How to Become a Menopause Coach?

In recent years, there has been somewhat of an explosion of interest in, and awareness of, women’s health issues like the menopause. Thanks, at least in part to the tireless campaigning of a number of high-profile individuals, like Davina McCall for example, people now have much more open and able to talk about the menopause. This also explains, at least in part, why so many exercise professionals have a much greater interest in becoming a menopause coach.

The menopause isn’t taught in medical school because it isn’t a medical condition, it’s a life stage like puberty, so many general practitioners and other healthcare professionals simply don’t have the education, training, or skills they need to be able to adequately support women, clinically or emotionally. Thankfully, the British Menopause Society is great making strides to redress this issue.

The effects of a changing hormone profile in women are widespread, which can give rise to a range of symptoms that can change almost daily, and which many aren’t obviously linked to menopause. At the time of writing, there are over 30 recognised symptoms of menopause, but this is likely to change over time as more is understood about this inevitable life stage.

Throughout this article, we will explore how to become a menopause coach in the active leisure industry. The content will exclusively focus on exercise and nutrition professionals, and how they can better support female clients as they navigate the menopause and beyond. It is important to highlight that the requirements to become a menopause coach in other sectors (e.g., medical, workplace) are likely to be somewhat different, depending on the specific role, responsibilities, and duties they undertake.

What is a menopause coach?

In the active leisure industry, a menopause coach is essentially an exercise professional who has undertaken formal training and qualifications on menopause and its effect on women’s health and wellbeing. You can read more about these in our guide to menopause for fitness profesionals article.

Working with female clients, menopause coaches will primarily provide support and education to women while delivering other training or advisory services (e.g., exercise, nutrition, general lifestyle, behaviour change). Often, this support and education will take the form of open and empathic conversations about the client’s health and wellbeing. Naturally, menopause conversations need to be conducted in a sensitive way, respecting the client’s boundaries, privacy, and general willingness to talk about their experience/symptoms.

Some menopause coaches work with groups of clients, delivering specific exercise classes or sessions which foster group cohesion and togetherness, provide a greater social support network, while also teaching exercise and lifestyle modifications that can reduce women’s symptoms (e.g., pelvic floor training), also while improving their long-term health outcomes (e.g., reducing the risk of osteoporosis, heart disease, metabolic disorders).
Many women do not always recognise perimenopause symptoms, especially those who are younger, but also those in the early stages of their menopause journey. It is here where exercise and nutrition professionals can provide invaluable education and support, reassuring women that symptoms are normal, and that there are active steps that they can do to reduce their severity.

Signposting women who are experiencing difficulty, either physically, mentally, or emotionally, is an important part of any menopause coach’s role. Although things are improving, many women have reported feeling frustrated by the support and treatment options presented by their GP. Thankfully, the British Menopause Society has a list of specialist menopause clinicians that are available for private consultation should women feel they need this.

Why become a menopause coach?

For most women, the menopause is a defining and uncertain life stage that has physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. But more than this, the menopause represents that stage of life where women no longer have a functioning reproductive system, and this can have a detrimental effect on mental health, identity, and a women’s sense of life purpose (e.g., to be a mother).

The first thing that anyone considering becoming a menopause coach should consider is that the role is very much about supporting and listening to clients with the goal of trying to understand how they feel; this is the cornerstone of empathy. Consulting, advising, and educating women, including signposting them to specialist organisations and professionals, is likely to be a significant part of the role.

Given the pastoral nature of the menopause coaching role, most people will be attracted to this profession because of the opportunity to make a meaningful difference to people’s lives, and for many women, this is often at a time when they need that support the most. Becoming a menopause coach can be a rewarding and fulfilling career for people motivated by these outcomes.

Like any specialist service, people are invariably willing to pay more for a higher quality of service, support, and knowledge. Depending on the business model used by exercise and nutrition professionals, there may be opportunities to significantly increase earning potential also, especially if providing a premium service. That said, it’s important to underline that those who are motivated solely by financial gain are unlikely to become the best menopause coaches because the emphasis will be on the financials, not on what’s best for the client.

Government and other research agencies have begun to quantify the social and economic cost of not adequately supporting women in the workplace. According to data published by the Women and Equalities Commission about Menopause in the Workplace (2022), it was reported that around 900,000 women have left their employment because of the menopause symptoms. Exercise professionals working with women privately, or in a corporate health and wellbeing setting, will be able to provide higher levels of support and guidance, hopefully to the extent that women no longer feel like they need to leave the workplace. While this is an ambitious and lofty objective, it is certainly one worth pursuing, and is a valid enough reason.

Given that there appears to be somewhat of a knowledge and expertise gap where the menopause is concerned, any exercise professional thinking of becoming a menopause coach will need to be motivated by raising standards of care, education and awareness of health-promoting behaviours that can simultaneously reduce symptoms and improve health outcomes, physical and mental.

