Your Questions on Becoming a Holistic Nutritional Therapist

Questions about studying

Can I study while I am still working?

Most of our students study while in a full time job, or sometimes while parenting full time. During their second and third year studies some students drop their work to four or three days a week, so they still have a regular income, but have more time to study and see clients, and start building their ideal business.

How much time do I need to spend per week on study and homework?

On all of the three year courses there is approximately 6 to 8 hours work to do at home each week. This is mostly practical work, like cooking certain dishes or meals, and interviewing or giving nutritional recommendations to clients. There are no long essays to write! Should life emergencies come up during a course, such as illness, marriages or deaths in the family etc. then it is possible to ask for extensions on handing in your work.

How big are the classes?

We have a maximum of 10 students in each year course, so there is plenty of time for individual students to get personal guidance in their learning, and in developing their own physical and emotional health.

We also have 10 complete cooking stations in our onsite cooking school, so all students can individually cook and receive guidance from tutors.

Should I take the onsite or online Holistic Nutrition & Cooking Course?

If you are able to attend the onsite first year Holistic Nutrition & Cooking course, you have the added benefits of being able to get to know your fellow students better, and talk with your tutors out of class time. You will be sharing your meals with everyone, and have the chance to connect more deeply.

The school is situated in beautiful and peaceful countryside, and you can take walks, or catch up on rest and recuperation during breaks in the classes. And you will be fed the absolutely best organic wholefood meals you can imagine!

If you a long way away from the school the online course can be the better option, with most of the study online. As we only have small groups, you will get to know your fellow students well, and we set up a WhatsApp group for students to communicate between teaching days.

The online first year Holistic Nutrition and Cooking Course ends with an onsite module at the school, to help your practical learning of cooking, Do-in energy exercises and emotional listening and supportive skills. Students really enjoy getting together at the school in August, developing their cooking skills, and getting to know each other more deeply!

I have not done a lot of academic studies, will I be able to cope with the theory part of the training?

This is a very practical training, and the emphasis is on experiential learning. This means we want you to experience the theory we teach, for example feeling the affects of different foods and dishes on your body, or the effect of exercises for stimulating and rebalancing particular meridians and organs.

The self study at home is also very practical, experimenting with cooking different dishes and styles, learning exercises for different meridians, and interviewing or giving holistic nutritional therapy to clients.

Will I fit in with the other students in my class?

Your group of students is an important part of your learning, as you move together through various aspects of the studies. You may be sharing your own health stories and personal struggles with the group, and listening to others share their experiences.

At the beginning of each year course we give guidance on how to create a safe, non-judging and supportive group, and then build on this throughout the course. This helps students to feel safe to be themselves, and to be accepted by all in the group.

Our experience is that your fellow group members can be a big source of mutual support during your studies. We see many students forming lifetime friendships with their class mates.

Do I have to be fit and well to join this training course?

To be honest, most students joining the Holistic Nutrition & Cooking Course have some health ailments, which usually improve during their studies. So no you do not need to be in perfect health before joining our longer courses.

When we are studying, we also learn a lot from exploring how to heal our own ailments, which helps create a strong personal experiential knowledge of healing we can then use to help others.

How much personal help will I get on the course?

A lot. We keep the training courses to a maximum of 10 students, so there is plenty of time for you to ask questions and be guided in your learning of cooking, Co-in exercises, Far Eastern medicine and health diagnosis etc.

Also part of the aim of all three years is to support students in developing their own physical and emotional health and wellbeing, so there is time scheduled in the programme to answer students personal health questions and give support in making positive changes.

In addition on all three years there are regular tutorial sessions, in a group of three or four students, to give space for personal health and learning questions.

Will I be seeing real clients during the training courses?

Yes, this is an important part of learning real life skills. In the first year Holistic Nutrition & Cooking course students interview some people to practice their communication and Far Eastern medicine health assessment methods.

