The Functional Medicine Coaching Academy (FMCA) is seeing a trend: a big uptick in interest from Australia and New Zealand. As Functional Medicine and Health Coaching expand internationally, our community is growing, too. Along with this global growth comes partnerships that enable us to better serve our students in each region. Through our work with the Health Coaches Australia and New Zealand Association (HCANZA), we are excited to welcome more and more Aussie and Kiwi students into our Health Coach Certification Program!
There are many paths that lead to becoming a Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (FMCHC), but what really resonates with us is each student’s “why”—their purpose, and how their journey led them to FMCA. Many of our students and alumni have found us through their own personal health journeys. We asked some of our Aussie and Kiwi coaches to share their journeys with us here:
Linda Funnell-Milner, FMCHC
FMCA Class of February 2017 and Chair of HCANZA, Australia
Q: What inspired you to become a Functional Medicine Health Coach?
A: I’m a practicing Functional Nutritionist and Clinical Hypnotherapist. I wanted to improve the percentage of success in my clients implementing protocols…I knew the technical advice my clients were getting was correct, but needed to invest in truly understanding the important role of behavior change methodologies that allowed me to become much more client-centered in my approach.
Q: Why did you choose to study at The Functional Medicine Coaching Academy?
A: I had always followed the Institute of Functional Medicine. FMCA have the rock star faculty and information.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to future students considering FMCA, what would it be?
A: An investment in this program is an investment in you and your future clients. You are worth it!
Q: If we asked you to describe the power of health coaching, what would you say?
A: The biggest point of differentiation is the absolute focus on the client and meeting them where ‘they are at’. Having clients discover and recognize their own strengths, abilities, and resources changes their journey into the future and beyond current programs.
Jenny Marshall, FMCHC
FMCA Class of March 2019, Australia
Q: What inspired you to become a Functional Medicine Health Coach?
A: My journey to health has inspired me to become a Functional Medicine Heath Coach as the course mirrors my experience. I was a morbidly obese child in a family with a history of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. I was addicted to food and by the time I was 12 I weighed 132 kg. My weight peaked at around 250 kg. I was lucky to develop a close friendship with a supportive and caring person who happened to be a doctor. My life changed when I realised that she would be hurt if I died. I mattered to her. So, I began walking, and slowly changing my eating habits, taking her advice. This involved overcoming my addiction to sugar, limiting fast foods, and walking for exercise and to release stress. I lost over 100 kg in the process. I took a test for food sensitivities as I suffered from severe stomach pains. The test revealed I was sensitive to 68 foods. After removing these foods, the pain lessened, my moods improved depression lifted, and I lost more weight. Eventually I underwent three surgeries to remove excess skin. It has been an incredible journey, and I am so grateful for the outcome. I am healthy, happy, and fit, with a deep understanding of myself. Now I want to help others in their journey to health.
Q: Why did you choose to study at The Functional Medicine Coaching Academy?
A: My friend who is a doctor was studying to become a Functional Medicine Practitioner and encouraged me to take the course. She believed I would be perfect for the role as I had a practical understanding of the course material and an understanding of people through my own journey.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to future students considering FMCA, what would it be?
A: Don’t try, just be. Let yourself flow so that you express your heart in caring for others. In this way we are our best selves.
Q: If we asked you to describe the power of health coaching, what would you say?
A: The power comes through our relationship our clients. We are not directive. The coach draws alongside the client, meeting them where they are at. We walk with them through their healing process.
Charlene Harvey, FMCHC
FMCA Class of January 2018, Australia
Q: What inspired you to become a Functional Medicine Health Coach?
A: My son has a chronic autoimmune disease called eosinophilic oesophagitis (EoE) and after my experience with the healthcare system in Australia, and being faced with an incurable disease diagnosis for my son made me realise that there must be another, better way to approach healthcare.
Q: Why did you choose to study at The Functional Medicine Coaching Academy?
A: At the time I was unsure where to start. I wanted an education that would potentially lead me into a job in the field and FMCA seemed like it had the most comprehensive curriculum.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to future students considering FMCA, what would it be?
A: I have never met a person who said that they regretted educating themselves!
Q: If we asked you to describe the power of health coaching, what would you say?
A: Health coaching has the power to change lives. I have seen it in myself just by doing the course itself. I have seen it in my son who lives medication-free now. I have seen it in the patients that I coach in clinic, and you just need to look at the Google reviews on Melbourne Functional Medicine’s site to see for yourself.
Samantha McBride, FMCHC
FMCA Class of January 2018, New Zealand
Q: What inspired you to become a Functional Medicine Health Coach?
A: I actually wanted to be a Doctor growing up and switched courses at the 11th hour, and ended up doing a Human Physiology Degree instead—something I am extremely grateful for now. I went to see Dr. Libby in Queenstown about 6 years ago, and the passion for this amazing vessel in which we live was reignited, at a crossroads in my life knowing that there had to be more to life than owning a sign writing business. I looked into life coaching for a bit but it just really seemed to lack the substance and real improvements that I was wanting to achieve with helping people live better lives. The search around this led me to The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). I knew that I would have to do some significant study to become a practitioner but was considering it when I suddenly saw the FMCA. This was the answer to all my questions. The thought of working with people to improve so many aspects of their life was inspiring and I have been passionate about coaching ever since, and now as a coach, I’m delighted I did not become the Doctor!
Q: Why did you choose to study at The Functional Medicine Coaching Academy?
A: The credibility of this course, the fact that it was backed by the IFM, and all the amazing work that the organisation has done, sold the course to me very quickly. It was really hard to also find a course that did not have a hidden agenda of products or systems to sell, and was really giving you the tools to develop your own coaching style to deliver.
Q: If you could give one piece of advice to future students considering FMCA, what would it be?
A: I would say find your passion, the thing that excites you, it is part of your own journey as a coach. I spent the first couple of years trying to be everything to everyone, and I think sometimes you have to do that. I guess if you are working for a practitioner there are certain parameters around that and I would have loved to have that security but that was not an option for me in rural NZ. So I did try to be everything to everyone—which is exhausting but also makes it clear what you love most about the role. For me in the nicest possible way I have become passionate about groups of men! Enabling comradery between blokes and developing the mindset and skills to help them thrive is the reason I get up in the morning. I feel so grateful that after 47 years I have developed my first true career passion.
Q: If we asked you to describe the power of health coaching, what would you say?
A: I believe coaching offers the best answer we have for creating health and reversing chronic disease. I think with coaching, meeting people where they are at, not just in the active cases of poor health but also in the preventative space, is something that should be done by all governments. If they really started to do the sums they would realise the huge long term gains this could have to economies, and more importantly the thriving communities it is creating.
These inspiring Functional Medicine Health Coaches are the future of the movement in Australia and New Zealand—and we couldn’t be prouder to be part of their story. This is only the beginning!
Are you ready to start your journey to becoming a Functional Medicine Health Coach? Learn more about our immersive and internationally-connected online training program here.
