Menopause Behavioral Health Certification (MBH-C): Frequently Asked Questions

Most women going through perimenopause and menopause feel some version of it: the sleep that falls apart, the mood that swings without warning, the brain fog that makes them wonder if something is wrong. Surveys put the figure at up to 80% experiencing physical or neuropsychiatric symptoms during the transition. And yet a striking number never raise any of it with a behavioral health professional.

The Menopause Behavioral Health Certification (MBH-C) trains professionals to change that. Offered through FamilyWell Academy, it's one of the first credentials of its kind. It teaches the physiology of menopause alongside its emotional and behavioral aspects, and treats the two as connected rather than separate concerns, which is how they're experienced and, too rarely, how they're taught.

It grew out of our own clinics. FamilyWell's providers needed real training to support the women in menopause our partner clinics were already caring for, so we built it, and we've been training our own team on it since 2025. More than a dozen specialists shaped the education: menopause-focused gynecologists, dietitians, psychotherapists, and others. The program you'd enroll in is the one we use ourselves.

If you're weighing whether to enroll, you probably have questions before you spend the money and the hours. Here are the ones people ask most.

What is the MBH-C, exactly?

It's a certification that prepares you to support people's mental and behavioral health through the menopause transition (i.e. perimenopause and menopause). Graduates earn the Menopause Behavioral Health Certified (MBH-C) credential.

The learning experience includes 15 modules (about 17 hours) of asynchronous content taaught by over a dozen instructors who are leaders in their field, and six hours of live group mentorship.

In practice, that means the concerns that show up most during this stage and how to respond to each: mood changes and depression, anxiety, disrupted sleep, vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes, shifts in libido and sexual health, and substance use. You learn to recognize what someone is going through, screen using validated tools, apply evidence-based behavioral strategies such as CBT and motivational interviewing to support healthy change, and determine when to bring in another member of the care team.

Who is it for?

‍ A wide range of professionals, clinical and non-clinical alike. The current roster of who enrolls includes coaches, social workers, therapists, psychologists, counselors, nurses, NPs, PAs, psychiatrists, dietitians, and physicians.

‍The material is designed to meet you where you are. A coach and a psychiatrist learn the same clinical and behavioral picture; what changes is how each applies it. A coach uses it to support behavior change, educate, screen, and refer. A licensed clinician folds it into the diagnosis and treatment they already provide. The course doesn't water itself down for the non-clinical learner or assume too much of the clinical one.

What does the curriculum cover?

‍The self-paced portion runs across 15 modules, and they build on each other rather than sitting as a loose collection of topics.

‍ It opens with foundations: an introduction to menopause behavioral health, a medical overview of perimenopause and menopause, and the principles of psychotherapy and CBT that the rest of the program leans on. From there it moves into the symptoms people present with. There are dedicated modules on mood disorders common to perimenopause, anxiety and depression, vasomotor symptoms (the hot flashes and night sweats), low and absent libido, the pelvic floor, and nutrition, supplements, and exercise.

Threaded through all of it are the skills that make the clinical knowledge usable: CBT coaching, motivational interviewing for the hard conversations, and a module on health equity and trauma-informed care so the approach holds up across different patients and backgrounds.

What makes this certification stand out to many professionals is the in-depth sleep science and support tools embedded in the certification. Rather than one passing lesson or mention, the program devotes two full modules to sleep and insomnia, and the second is a dedicated section on CBT-I, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, including how to handle complex cases. CBT-I is the first-line, evidence-based treatment for chronic insomnia, and sleep disruption is one of the most common and least addressed complaints of the menopause transition, so giving it its own focused treatment is one of the things that sets the curriculum apart.

Does it replace my license or let me do more than I can now?

No, and this is the part to read twice.

The MBH-C complements your existing training. It does not replace the education, supervision, licensure, or professional standards tied to your primary role. For example, if you're a coach, you still coach and refer; you don't diagnose mental illness or provide therapy after earning it. If you're a licensed therapist, you keep doing what your license already permits, now with menopause-specific depth.

‍The program is blunt about how scope works. Your actual scope is set, in order, by your license and qualifications, your regulatory body and local laws, your professional associations' ethics codes, and your employer's policies. The MBH-C training sits inside those boundaries. It never reaches outside them. When two of those sources conflict, the most restrictive one wins, and the program's own guidance is to practice narrower rather than wider when you're unsure.

‍That kind of clarity is, frankly, a good sign in a credential. A program willing to tell you what it can't do is usually more trustworthy than one promising the moon.

