Dr. LJ Rose, Ph.D., is the founder of the Natural Wellness Academy est. 2013 training mind/body/spirit wellness coaches in 40+ countries. The author of eight self-help books, including Your Mind: The Owner’s Manual, Dr. LJ is a pioneer in the worldwide training of hypnotherapy, subconscious dynamics, Jungian archetypes, and healthy lifestyle hacks.
Dr. LJ Rose, Therapist, Author & Professional Speaker
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
Born and raised in the north suburbs of Chicago, I am the child of two Holocaust survivors from Germany and Belgium, and I believe that this had a great influence on my future fascination with the subconscious mind, how adults cope with trauma, and the impact of generational trauma. My parents were from a generation that was not in touch with their emotions. How they coped with the horrors and deprivations of the war was by shutting down that part of their memory. My parents were excellent at assimilating into American life and culture, but ultimately my brother and I were affected by their buried and unresolved pain. As Carl Gustav Jung (my greatest psychological influencer) famously stated: "The greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of the parents,
Learning new languages, travel and immersing into different cultures and traditions (I often describe myself as “transcultural”) are what bring me the most delight in life, along with reading, being in nature, practicing Pilates, and hanging with my husband and extensive fur family (4 dogs and 2 cats.)
What inspired you to create Natural Wellness Academy, and what was your vision when you started?
Based back then in Southern California, I traveled internationally for about a dozen years, training professionals in hypnotherapy, subconscious dynamics and Jungian archetypes. To Japan alone, I traveled 55 times, introducing hypnotherapy training. I was the first Director of International Development for the American Board of Hypnotherapy. In those last few intense travel years my energy levels and overall well-being started to decline, so I decided to stop traveling globally and settled down in Tampa, Florida. I was eventually diagnosed with an “auto-immune disorder”, but back in 2008 few of these were named, (like Epstein-Barr or Hashimoto’s) so it wasn’t specific.
Because there were many bedridden days, I immersed myself in research on holistic ways I could overcome some of the worst symptoms, like chronic fatigue and dreadful digestive disorders. The common denominator of my research kept pointing to the need to change my lifestyle, particularly the way I was eating. There’s a lot I’ve written on this subject (books and website) but my health shift was so quick and radical, it galvanized me to became a spokesperson for eating a healthy raw fusion diet, which launched me into giving lectures and demonstrations in many venues. People wanted to be coached on how to make dietary changes and I saw an opportunity to take health coaching to a new level. Something that was not being offered in health coach training back in 2012 was how to make lifestyle changes stick. Since the subconscious mind plays an enormous role in how and what we eat, I was essentially back in my “wheelhouse” of mind dynamics, teaching and instructional design.
We were the first health coaching program to combine the elements of mind, body and spirit in our online curriculum. Since 2013 we have added more than a dozen niche coaching programs and while we still offer health coaching, we have become most known for our unique offerings, Spiritual Wellness Specialist, Medical Cannabis Consulting, Nature Therapy Guide and Neurodivergence Life Coaching to name a few. We have students in 40+ countries.
What kind of audience do you target your business towards?
We have a strong appeal to women in their 30’s and 40’s, many of them mothers looking for training they can do conveniently, for work they can do virtually and on their own schedule. Another solid demographic are people either retired or approaching that stage of life where they want to do something that aligns more with the values and passions, or “second stage of life careers.” We invariably draw in people who are empathetic and seek to make a difference in the world. Sometimes I lovingly refer to us as a “tribe” even more than an Academy. When we have get-togethers or retreats, no matter their specialization or field of study, everyone gets along so well because of this commonality of purpose.
Can you tell us more about your holistic approach to wellness education? What makes your programs unique?
Every certification program offered by the Natural Wellness Academy is designed to embrace the concept of holism, so that coaching can be directed to all of life’s domains – physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual, which we believe promotes a deeper connection to healing and lasting results. The courses are available online to be worked at one’s convenience and mainly asynchronous. However, each student is assigned a mentor who reviews every learning experience, offering everything from insights, motivation, constructive support and even brainstorming ways the candidates can direct their coaching practice. They also have opportunities to interact with other students on our forums, masterminds, retreats and even a fast-track campus in France.
Who inspires you to be the best that you can be?
To teach, to mentor, to create programs that take someone on a transformational journey – makes me feel tremendously privileged. I don’t take any of that for granted, so I continue on my own path of learning, self-exploration and healing so that I can continue to inspire and inform people who want to make the world a better place.
Can you share a success story from one of your graduates that particularly stands out to you?
We’ve been in business now for over 12 years so there are so many great stories and successes – graduates that have built booming practices, become corporate trainers, paid speakers on their topics, written Amazon bestsellers and most importantly had a great impact on their client base, helping people change their lives, feel better and tap into their hidden potential.
One story that stands out (and there is a video of her telling her story) is Laura, who was on almost a dozen different medications and was trying to see how medical cannabis could help her get off them. Her adult kids paid for her to take the training and at times she struggled with completion (however, one-on-one coaching/cheerleading is available free of charge to every candidate). Not only was she able to completely go off her medication (with the approval of her medical team) by learning how to replace them with the proper cannabinoids and titration – she built such a successful practice and now a line of CBD based products – even a doggie line of CBD biscuits! – that are being sold in stores in Missouri and possibly going into national distribution.
Video link
Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.
A couple of years ago I was asked to do a virtual keynote training to a large group of hypnotherapists in Japan for the Japan Medical Hypnosis Association. This organization would not have existed had I not introduced clinical hypnotherapy in Japan almost 30 years to the date of my presentation. Being able to hear the success stories of people I had trained decades before, as well as a solid organization built around my work was quite gratifying. Also, about 10 years ago AstraZeneca provided a grant for me to spearhead a healthy eating program at one of the largest free clinics in the country. And finally, over the past 5 years we have identified burgeoning talent and collaborated with several gifted graduates to create original programs together that allow them to become recognized in their field and to monetize their expertise by training coaches.
What’s next for you and your business? Are there any upcoming projects or plans you’re excited about?
We have several courses in the works and some about to launch like our “Menopause Midlife Coaching” in collaboration with a very talented former ICU nurse who has organically built a group of 4000 women on Facebook offering much-needed inspiration, information and coaching as a pioneer in this emerging field. We are planning retreats at our campus in Europe. And I’m working on my first historical, metaphysical novel (after writing 8 self-help books).
Read more from Dr. LJ Rose
