Life Coaching Overview
There’s a reason why life coaching is often described as a vocation - it requires dedication plus passion to care for and help others reach their full potential. It equally requires this same level of dedication and passion for ourselves to reach our highest and best. This is one of the reasons coaching is often considered the ultimate career because as we become more skilled coaches we become better human beings.
Working as a life coach allows you to make a profound difference in your clients' lives. Whether they’re struggling to get ahead in their career or dealing with problems in their personal life, your skills as a professional coach can help them get on the right track and reach that level of success that they are looking for.
However, before you can begin to help others, you must first ensure that you have the skills, relevant qualifications or certifications under your belt. This will help to consolidate your knowledge and expand upon the services you can offer to those who need it most. One of the problems with the coaching profession is that anyone can call themselves a coach. Unfortunately the profession is riddled with low skilled, unhealthy coaches that just because they have an opinion on something or that it worked for them they are qualified to coach others and charge fees. This is not coaching. Think of it, life can be hard and challenging. Changing our patterns and resolving conflicts is difficult. It takes skill to really help people. The question to ask is do you want to be highly skilled and really make a difference in the lives of others? Is it worth investment in yourself to be the best you can be?
Professional training will also ensure that you understand the business aspect of life coaching, whether this relates to client acquisition and management or processing payments.
Either way, the truth is, unskilled, seat of the pants coaches rarely can find consistent clientele or work within the coaching field. Since COVID many jobs for trained coaches are coming up but need you relevant qualifications. Otherwise, you’ll simply fall to the side and never really thrive within this competitive industry.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the best life coach certification programs for those looking to take the next step in their career!
First understand there are two broad categories of coach training programs. International Coach Federation (ICF) accredited programs and non ICF programs. All ICF programs are good programs and excellent choices for you. Why? ICF programs are vetted to meet a professional standard. You cannot attend a poor or unprofessional ICF program. Now while there are some good non ICF programs how are you, with your knowledge, able to make a wise choice? By their marketing or branding? You like the colors of their website?
Top 5 Life Coach Certification Programs
The Top 5 Life Coach certification programs currently operating are:
- Thrive Coaching Academy.
- Certified Life Coach Institute.
- IPEC Coaching.
- Health Coach Institute.
- The Coach Training Academy. (Get In Touch)
5. Thrive Coaching Academy.
Source: Thrive Coaching Academy
Thrive Coaching Academy is an online training program offering an “immersive virtual experience” to students looking to get started in the coaching industry. Unlike some other virtual courses, participants are given the option to actively participate in their learning, as opposed to watching a series of pre-recorded videos. For example, they receive regular, one-on-one feedback from their instructor.
The biggest selling point of this program, however, is that it promises to help potential life coaches learn how to maximize their earning potential. This is because they help them design high-end packages, allowing certified coaches to charge premium prices moving forward.
4. Certified Life Coach Institute
Source: Certified Life Coach Institute
The virtual coaching programs offered by the Certified Life Coach Institute are split into two distinct courses: Coaching 101 and Coaching 102. The courses contain a wide range of detailed modules designed to help beginners develop the skills they need to become skilled, confident, and competent life coaches. However, they also offer a mentorship program to graduates who may require extra support when finding their footing.
One of the major selling points of their course is their digital badging system. Each time a core module is completed, participants receive a certificate and digital badge. This means not only do students gain a specific certification, but they also have more demonstrable proof of their work and experience to hand when starting their own coaching company. This, in turn, makes it easier for them to build a client base and earn money when pursuing their dreams.
3. IPEC Coaching.
Source: IPEC
IPEC is an ICF-accredited training provider that offers a broad range of coaching courses across numerous different specialties, including life coaching. With over 20 years of experience, they offer a “consciousness-based approach to coaching training.”
However, their holistic approach is also academically rigorous, as this is a masters-level qualification designed to bring students up to speed with all things life coaching, allowing them to put their best foot forward when they enter the professional realm. Again, the training takes place online, though students are also given access to 40 hours of niche-specific training, depending on which avenues they want to explore within their careers. There are also over 200 downloadable resources or assessments available to all students.
