“I’m growing into my role as a practitioner one step at a time.” -Stephanie Perrino, IHP2

Stephanie Perrino was already a health coach when she discovered the Integrative Health Practitioner Institute. She had completed all of the health coaching programs from another institute and had already developed a strong foundation. But she still felt like something was missing.

That missing piece was a deeper understanding of what could be happening inside the body. Stephanie wanted to learn how to work with at-home functional labs, understand the data herself, and bring that information into the way she supported others. When she attended a webinar featuring Dr. Stephen Cabral and learned about the IHP Health Coaching Certifications, the connection was immediate.

“I signed up on the spot, because I knew that lab piece was exactly what I still needed,” Stephanie said.

What followed was a gradual progression from learning the material to applying it in real life. Stephanie first became her own client, then began supporting family members and close friends, and today referrals are starting to come her way. Her path closely reflects the heal yourself, heal others mentality at IHPI. In this blog, we are following how Stephanie built confidence with at-home functional labs by deepening her own understanding and gradually applying what she learned to the people around her.

Functional Labs Were the Piece She Had Been Missing

Stephanie’s interest in at-home functional labs grew out of her own health journey. Before becoming an IHP, she had spent years navigating fatigue, chronic sinus issues, hives, hot flashes, body aches, and other concerns while searching for answers.

By the time she found IHPI, she was already a trained health coach. Her previous education had taught her how to support lifestyle change, habits, and mindset, but Stephanie wanted to understand more about what could be contributing beneath the surface.

At the time, she was also working with a functional medicine practitioner who used functional labs. Stephanie had seen the value of testing, but she still wanted to understand the information for herself rather than simply receiving someone else’s conclusions.

“That gap between having the right kind of testing and actually getting better is what made me realize this needed to become more than a personal interest,” she said. “I wanted to understand it myself.”

Learning Functional Labs Gave Her a Bigger Picture

Once Stephanie began her IHP education, she started seeing health through a broader lens. Instead of looking at individual symptoms or concerns in isolation, she could begin considering how different systems, lifestyle factors, and lab data might fit together.

“Through my IHP training, I finally had a picture of the whole human system instead of just isolated parts,” Stephanie said. Her health coaching skills now had another layer: a deeper understanding of root-cause health and at-home functional lab testing.

She was also surprised by how approachable the material felt. “What I hadn’t anticipated was how the curriculum itself would support that shift,” she said, explaining that Dr. Cabral broke complex topics into “bite sized, manageable pieces” and supported them with handouts, coaching guides, book recommendations, and other resources.

That structure gave Stephanie the foundation she needed to begin applying what she was learning in a more personal way. Her first opportunity did not come from a referral or a formal case. It came from herself.

The First Step in Building Confidence

“I was my first client,” Stephanie said. She began applying what she was learning to the health history she already knew most intimately, allowing the concepts inside the certification materials to become more tangible.

She could consider her lifestyle, history, reported concerns, and lab data together rather than viewing each piece independently. What she was learning began to feel less theoretical because she could see how it applied within her own wellness journey.

“It felt amazing to finally have this level of understanding of my own body after struggling with so many autoimmune symptoms for so many years,” Stephanie said. That experience gave her the first real opportunity to see herself not only as someone looking for answers, but as a health coach capable of applying what she had learned.

Her experience also reflected the heal yourself, heal others approach at IHPI. Stephanie had sought this education to better understand herself first, and that personal application created a foundation she could begin carrying into her work with others.

Then She Began Supporting Her Family

Once Stephanie had begun using her IHP education personally, her family became the next step. Their histories, schedules, personalities, and priorities differed from hers, giving her new opportunities to apply the same foundational education in different ways.

“From there, I started supporting my family whenever they’d complain of certain symptoms,” Stephanie said. “Watching them actually feel better was the most epic feeling.” For her, those experiences showed that what she was learning could extend beyond her own health journey.

Her husband became one of her most useful teachers. As a busy executive who prefers doing things his own way, he challenged Stephanie to think beyond what might look ideal on paper. “If I can get him on board with a protocol, I can probably work with anyone!” she joked.

Working with him helped Stephanie refine how she coached. “Small hinges swing large doors,” she said, pointing to how smaller, consistent changes can build momentum over time. She was learning how to shape a plan around the person rather than expecting the person to fit the plan.

More Lab Reviews Helped Her See the Bigger Picture

As Stephanie moved from working with herself to supporting family members and close friends, she reviewed more at-home functional labs. Each new case gave her another opportunity to apply the framework she had learned and become more familiar with how different markers could fit within a person’s broader wellness picture.

