four leads to a certificate and individuals will be awarded with a diploma in Health and Wellbeing Coaching if they complete all six.

Module five covers working with people living in larger bodies and there is potential for this to be spun off as a standalone unit to inform coaches who work with people taking GLP-1 medications.

The modules are:
1. Foundations of Health and Wellbeing Coaching
2. Coaching for Positive Behaviour Change
3. Professional Practice for Health & Wellbeing Coaches
4. Promoting Mental Resilience and Wellbeing
5. Lifestyle Programming, Design and Delivery for Underserved Populations
6. Leveraging Commercial Opportunities in Health and Wellbeing Coaching

Wellbeing consultant and resilience expert, Glenda Rivoallan, has pulled together the qualification and is excited about its potential: “It has been written with a positive psychology lens, so we look at how we can rewire the brain from a neuroscience perspective for positivity. An example is the language we use – we don’t talk about 'weight management', we talk about 'weight health'.

“The qualification is designed to inform coaches on how they can build mental resilience and wellbeing in clients in order to help them thrive. We also cover the scientific evidence of the approaches used," she explains.

"Module four excites me because we bring in expertise about how to prevent mental illness, rather than how to cure it.

“In modules five and six we look at leveraging the opportunities for the underserved populations – for example people living in larger bodies – and programming for lifestyle factors, such as sleep, nutrition, physical activity and positive flourishing. We look at the design and delivery of lifestyle programming and how to operationalise these wellbeing principles into practical interventions.”

Active IQ recently held a stakeholder employer engagement event to get feedback, which is now being incorporated into the draft. Patrickson says the feedback was very positive.

The diploma will be introduced to the UK industry at Elevate, London, in June, and will be available from the start of the academic year in September. It will be delivered as a mix of face-to-face and online learning. The cost is yet to be decided.