Do you need a qualification to be a menopause coach?

This surprises people, because the work sits so close to healthcare. The practical consequence is that the entire quality burden falls on the practitioner and on whoever trained them.

It also means an accreditation logo proves less than buyers assume. Accreditation bodies in this space are private organisations certifying that a course meets their standard — which is useful, but is not regulation, and does not create a register anyone can check you against.

The boundary that causes the most trouble in practice is HRT. Clients arrive with questions about whether to start it, which type, and what dose. A coach can help someone prepare questions for their GP and can explain, accurately, what the current guidance says. A coach cannot recommend a course of action, and should say so plainly rather than hedging.

The second boundary is symptom attribution. Fatigue, low mood and irregular bleeding all have non-menopausal causes, some of them serious. Attributing them to menopause without a medical assessment can delay a diagnosis.

This matters because it inverts how these courses are usually marketed. The logo on the certificate is prominent; the identity of the assessor usually is not stated at all.

If you are choosing training, ask for the assessment rubric before you buy. A provider that cannot produce one is not assessing anything.

Corporate buyers typically ask who taught you, whether work was marked, and whether you carry insurance. Very few ask which CPD body accredited the PDF. That inverts how these courses are marketed, and it is why the assessor's name should be on the programme page before checkout.

The career pathway page covers first clients and insurance without inventing a salary. If a provider quotes a confident six-figure menopause-coaching income, they are selling a course.