“It’s so cool to be able to look at different markers on a lab test and go, yes, this is why you’re experiencing that symptom,” Stephanie said. What excites her is being able to consider the lab alongside what someone is describing about their energy, lifestyle, stress, nutrition, and other wellness concerns.

At-home functional labs are one source of information that can be considered with health history, habits, goals, and reported concerns to help build more personalized, data-driven wellness plans. With each case, Stephanie became more comfortable bringing those pieces together instead of looking at individual numbers in isolation.

“My confidence is definitely growing,” she said. The lab education she had once felt was missing was now becoming part of how she approached health coaching, allowing her existing coaching foundation and her IHP education to work together.

Lifetime Access Helped Her Keep Building on What She Learned

As Stephanie’s experience grew, she also began appreciating the long-term value of having certification materials she could continue returning to. IHP students receive lifetime access to their modules, allowing them to revisit specific labs, review updated education, and refresh concepts as new cases arise.

Stephanie likes to first see what she recognizes, then return to the corresponding materials when she wants to confirm or revisit something. She jokingly refers to lab review as an “open book test,” but that ongoing availability means the education remains a professional resource long after a module has been completed.

“Every single time what I see lines up with what I remember, it feels like a little win,” Stephanie said. Those moments reinforced what she already knew while giving her a reliable place to return when she wanted to go deeper.

“What I hadn’t anticipated was how the curriculum itself would support that shift,” Stephanie said. The handouts, coaching guides, book recommendations, and lab-specific education gave her resources she could continue using as her knowledge and experience expanded.

She Also Had a Community to Learn With

More cases naturally brought new questions, and Stephanie valued knowing she was not developing in isolation. “One of the great things about being part of the Integrative Health Practitioner Institute is the community,” she said. “There’s always support available, whether that’s from IHPI directly or from a fellow IHP.”

The combination of lifetime certification materials and ongoing community gave her multiple ways to keep learning. She could revisit the education independently, then seek another perspective when a case raised something she wanted to explore further.

Over time, knowing how to use her education, resources, and community responsibly became another part of growing into her role as an IHP.

Friends and Real Cases Strengthened Her Coaching

As Stephanie moved beyond herself and her immediate family, she began supporting close friends as well. Those experiences made one lesson increasingly clear: understanding the science and knowing how to guide another person through change are different skills.

“I have to take the science backed information, the labs, all of it, and translate that into a game plan that actually fits into the client’s life,” Stephanie said. Work, family responsibilities, stress, routines, and readiness for change can all influence what someone will realistically follow through on.

“Knowing the information is honestly the easy part,” she said. “Getting someone to actually follow through, when there are so many real reasons in their life that make that challenging, work, stress, family, time, is a completely different skill.”

Stephanie also became more selective about how much information she shared at once. “Your clients don’t need every piece of information you know. They want it curated,” she said. That lesson closely reflects the less-is-more approach discussed on the Integrative Health Coach Success podcast, where effective coaching means meeting people where they are rather than overwhelming them.

With each new person, Stephanie was building confidence in more than lab review. She was learning how to communicate clearly, prioritize what would be most useful, and shape her coaching around the individual.

Then Referrals Began Arriving

Stephanie describes her development as happening “one step at a time.” She first worked with herself, then family members and close friends, and now people are beginning to reach her through referrals.

“Referrals are the biggest compliment there is,” Stephanie said. “When someone you’ve worked with refers you to another person, that means they truly, wholeheartedly believe in what you’ve helped them with.”

Each stage gave her something different. Working with herself helped turn education into personal application, family members challenged her to adapt what she knew, and friends gave her more opportunities to strengthen her coaching. Referrals are now extending that experience beyond the people who already know her well.

That trust carries particular meaning for Stephanie because she remembers spending years trying to feel heard and understood herself. She now wants the people she supports to feel listened to, believed, and supported throughout their own wellness journey.

One Step at a Time

“I’m growing into my role as a practitioner one step at a time,” Stephanie said. “I worked with myself first, then family members and close friends, and now some referrals are slowly but surely coming my way.”

Her path captures the progression behind the heal yourself, heal others mentality at IHPI. Stephanie came to the Institute already knowing how to coach, but she wanted a deeper understanding of the body and the ability to work with at-home functional labs.

She found that missing piece, first applied it to herself, and then carried it outward to the people around her. With each new person, her education became more familiar, her coaching became more personalized, and her confidence had another opportunity to grow.

To follow Stephanie’s journey, connect with her on Instagram or visit stephanieperrino.com.

If Stephanie’s story has you wondering what adding at-home functional lab education could look like in your own health coaching journey, schedule a call with an IHPI Enrollment Advisor. You can ask questions about the IHP certification path, explore which level fits where you are now, and get a clearer picture of what your next step could look like.