The Certified Wellness Coach is a new profession that is helping increase our state’s overall capacity to support the behavioral health and well-being of California’s children and youth in a wide variety of settings, such as schools, community-based organizations and health providers.
The profession is intended to support the development of a larger, more representative behavioral health workforce, providing young people with increased support from people who they can connect with, who speak their language, understand their communities, and work in places that are convenient to youth. Through wellness promotion, screening, and crisis referral, Certified Wellness Coaches help make behavioral health support more inclusive and readily available to youth, bridging the crucial gap between need and accessibility.
Build a workforce with knowledge of prevention and early intervention supports and services that can support the behavioral health needs of California children and youth.
Serve as a new, certified role for undergraduate degree holders keen on addressing young people’s behavioral health needs, filling a crucial workforce gap between certificate-level positions requiring graduate-level clinical degrees.
Help create a more diverse and representative behavioral health workforce.