Healing Hands Wellness Institute
2.4|20 reviews
NK
Nicci K
1 reviews | Active since Member
23 Sept 2021, 09:58
Review of counseling, aromatherapy & herbalism
I have been aware of Healing Hands for a long time and have always wanted to do a course through them but could never afford it. I finally managed to get my finances in order to be able to take up one of their special offers and registered and paid for 3 courses. These were all correspondence and I was very excited. My review is based on correspondence/self-study courses, I am not sure what they are like when you actually go to classes.
I started with the "counseling" course. I am very disappointed in this course. Firstly it is not a counseling course, in the fine print, it says it's a life coaching course. Sadly, however, it is also not that. I would say this course is at best an introduction to eclectic psychological principles. The course material is extremely dated and difficult to read as if it was written by someone who time-traveled here from the 18th century. I learned more about life coaching from the internet than this course taught me. It gives a basic overview of different types of psychological principles and schools of thought but does not teach you anything about life coaching. Also, if you dig deep enough into their website, you will learn that the claim that all the courses are "internationally recognized" is not entirely true. There is absolutely no accreditation or recognition by any official body for any of their courses.
I now have to pay for another life coaching course to get actual accreditation and to learn more. For someone who doesn't take the initiative to expand their studies and rely solely on the information given in this course would be less than ideal in the real world. I would not recommend anyone to take this course if they want to be a counselor or life coach.
Aromatherapy: I have worked through the workbook I was sent for this course and am ok with it. It gives a good overview of Aromatherapy oils, history, uses etc. The massage module is lacking, however. There are no accompanying videos or anything showing technique or correct protocols. The pictures in the workbook are low res and the size of a passport photo so not helpful. I would recommend this course if you want to know more about Aromatherapy, it's a good starting point. But further study would definitely be required especially if you would want to offer aromatherapy massage to clients.
Herbalism: I haven't really gone into much detail yet with the course material, but it seems good. As with all these correspondence courses, the course material is a bit dated so further self-study would be needed if one is serious about the subject. It provides a good starting point however so if you have the cash to burn and you want a basic understanding I would recommend it.
All in all my experience from a client/student perspective has been meh. The communication is extremely formal, so you never feel quite welcome. Things aren't clearly communicated and there are delays in getting a response (unless there is an invoice involved). The way things are done and the course material is dated, so if you are ok with that then it's not a problem. I haven't done the exams yet for any of these courses because I feel like, what's the point even. The courses are also not "internationally recognized" as stated so keep that in mind. All in all, personally I am disappointed with the experience. I wasted a lot of time on the counseling course specifically seeing as though I now have to pay and spend time to do another life coaching course to be accredited and time is precious! Lesson learnt!
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Replies (53)Healing Hands Wellness Institute's replyOfficial
27 Sept 2021, 19:20 Dear Nicci, thank you so much for submitting a review. Herewith our response: 1. With regards to the counselling course: Yes it is indeed a counselling course. There is ‘no fine print’ that says it is a life coaching course. It is stated clearly on the course outline under ‘course outcomes’. This course outline you have received to peruse PRIOR to your enrolment. As you will know, it is a one page document that CLEARLY states the subjects covered in the course, namely counselling, group therapy, psychotherapy, and many more. The course outcomes on the bottom of the same page (not in fine print), clearly states that you will be able to practice as a life coach, help and understand people and their situations with compassion and understanding…. If this isn’t counselling please advise what you see as counselling. According to the Oxford Dictionary Counselling is defined as: the provision of professional assistance and guidance in resolving personal or psychological problems i.e. "bereavement counselling" – all this and much more is covered in the course. The course material might be difficult to read to those who do not own a dictionary or Google to look up medical terms used. It is after all further education with the expectance that a student will do their own research on words they do not comprehend 😊 Your statement ‘does not teach you anything about life coaching’ is indeed a false claim. This is an international course of the highest standards designed for those who wishes to practice as a life coach. I am glad you learned a lot on the internet, this however doesn’t qualify you to practice legally. Also, the fact that the information on the internet might not be valid and or true remains. Your claim that ‘does not teach you anything about life coaching’ was quite a shock. Why would we require you to do case studies for certification purposes if you cannot use the course material as a reference to assist those who needs counselling?? Pray do tell as your claims are unjustified. 2. Your statement: “There is absolutely no accreditation or recognition by any official body for any of their courses” is a blatant lie and defamation of character of this institute. Every single email you have received from Healing Hands has our accreditation logo and / or details in the signature. We have all the accreditation details on our website under the ‘accreditation’ tab, which clearly states that we are registered with the IAOTH, accreditation number ES220221. Proof of above documents are available to anyone. 3. Aromatherapy: Thank you for your positive review 😊 Yes the massage module is lacking because this is an Aromatherapy course which focusses and teaches you about oils and not massage. There is however a small section on massage techniques for those who have previously done a massage course. The course outline you received before enrolment, again clearly states that you will be able to practice as an Aromatherapist, not a massage therapist. If you indicated that you would have liked to qualify as a massage therapist, we would have then referred the Holistic Massage course or the HHI Massage course, which includes aromatherapy modules. 