During the second year Holistic Nutritional Therapy course students observe tutors giving sessions, and practice themselves under their supervision. Students also regularly see clients at home, giving nutritional and health advice. This all builds up confidence and skills in giving health consultations. During this year students also learn Wellbeing Shiatsu, a very effective form of bodywork for de-stressing, deeply relaxing, and healing some common musculo-skeletal problems.

This continues in the third year Advanced Holistic Nutritional Therapy training, seeing clients on many of the teaching modules, and taking on clients at home.

How much western anatomy, physiology and pathology is studied?

This is an important part of the second and third year courses, to give a good understanding of how the body works on an anatomical and physiological level. This is taught assuming no prior knowledge, so don’t be put off if you have not studied this before.

Questions about graduating

How do I transition from my present way of earning money, to becoming a Holistic Nutritional Therapist?

Many people make a gradual transition, continuing with their present way of earning money while studying, to bring in a regular income. Later in the training students often reduce their hours in their current work, so they can start building their new career seeing clients, teaching or cooking. This way can feel safer than the jumping off option!

Take a leap once you have graduated, into your new business, and work hard to build it up! This can be easier if you have a partner who is earning from their work, or you have some savings, to support you through your transition.

In practice our students often start building their businesses before graduating, so once graduated they already have the beginnings of a business. You will be seeing clients as part of your training courses, and developing all the skills involved in finding clients, booking appointments, giving sessions in-person and online, and seeing clients over a period of time. So it is a small step up to beginning to charge for your sessions once you have graduated.

Is this qualification widely recognised?

There are a variety of training courses and professional bodies in nutrition, lifestyle medicine etc. Our training courses have been approved by the international Complementary Medicine Association, and the Macrobiotic Association.

Once you have graduated from the second or third year courses, you have easy access to joining their practitioner registers, to give yourself professional credibility in the world.

What if I do the training and decide not to practice as a therapist?

That’s fine. Some students do one, two or even three years of training simply because they are fascinated by all they are learning, and find it incredibly useful to apply to their own lives. There is a requirement to complete Home Study tasks, as this reinforces students’ learning of various knowledge and skills studied in classes

Questions about working as a Holistic Nutritional Therapist

What’s great about working as a Holistic Nutritional Therapist?

Where do we start!  You have the freedom to design your working life, which days and which hours you work, and when you take holidays You can fit this work around other things in your life such as childcare, or other types of work.

Once you are established, your hourly rate for seeing clients typically vary between £60 and £120 an hour, depending on which country you live in, and if you are in a city or a more rural area. This means you can earn a substantial income from working two or three days a week, or four or five half days in a week.

You can follow your own personal direction in growing your business, as you have learnt a range of skills. Most graduates focus on seeing individual clients giving holistic nutritional therapy sessions, and very often also offering shiatsu bodywork as a second healing modality. Other graduates love to cook, and develop their cooking on retreats, for families or in restaurants. And some love to offer educational classes to the public, starting a cookery school, teaching their own classes or retreats.

This line of work can give incredible jog satisfaction, seeing your clients or students heal a wide range of health problems, regain control over their health, and find more creative and enjoyable ways of living. You can also be a strong catalyst in their personal growth, and helping them find deeper meaning in their lives.

What different ways can I use my training in growing a business?

This full training gives a number of different skills and work options, and we find graduates are very creative in creating the lines of work that inspires them the most.

Some graduates love the individual work, giving nutritional and lifestyle advice and emotional support to clients, often alongside giving shiatsu treatments as an additional income stream. For people already offering other therapies, it is easy to add giving nutritional advice to the help they can offer their clients.

Others love to cook, and cater for retreats, families or in the plant based restaurants which are becoming increasingly common. They may also start teaching healthy plant based, wholefoods cooking classes, or combine cooking the healthiest meals alongside teaching yoga or Qi Gong.

For some the shiatsu bodywork really calls to them, and this becomes a large part of their work.

One of the advantages of this training is that you graduate with a number of skills, giving a number of possible income streams, so you can follow your passions and interests in creating a new career!

Do Holistic Nutritional Therapists work for other people or work self-employed?