2. Health Coach Institute Dual Life and Health Coaching Certification
Source: Health Coach Institute
The “Dual Life and Health Coaching Certification,” from the Health Coach Institute, is a stong course within the industry. This is likely due to the fact that the Health Coach Institute is one of the top-rated coaching schools, led by passionate, skilled coaches who want to share their expertise and insight with others.
One of their major selling points is that they’ve been able to build a robust online coaching community where students can share knowledge, insight, and skills while learning from others throughout every stage of their development. The training program is also incredibly flexible, meaning that you can learn at any time from anywhere in the world.
1. The Coach Training Academy.
While all of the above courses and certifications have their merits, the life coaching courses offered by The Coach Training Academy are the best of the best - and here’s why.
The Coach Training Academy is accredited by both the ICF (The International Coach Federation) and the CCA (Certified Coaches Alliance). This means that both our teaching and curriculum are rooted in excellence, which will help to shape the next generation of talent within the life coaching industry.
Beyond this, the founders of the company have over 25+ years of combined experience in what is often described as a new industry. Their experiences, personal and professional, have allowed them to develop a training program that is as insightful as it is challenging. This way, students are able to develop a wide range of skills from pioneers within the industry.
Programs Offered
We offer a wide range of courses relating to life coaching, with the most popular being the 24-week Success Coach certification. As the name indicates, this program, which divides learning into manageable, bite sized chunks, prepares students for a long and successful career in coaching.
It helps them develop the foundational knowledge they require to work within the industry while also carving out the specialist skills they need to operate within a specific niche.
If you’re looking to qualify quickly so that you can start off the new year at a run rather than a jog, you could enroll in our 2-Day Fast Track Certification Program. This intensive course provides students with a comprehensive overview of working as a professional life coach, covering basics such as coaching ethics and coaching strategy. Upon completion of the course, users will receive a coaching certification.
Emotional Intelligence Certification
In addition to the courses listed above, we also offer an emotional intelligence certification. This is designed for life coaches who are already qualified and work within the industry but are looking to expand upon both their knowledge and the services they offer to their clients. This is a much in demand program as Emotional Intelligence coaching demands a high level of respect and positions the coach as a leader of coaches.
By deepening your understanding of emotional intelligence, plus being highly skilled as an emotional intelligent coach you are able to provide much greater value to your clients confidently working in complex and at times difficult situations.
The root of all coaching and personal development is Emotional Intelligence. It is now one of the most requested coach hires in the professional world including police departments, government agencies and the military. Some coaches make substantial practices coaching and training EI programs.
Program Scholarships
As many roadblocks stand in the way of professional development. One of the core pillars of our mandate is to make professional coach training affordable. We are stricken by many in our profession that can require students to take huge loans or even second mortgages on their homes. To combat that, we also offer a limited number of generous partial scholarships to students who would otherwise struggle to find a pathway into coaching. You can find out more about the scholarship program, which is funded by previous graduates.
We believe that our no-frills approach to training helps to train skilled, competent, and, most importantly, confident life coaches who are able to hit the ground running when entering the professional realm. They understand the ins and outs of coaching and, as a result, are not only able to launch their own businesses but to provide exceptional services to their clients.
Our courses are completed entirely online, which means that participants can get involved from anywhere in the world. Right now, we have graduates from 72 countries, though the number grows each year. We strive to make our courses as accessible and flexible as possible, as we know that it can be hard to make time for learning amid the chaos of everyday life.
However, you don’t have to take our word for it - you can read reviews from our happy students.
The Coach Training Academy Can Help You
If you’d like to take an accredited life coach course, visit these coach training programs, and enquire to find out if this is the right path for you. .
View our coach training program scholarships here.
Conclusion
There are many reasons why you may want to pursue a career as a life coach. For example, you may have a passion for helping others, or someone may have told you that you connect so well with others.
Either way, it's important that you develop the necessary skills and insight through training programs - such as those listed above.
Once you have obtained your certification, you’ll have the knowledge and insight required to start working as a professional life coach right away. Not only will this leave you with an immense sense of personal satisfaction, but having some qualifications underneath your belt will make it easier to start building a client base.
After all, when you’ve received training from a reputable company, they’ll know that they can trust you.