Qualifications required to become a menopause coach

Exercise and nutrition professionals will inevitably create bespoke exercise programmes, deliver classes, or group sessions to clients, and/or provide nutrition and healthy eating advice (where necessary). Before specialising as a menopause coach, exercise professionals will need to hold valid and industry-recognised qualification in the areas in which they want to practice (e.g., exercise, nutrition, behaviour change). These qualifications may include, but are not limited to:

• Level 3 Personal Training Diploma
• Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Pilates
• Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Yoga
• Level 4 Certificate in Coaching Nutrition

There are a number of menopause CPD training courses in the active leisure sector that provide coverage of menopause related subjects. Some are more comprehensive than others, and some are endorsed by awarding organisations (e.g., YMCA Awards, Active IQ), and others are not.

The most recognised qualification pathway to become an exercise or nutrition professional with a specialism in menopause is the Level 3 Award in Supporting Exercise and Physical Activity: Menopause. On completion of this qualification, you’d be eligible to refer to yourself as a ‘menopause coach’. This is a fully regulated qualification (Ofqual), that is endorsed by CIMSPA, and which is widely recognised throughout the industry as a

Scope of practice for menopause coaches

As has been stated already, exercise professionals are not qualified to diagnose or treat, whether this is the menopause, or other associated conditions, like osteoporosis, heart disease, or metabolic disorders for example.

The overarching role of exercise professionals is about educating, informing, and signposting where necessary to qualified medical professionals, while providing greater exercise, nutrition and lifestyle advice.

In situations where clients present with one or more long-term conditions, unless additional qualifications are held (e.g., an exercise referral qualification, supporting clients with long-term conditions), or where these conditions are not controlled by medication and/or other medical interventions (confirmed by a medical professional), exercise professionals should not be working with clients. This would be outside of their scope of professional practice also.

When menopause coaches are proving nutrition advice and education, this must be general, information, and with the goal of educating clients so that they can make their own informed nutrition decisions. It is widely reported that exercise professionals cannot write meal plans, or promote the use of specific supplements; both of these are definitely outside of the scope of fitness or nutrition coaches.

There is no shortage of lifestyle-related changes that fitness professionals can support clients with, and many of these have strong evidence and long-lasting effects on health, fitness, wellbeing, and future disease risk. This is where the focus should be.

Where do menopause coaches work?

Menopause coaches work in variety of different ways and deliver their services using a range of different mediums, including in-person, online virtually, and some provide more on-demand education material, with options to access virtual coaching services on an as and when basis.

Most nutrition coaches provide their service alongside their existing health, fitness and/or nutrition-coaching services. Whether they are working as a health and wellbeing coach, a personal trainer delivering gym-based exercise (or outdoors), or a nutrition coach, they will often provide specialist support packages and programmes to clients needing help with menopause-related issues.

In many cases, exercise professionals also simply embed their menopause coaching services into their existing offering, allowing them to better recognise which participants may be in need of a higher level of support service. Here, they get the opportunity to upsell clients to a more tailored and bespoke menopause service.

Many group exercise instructors also deliver workshops, exercise, and mindful movement classes specifically for female clients at this stage in their life. Focusing on pelvic floor control, core stabilisation, balance and falls prevention activities, these classes are especially often delivered alongside more movement-focused exercise disciplines, like Pilates and yoga for example.

Summary

If you are thinking about becoming a menopause coach, there is clearly a great deal to consider.

First and foremost, it’s essential that you find a high-quality foundational menopause course that is delivered by technical experts. For example, our menopause qualification is delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of British Menopause Society Menopause Specialists, with decades of combined clinical experience of supporting women in this field. Beware of shorter more intense programmes, especially those completed entirely online without input from non-British Menopause Society Menopause Specialists.
Once you’ve completed this foundational training, it’s a good idea to undertake additional research, reading, and regular CPD, to expand your technical knowledge and understanding. The British Menopause Society have a number of training programmes available. While most are only accessible by healthcare professionals, others are not, so there are still options for exercise professionals.

Finally, supervised experience is essential in any profession, so finding suitable menopause mentor, whether they are a clinician working in private practice (it’s unlikely the NHS would allow such opportunities), or another exercise professional with much more experience in this field, you cannot put a price on the value of this approach. Working alongside another more experienced professional is by and far the best way to develop a broader and deeper understanding of all things menopause.

References:

1. Women and Equalities Committee (2022). Menopause and the workplace – Women and Equalities Committee. [online] Parliament.uk. Available at: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmwomeq/91/report.html.

Author

Lee Cain

Writer, Tutor and Experienced Fitness Professional

Lee has over 20 years’ experience in the health and fitness industry and has performed multiple roles, including physical training instructor, strength and conditioning coach, lecturer, writer, tutor, assessor and verifier for vocational qualifications. He has a passion for all things exercise, with his key specialisms being strength and performance-based training.