HRV Certificate Program

What Is Heart Rate Variability?
Heart rate variability (HRV) is the physiological phenomenon of variation in the time interval between heartbeats. It is measured by the variation in the beat-to-beat interval.

Why did BCIA launch a certificate program in HRV?

BCIA’s Certificate of Completion in HRV biofeedback confirms that a professional has successfully completed an educational program recognized by the biofeedback field.  We believe that building and maintaining educational standards is crucial for all biofeedback modalities to gain respect from the health care community and to take their rightful place alongside other recognized treatments.

A certificate of completion demonstrates that an applicant has successfully completed an approved and standardized didactic workshop based on fundamental science that meets rigorous academic standards.  A certificate could increase the rigor of didactic programs teaching HRV biofeedback and enhance the expertise of academics, technicians, performance specialists, and licensed health care professionals who utilize HRV biofeedback.  Since this program is not a full certification, those who earn the certificate will not be listed on the Find a Practitioner listing on our website.

**New in 2019 - BCIA recently launched a full certification program in HRV Biofeedback for health care professionals.  This program will include a human or neuroanatomy course, HRV didactics + biofeedback or neurofeedback didactics, a more complete mentoring, and a written certification exam.  Certificants will add BCB-HRV to their signature and their name will be listed on the Find a Practitioner area of the website.  Please use this chart to compare/contrast the two programs.

Who can earn the HRV certificate?

The HRV certificate of completion is intended for anyone who wants to demonstrate that they have followed a standardized training program to learn how to use this modality, but specifically for:

• BCIA certificants
• health care professional who uses it clinically 
• individuals with no specified clinical background who provide optimal performance training using this modality.

Where do I start?

All applicants must:

1.   agree to abide by BCIA’s Professional Standards and Ethical Principles (PSEP),
2.   complete a BCIA-approved HRV biofeedback didactic program,
3.   document completion of 3 hours of ethics/professional standards course work, taken within the last 5 years
4.   pass a nationally-standardized online exam based on the 16-hour Blueprint of Knowledge and this Core Reading List.  As of June, 2018, the exam must be proctored and there is a required pass score, derived from the review of accumulated psychometric information.

Didactic Education

The 16-hour blueprint content is divided into 6 rubrics as follows:

HRV Anatomy and Physiology	3 hours	HRV Measurements	2 hours
Heart Rate Variability	2 hours	HRV Biofeedback Strategies	4 hours
HRV Instrumentation	3 hours	HRV Applications	2 hours

BCIA-Accredited Didactic Training Providers

Complete blueprint coverage may be documented by courses taken at AAPB and ISNR annual conferences, when offered, or from the following providers.  Each program is responsible for the content, pricing, schedule, and all other information for their course.  Please contact the individual program, not BCIA, should you need further information.

• Behavioral Medicine Research & Training Foundation
• Biofeedback Workshops Europe - Danielle Matto
• Biosource Software/Seminars Without Borders – the HRV Tutor, published by Seminars Without Borders, is also sold by AAPB, Bio-Medical Equipment, Stens, and Stress Therapy Solutions.
• Stens Corporation
• StressTherapy Solutions

Ethics/Professional Conduct - Completion of 3 hours of course work taken within the last 5 years as would be appropriate for BCIA certification or recertification.

Written Exam - for more information about the exam, please click here.

Filing an Application

You may file your application at any time you wish during the certification process.  In order for the application to be valid, you must include your filing fee.

Fees

All applications must include a filing fee:

• $25 for all students enrolled in a health care degree program at a regionally accredited academic institution according to BCIA certification standards
• $25 for all BCIA certificants – BCB, BCN, BCB-PMD
• $50 for all other applicants

All fees are non-refundable and must be paid in US funds by check or online.

To learn more about HRV, BCIA has offered webinars over the years and the recordings are available for purchase.  Each one is only $40 and they will provide more insight into the science and clinical application of HRV Biofeedback.   This link provides more information about how to access the recordings.  Click here to view a list of these recordings.