What's Ecclesiastical Licensing?
Ecclesiastical licensing is different from state-granted licensing.
Most people are familiar with state licensing, but private ecclesiastical organizations offer their own type of licensure for holistic providers.
This licensing is based on the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which protects holistic providers.
In theory, ecclesiastical licensing allows us to legally work within our scope of practice and offer advice on health, wellness, and known means of prevention; under the stipulation, we aren't treating, diagnosing, or prescribing (or using that terminology).
According to ecclesiastical licensing, you may suggest lifestyle changes, recommendations, and products that assist your clients.
Holistic licensing is completely optional, and while you don't need to pay a third party to stand on these Amendments and share your knowledge, many holistic providers like to say that they're licensed holistic providers, so they get it.
Holistic licensing resonates with many of us in the field and makes us feel more credible.
Most providers have clients sign disclaimers, too. You'll use disclaimers and explore optional ecclesiastical licensing if you wish. We'll tell you all about your licensing options inside the business emporium. Do licensing agencies really offer protection?
It's hard to say from a non-biased perspective, but some holistic providers like to have it because they think it offers them some form of (albeit immeasurable) legal protection.
Interestingly, ecclesiastical licensing may be even more beneficial for our licensed medical professional counterparts in attendance at Rockwell.
As the founder of Rockwell, I've seen a functionally-trained cardiologist from John Hopkins use ecclesiastical licensing, which allows him to legally practice outside of the dictates of conventional medicine, which can't normally be done due to legal restrictions from medical school and the American Medical Association.
Anyone caught doing so can lose their license, so ecclesiastical licensing is especially helpful for licensed medical professionals who can't otherwise practice as holistically as they might like or risk losing their license and receiving disciplinary action.
Holistic practice (or thinking on one's own) is not welcome in the world of conventional medicine. We show concrete examples of how even physicians are at the mercy of the medical-industrial complex tight restrictions and rigid practice ethos that causes more harm than good.
In fact, I know of two physician women (one conventional, one naturopathic) who surrendered their licenses to practice completely holistically and not have to worry about this anymore.
We provide ecclesiastical licensing resources from different providers inside our program. It's not the same thing as holistic provider insurance, which we also cover inside the Rockwell Business Emporium®.
Is There Board Certification for Holistic Providers?
Are you eligible for board certification for holistic providers of this class and type? The answer is yes. We cover this in-depth in the program and you'll see a bit about it on our home page.
Inside the Rockwell Business Emporium®, we provide you with a variety of resources you can use for board certification (for holistic providers). Herbalists, traditional naturopaths, and our advanced holistic nutritionists all qualify for board certification and ecclesiastical licensing.
We go in-depth on the difference in providers for all different organizations (functional, herbal, naturopathic, and more).
As an R-CHP, any organization offering board certification for holistic providers will allow you to apply to become board certified in generally whatever discipline you specialize in, depending.
Our graduates are eligible for holistic board certification from any and all providers who offer it. Some organizations, like the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, AADP, allow you to become a member by simply applying. There's no test.
Other providers, like the American Naturopathic Certification Board (ANCB) and the American Association of Wellness Professionals (AAWP), allow those who have completed our Doctorate of Traditional Naturopathy to sit for board certification, which requires testing by proxy.
The ANCB and the AAWP provide study guides to help prepare you because everyone has different standards of what a traditional naturopath should know, although our program is the most extensive in the world. Graduates who have completed the Doctorate of Clinical Global Herbalism & Medicinal Mushrooms, and who have begun practice, thus gaining their clinical hours as a part of their business operations, may apply to become a registered herbalist with the American Herbalist Guild (AHG).
Holistic board certifications are optional but good for graduates who like a challenge.
Most trainees feel that it enhances their professional credibility in the public eye.
We share contact and pricing information for all of these organizations and more inside the Rockwell Tri-Doctate Certification Program®. Some find board certification well worth the expense.