The Graduate Institute

Master of Arts in Integrative Health and Healing

The Graduate Institute's (TGI) Master of Arts in Integrative Health and Healing explores complementary and alternative (CAM) healing on a continuum with allopathic medicine. It bridges the gap between the allopathic and CAM worlds by engaging healthcare practitioners, care providers, and all who are interested in achieving and promoting optimal health through the construction and delivery of a humane, informed, empathic, and personalized model of care. From ancient medicine to contemporary practice, participants study a number of integrative modalities that treat the whole person. Health is celebrated as the optimal alignment of body, mind, and spirit – not merely the absence of disease.

The program forwards a humanistic model of care that recognizes each patient as a unique individual. It is grounded in the development of authentic healer-patient relationships through mind-body approaches to health and wellness. Participants examine Eastern and Western modes of thought and their respectively diverse healing arts. And they apply their learning through hands-on practice, scientific research, and field experience.

Learning in Community:

At TGI, students are colleagues, and learning takes place in a community called a "cohort." Each cohort is comprised of 10-20 colleagues and fosters a collaborative learning environment that honors the unique ideas and contributions of each individual.

Scheduling Details:

Classes in the Integrative Health and Healing program meet one weekend per month (Friday from 5 to 9 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm) for a period of 24 months. In addition, colleagues engage in a 90-hour mentorship and internship to acquire hands-on learning and experience outside of the classroom. On-site instruction is also supplemented with eleven mid-month interactive Skype-based digital "telepresence" video sessions.

Cohorts in this program are offered at TGI as well as at several hospitals and institutions throughout the state of CT - including Stamford Hospital's Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness, St. Francis Hospital's Center for Integrative Medicine, and the University of Hartford.

Career Possibilities:

Colleagues who complete the program are well prepared to serve as health educators, coaches, practitioners, and/or advocates in a number of clinical, therapeutic, or wellness environments. Graduates who are already licensed in the health professions (nurses, physicians, social workers, etc.) can effectively incorporate the modalities and practices studied in the program into an existing healthcare practice. Colleagues with or without prior healthcare experience also have the option, through the program's mentorship and/or internship components, to become certified or licensed in a complementary modality or modalities of their choice. Other employment possibilities include:

• Establishing an integrative health coaching or consulting practice
• Working in private practice or in centers for integrative healing as health or wellness coaches or practitioners
• Running professional development programs focused on complementary/alternative approaches to healing for hospital staff and/or laypeople
• Operating websites, magazines, print publications, and other media that provide education on integrative health and wellness
• Launching new integrative healing enterprises, either independently or in collaboration with other practitioners (wellness centers, workshops, etc.)
• Creating books and other educational resources on health and wellness for use in both clinical and personal development settings
• Serving as community health educators and advocates
• Developing health and wellness programs focused on integrative nutrition, exercise, and other areas for public schools.

Whether coming from healthcare, education, or lay backgrounds, candidates will garner a wide range of tools and resources to facilitate integrative approaches to health and healing, and to improve personal health and promote longevity.

Certificate in Integrative Health Coaching and Patient Navigation

TGI's Certificate in Integrative Health Coaching and Patient Navigation integrates the art of health coaching with the science of patient navigation. It connects the preventative aspects of patient care (i.e. wellness strategies, nutrition, and optimizing emotional/spiritual/psychological health) with the daily functions of navigating a changing healthcare system. By blending the diverse yet inherently interconnected functions of these two domains, the program provides comprehensive training that enables practitioners to facilitate successful patient outcomes while promoting healthy living.

As TGI's newest Certificate offering, the program was created in response to the need mandated by recent healthcare legislation, and the growing body of evidence that demonstrates the efficacy of preventative and integrative approaches to maintaining health and wellness. It is the first and only program in the state to combine health coaching and patient navigation, and is expected to fulfill a vital new occupation in the healthcare system. Participants who complete the 12-credit certificate program will be well-poised to enter this emerging profession, and are also eligible to apply for their professional coaching credential with the International Coach Federation (ICF).

What is health coaching and patient navigation?

Coaching (i.e., Health, Executive, and Life) is one of the most rapidly growing professions in the United States and around the world. In fact, The U.S. Department of Labor's O-Net (i.e., Occupational Trends) analysis of current market trends cites the vocation of coaching as a "red hot" (i.e., "high growth") area that will sustain occupational growth over the next decade. Today, several thousand health and wellness coaches work in many diverse settings, including corporate wellness centers, health clubs, medical fitness facilities, hospitals, clinics, and private practices. This growing profession also includes the integration of coaching competencies into many existing health professions, including nursing, primary care, exercise and mental health intervention, and physical and occupational therapy.

Patient navigation, also a growing field, is an occupation of growing importance as more previously uninsured individuals enter the healthcare arena. Patient navigators serve an important role in guiding patients through an increasingly complex system – which includes everything from accompanying them on doctor's visits to filling out insurance and reimbursement paperwork, to communicating with specialists and pharmacies to maintaining their health records.

Taken together, Integrative Health Coaching and Patient Navigation is a rapidly emerging field that facilitates sustainable lifestyle change, supports wellness and disease prevention, provides individual assistance to patients and caregivers to help overcome health system barriers, and enables timely access to quality medical psychosocial care.

Certificate Program Details:

The Integrative Health Coaching and Patient Navigation Certificate Program consists of seven courses delivered over nine months. Classes meet one weekend per month, on Friday evening from 5 to 9 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm. Colleagues also engage in a 100- hour supervised Coaching Residency/ Practicum experience with real clients. On-site instruction is also supplemented with eleven mid-month interactive Skype-based digital "telepresence" video sessions.

About The Graduate Institute:

TGI is a not-for-profit institution of higher education dedicated to offering contemporary, emerging, and intellectually rigorous graduate and adult continuing education programs in an inquiry and spiritually-based academic tradition that engages the whole person in a community of self-directed learning for the transformation of self, the benefit of society, and the responsible evolution of culture. Founded in 1999, The Institute is fully licensed and accredited by the State of Connecticut Department of Higher Education.

If you are interested in learning more about Integrative Health and Healing, please Request Information.