Mostly they work as a self-employed therapist, cook or body worker. This might be working from home, in a health centre, or sometimes as part of a team on retreats or other events.

Where do Holistic Nutritional Therapists work?

Many start working from home, setting aside a room in their house, or creating a purpose build room such as converting a garage or building a garden cabin. This is a low cost option to begin with.

The world has moved online, and we train people to also give holistic nutritional therapy sessions using Zoom etc. which is easy to do from home. This can greatly expand the number of people you are available to, which is great for building your business.

The other main option is to work from a local natural health centre, which are becoming increasingly common. You will pay to hire a room on an hourly basis or

for a fixed amount of time each week, and benefit from a more social way of working, with some separation from home life.

Some graduates are also happy to visit clients in their homes to give advice or treatments.

I have never been self-employed, will the school help me to understand everything about being self-employed?

Definitely. If you haven’t been self-employed before, there’s quite a bit to learn about how to promote your business, manage your finances, pay tax and national insurance etc. We support our students during the second and third year courses, and also post graduation, to help create a solid business that supports you well.

How can I build a business as a Holistic Nutritional Therapist?

Alongside building your confidence and competency in offering therapy, cooking, educational classes etc. you also need to be putting a proportion of your time into telling people what you are offering. Some common ways of doing this are through having a simple website, creating a leaflet you can leave in health food shops, health centres etc, using social media such as Facebook or Instagram, and having stands at health fairs or festivals.

At first is it good to use your existing social network, tell everyone what you are offering, so word of mouth starts working for you. Learn how to speak in positive confident ways to inspire people, and with clarity on what you are offering, where you work, how much you charge etc.

Many graduates start building a practice during their training (offering free sessions while still studying) or paid for cooking or classes, so there is an easier transition to working professionally and charging for your services.

At first you may need to put a fair amount of time into promoting yourself, with time word of mouth tends to take over, as your clients tell others of all the benefits of seeing you.

Am I too old to become a Holistic Nutritional Therapist?

Almost certainly not! Most of our students range in age from their late twenties into their sixties. If you felt drawn to these studies, then go for it and don’t let your age get in the way!

Some of our older students express how much they wish they had come across these life supporting teachings earlier in their lives, but are so glad to be now learning about how to take care of their own health, and to be able to offer this to other people.

Can I work part-time or full-time as a Holistic Nutritional Therapist?

Both are possible. Many graduates are looking for a part-time career, alongside looking after children, parents, or doing other work or activities. Working two or three half days a week can earn a significant amount of money.

For some offering holistic nutritional therapy is an add-on to providing other forms of therapy, and helps to broaden what they can offer.

It is also possible to create a full-time business, often by offering a range of services such as individual nutritional advice, shiatsu bodywork and cooking classes, or working in a restaurant or for health-orientated retreats.

What are typical fees for offering Holistic Nutritional Therapy sessions?

This varies widely depending on where you are living. In the UK nutritional therapists and shiatsu practitioners working in rural areas may work at £50 - £70 an hour, in cities more like £70 - £100 an hour. Most people’s first session is 1 ½ hours, and follow up sessions are 1 hour.

Rates are similar in northern Europe, in southern and eastern Europe they are often lower. In the United States they are substantially higher.

To get an idea of what you could charge, have a look around at what other people are charging for complementary health sessions in your area.

Further support in your new career

Will the school support me after I have graduated?

We support our graduates in a range of ways in their transition into professional practice.

Each year the school principal Oliver Cowmeadow runs an online Supervision Group, meeting 6 or 7 times a year, in which you can discuss your clients and get advice on how to guide them. Participants learn so much in these small groups, about real life problems and real life people.

The school also runs postgraduate courses at the school or online, and runs a Graduate Business Support Group to help graduates develop their marketing and ways of promoting themselves, to create the business they want.

Can I get insurance?

Yes you can get insurance as a complementary therapist in most countries now. The fee depends on what therapies you are offering, for nutritional advice and shiatsu in the UK the annual fee is under £100. If you live in other countries check what is on offer where you are.