Who teaches it, and is the material evidence-based?

‍The faculty is where the program earns its credibility. A few examples: a board-certified OB/GYN and certified menopause practitioner with nearly three decades of clinical practice; a PhD sleep researcher who trains mental health providers in CBT-I internationally and leads a behavioral sleep medicine special interest group; a professor of clinical psychology specializing in trauma-informed care who has helped build curriculum for a major medical school. Pelvic health, nutrition, addiction medicine, and reproductive mental health are each covered by people who work in those fields.

Alongside the CBT, CBT-I, and motivational interviewing covered in the modules, the program teaches validated screening instruments you may already know: the PHQ-9, Menopause Rating Scale, GAD-7, STOP-BANG, and the Insomnia Severity Index, among others. The point of the screening tools, the program is careful to note, is to support conversation and referral. Diagnosis stays with a qualified clinician.

Is it accredited? Do I get CE credit?

‍Yes, if you choose the accredited enrollment path.

FamilyWell Academy offers both accredited and non-accredited versions. The accredited option runs through a joint providership with Innovation Horizons, which is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Credit is available by profession. Physicians can claim AMA PRA Category 1 Credits; PAs, AAPA Category 1 credits; nurses, ANCC contact hours; pharmacists, ACPE credit; psychologists, APA credits; social workers, ASWB ACE hours; dietitians, CDR CPEUs; and coaches and other non-licensed professionals, IACET CEUs. The program lists 23 credits for most professions (2.3 CEUs where the conversion applies). At the end, you fill out a short form telling them which credit type fits your profession.

Pick the non-accredited path instead and you'll receive a Certificate of Completion from FamilyWell Academy, with no CE credit attached. Worth deciding up front, since it determines what your certificate is worth to your licensing board.

How is the program structured, and how long does it take?

‍Two parts: a self-paced course, then a live mentorship.

The self-paced course is roughly 17 hours of video across 15 modules, plus a short intro lecture. You start, pause, and revisit on your own schedule. It's hosted on Thinkific, so you log in from a browser or the app and pick up where you left off.

The mentorship comes after. It's 6 hours total, delivered as three 2-hour live sessions led by an experienced Menopause Behavioral Health Coach, built around case studies and group discussion. You register for it once you've finished the self-paced portion.

You have a year from enrollment to finish, though most people are done in three to six months. Need longer? The first extension adds two months at no cost; further extensions are $100.

Is there a final exam?

‍There isn't. Progress is confirmed through questionnaires and knowledge checks at three points: before you start the course, when you finish the self-paced portion, and when you finish the mentorship.

‍ The knowledge checks do have to be passed at 100%, which sounds steep until you read the next line: you can retake them as many times as you need, with no penalty. They're there to make sure the material landed, not to fail you out. All module videos also have to be watched in full to count toward completion.

What does it cost, and can I get a refund?

The regular program price for the accredited program is $1400, though the price may vary due to promotions and accreditation costs. The refund policy is tight, and the reasons are spelled out: you get immediate access to the full digital program on enrollment, and mentorship time is reserved and paid to mentors once you register.

A refund may be considered only if you request it in writing within 14 days of enrolling, haven't gone past Module 1, and haven't registered for the mentorship. After any of those thresholds, the program fee is non-refundable. Mentorship sessions can be rescheduled subject to availability if you ask at least 30 days before your one-year deadline, but they aren't refundable once booked. Recertification, late renewal, and extension fees aren't refundable either. Individual situations can be emailed in and are reviewed case by case, though submitting a request doesn't guarantee anything.

How do I keep the credential current?

It's valid for two years. To recertify, you complete at least 5 hours of continuing education in behavioral health, menopause health, or reproductive health, and pay a $50 recertification fee.

The CE doesn't have to come from FamilyWell. Any qualifying continuing education counts, and you submit your documentation to the certification inbox. They'll remind you 30 days before your credential expires. Renew more than 30 days late and a $95 fee applies, so it's worth setting your own calendar reminder a month out.

Where do I go with questions?

‍One inbox handles the whole program, from enrollment and platform issues to CE, recertification, and your certificate: certification@familywellhealth.com. They generally reply within three business days.

If you've been looking for a way to support clients through a transition that too often goes unspoken, this is a credential built specifically for that work, with faculty and methods to back it up. The honest scope guidance throughout is a feature, not a hedge: it's what lets you practice this confidently within whatever role you already hold.