4. Herbalism: you mentioned that you haven’t really gone into much detail yet, so how can you review this course? Also, I fail to understand that the course material is ‘a bit dated’ in your words as herbs, uses of herbs, applications, etc etc cannot change its names, properties, etc. Please elaborate on this statement you made. 4. Yes the communication is formal as we are a professional internationally recognized institute. I am sorry if formal communication makes you uncomfortable. Things were clearly communicated between yourself and the student advisors. For example, email dated 30th March sent from yourself to Bronique (courses@healinghands.co.za) and I quote: Ah thanks so much! I appreciate the quick response’. I have checked all communication between yourself and my staff members, and your emails were responded to very promptly, in-depth and in a friendly manner. I will make proof of same available to the public on request. Also, on the 20th September 2021 you booked your counselling exam for the 23rd September 2021. Rolene (admin@healinghands.co.za) sent you the exam confirmation, requesting the necessary documentation and proof of payment, which was never received. Then on the 23rd September, you emailed Rolene at 10:11 am and asked for a link to the exam without having paid for the exam. Rolene responded at 10:20 am requesting then again the necessary documentation and proof of payment. You then replied at 10:40 am and I quote: “OK it was not communicated to me that payment and affidavit had to be done prior to the exam. I will only be able to make payment at the end of the month. So will have to reschedule then I guess”. Shortly thereafter, you wrote this complaint on HelloPeter.com. Please can you clearly define what problem you have / had wrt communication, understanding the communication, understanding instructions, and so forth. There is a whole trail of emails between you and my staff where you were kindly requested documents / information and you did not respond. We do not ‘fine print’ anything – we do however expect our students to read all course documentation and make an effort with their studies. Sincerely, Elle Baker, CEO
Best regards,
Healing Hands Wellness Institute's reply27 Sept 2021, 19:20
Official
Dear Nicci, thank you so much for submitting a review. Herewith our response: 1. With regards to the counselling course: Yes it is indeed a counselling course. There is ‘no fine print’ that says it is a life coaching course. It is stated clearly on the course outline under ‘course outcomes’. This course outline you have received to peruse PRIOR to your enrolment. As you will know, it is a one page document that CLEARLY states the subjects covered in the course, namely counselling, group therapy, psychotherapy, and many more. The course outcomes on the bottom of the same page (not in fine print), clearly states that you will be able to practice as a life coach, help and understand people and their situations with compassion and understanding…. If this isn’t counselling please advise what you see as counselling. According to the Oxford Dictionary Counselling is defined as: the provision of professional assistance and guidance in resolving personal or psychological problems i.e. "bereavement counselling" – all this and much more is covered in the course. The course material might be difficult to read to those who do not own a dictionary or Google to look up medical terms used. It is after all further education with the expectance that a student will do their own research on words they do not comprehend 😊 Your statement ‘does not teach you anything about life coaching’ is indeed a false claim. This is an international course of the highest standards designed for those who wishes to practice as a life coach. I am glad you learned a lot on the internet, this however doesn’t qualify you to practice legally. Also, the fact that the information on the internet might not be valid and or true remains. Your claim that ‘does not teach you anything about life coaching’ was quite a shock. Why would we require you to do case studies for certification purposes if you cannot use the course material as a reference to assist those who needs counselling?? Pray do tell as your claims are unjustified. 2. Your statement: “There is absolutely no accreditation or recognition by any official body for any of their courses” is a blatant lie and defamation of character of this institute. Every single email you have received from Healing Hands has our accreditation logo and / or details in the signature. We have all the accreditation details on our website under the ‘accreditation’ tab, which clearly states that we are registered with the IAOTH, accreditation number ES220221. Proof of above documents are available to anyone. 3. Aromatherapy: Thank you for your positive review 😊 Yes the massage module is lacking because this is an Aromatherapy course which focusses and teaches you about oils and not massage. There is however a small section on massage techniques for those who have previously done a massage course. The course outline you received before enrolment, again clearly states that you will be able to practice as an Aromatherapist, not a massage therapist. If you indicated that you would have liked to qualify as a massage therapist, we would have then referred the Holistic Massage course or the HHI Massage course, which includes aromatherapy modules. 4. Herbalism: you mentioned that you haven’t really gone into much detail yet, so how can you review this course? Also, I fail to understand that the course material is ‘a bit dated’ in your words as herbs, uses of herbs, applications, etc etc cannot change its names, properties, etc. Please elaborate on this statement you made. 4. Yes the communication is formal as we are a professional internationally recognized institute. I am sorry if formal communication makes you uncomfortable. Things were clearly communicated between yourself and the student advisors. For example, email dated 30th March sent from yourself to Bronique (courses@healinghands.co.za) and I quote: Ah thanks so much! I appreciate the quick response’. I have checked all communication between yourself and my staff members, and your emails were responded to very promptly, in-depth and in a friendly manner. I will make proof of same available to the public on request. Also, on the 20th September 2021 you booked your counselling exam for the 23rd September 2021. Rolene (admin@healinghands.co.za) sent you the exam confirmation, requesting the necessary documentation and proof of payment, which was never received. Then on the 23rd September, you emailed Rolene at 10:11 am and asked for a link to the exam without having paid for the exam. Rolene responded at 10:20 am requesting then again the necessary documentation and proof of payment. You then replied at 10:40 am and I quote: “OK it was not communicated to me that payment and affidavit had to be done prior to the exam. I will only be able to make payment at the end of the month. So will have to reschedule then I guess”. Shortly thereafter, you wrote this complaint on HelloPeter.com. Please can you clearly define what problem you have / had wrt communication, understanding the communication, understanding instructions, and so forth. There is a whole trail of emails between you and my staff where you were kindly requested documents / information and you did not respond. We do not ‘fine print’ anything – we do however expect our students to read all course documentation and make an effort with their studies. Sincerely, Elle Baker, CEO
Best regards,