Resources

All training, supervision, and practicum are completed 100% virtually and available internationally via live Zoom webinar and/or telephone conference calling.

Candidates must be 18 years old or older. Our training programs are ideal for professionals working directly with tweens, teens, and/or emerging adults, professionals leading organizations serving these populations, or those who aim to serve this audience in some capacity.

Coaching is a helping profession focused on learning and growth. Thus, it is a wonderful skillset addition for those in or interested in a career path within helping professions or education (e.g., human resources, counseling, social work, human services, leadership, nursing, teaching, public health, etc.)

Trainees who complete our programs most often apply their skills in the following ways:

• Coaching as a side gig for access to deep, meaningful work and extra income around a full-time job
• Coaching as a professional career path
• Adding coaching skills to enhance their work with tweens, teens, or young adults
• Coaching in a volunteer or mentoring capacity

Training progression is as follows for those pursuing youth life coach certification:

• Stage 1 Only – Basic Coaching Skills: for parents or teachers of tweens, teens, or emerging adults who want to learn to support and empower them more effectively through this challenging life stage but do not have any interest in a coaching-specific work role.
• Stages 1-2: Certified Youth Well-being Coach: for adults who serve tweens, teens, or young adults and want to add coaching skills to enhance their services.
• Stages 1-4: Certified Youth Resilience Coach: for adults who serve tweens, teens, or young adults and want to pursue a professional coaching career, establish a private coaching business, or supervise coaching staff. This program is Level 1 International Coaching Federation Accredited. It’s also approved by the Center for Credentialing & Education for Board Certified Coach applicants.
• Stages 1-5: Certified Youth Behavioral Coach: for adults who have a minimum of an associate degree or equivalent 4,000 hours of work experience. This program covers basic coaching principles, resilience coaching techniques, and specialization in behavioral health coaching for youth.
• Stage 4 Only – ICF Group Mentor Coaching: for coaches who will be pursuing higher credentialing through the International Coaching Federation and did not complete their 10 mentor coaching hours as part of their foundational coach training program. This is the 10 hours of mentor coaching required for the ICF ACC or PCC application.
• Stage 5 Only – Specialty Certifications: For certified coaches who have already completed at least 60 hours of ICF-approved training, we offer several stage 5 certifications for specialization in lifestyle medicine/behavioral health, career, and academics.

Yes! Our live youth life coach training program is delivered in four to five stages.

The Certified Youth Well-being Coach trainees only complete the first two stages (14 weeks). You can register for the 14-week CYWC program and upgrade to the higher level (25-week Certified Youth Resilience Coach) program by week 7 to remain with your current cohort all the way through. Or, you can come back to complete Stages 3-4 at a later date to earn your Certified Youth Resilience Coach designation and qualify to apply for the ICF ACC.

We also offer Stage 5 training for the Youth Behavioral Health Coach certification, which can be taken as a the full course starting with stage 1 or as an elective course if you’ve already completed up to Stage 4 with us.

**Our Certified Youth Well-being Coach path was formerly known as the Certified Youth Transition Coach path. Our content is the same. The fresh name is more aligned with the heart of the work.

Our Stages 1-2 (Certified Youth Well-being Coach) and Stages 1-4 (Certified Youth Resilience Coach) training programs have an 80% live attendance requirement.

All live classes are recorded so that those who have an allowed absence are able to watch the recording to submit a missed class makeup summary to earn credit.

If you were scheduled to coach the day of your absence, you would also need to complete a makeup practice coaching session outside of class.

Life happens! Your well-being is our priority. If you need to pause your training, you can transfer to a later cohort to complete your training up to one year from the date of your withdrawal from your current cohort.

Absolutely not. Your basic coaching skills are generally applicable to any coaching-appropriate audience – tweens, teens, and adults of all ages. The behavioral science knowledge you’ll gain is also generally applicable.

You are practicing coaching peer trainees who are adults of all ages with various backgrounds, experiences, and cultures during your in-class training. That means you’re learning to coach adults of all ages through this program.

Because your training with us is International Coaching Federation-approved, you also qualify to obtain a higher credential through the ICF upon successful completion with us. The ICF’s designations are general professional coaching designations accepted in most coaching-related roles.

We do! Here are our options:

CE – Basic Coaching Skills for Individuals – Open to parents, teachers, supervisors, or other supportive adults to tweens, teens, or emerging adults who want to learn the non-directive coaching approach to improve communication and relationships with the adolescents in their life but have no interest in a coaching related job.

CE – Coaching Adolescents (Video Lecture Series) – Open to coaches certified by an ICF- or CCE-approved coach training organization who are seeking supplemental training for coaching youth and emerging adults. The complete training program consists of 16 hours of self-study training. International Coach Federation-credentialed coaches may use this training toward Resource Development CE for the maximum 16 hours of self-paced courses allowed for ICF credential renewal. See the ICF’s “self-paced courses and other self-study guidelines. Board Certified Coaches through the Center for Credentialing & Education may use these hours toward self-study CE. See the CCE’s CE guidelines.

CE – Career Discovery Coaching (Video Lecture Series) – Open to coaches certified by an ICF- or CCE-approved coach training organization who are seeking supplemental training to coach youth through the career planning process. The complete training program consists of 19 hours of self-study training. International Coach Federation-credentialed coaches may use this training toward Resource Development CE for the maximum 16 hours of self-paced courses allowed for ICF credential renewal. See the ICF’s “self-paced courses and other self-study guidelines. Board Certified Coaches through the Center for Credentialing & Education may use these hours toward self-study CE. See the CCE’s CE guidelines.

CE – Single 1-Hour Class Modules in Evidence-Based Coaching Methods (Video Lectures) – (Options: Introduction to Motivational Interviewing for Coaches, Positive Psychology Primer for Coaches, Mindfulness for Coaching, Introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Coaching) Open to certified coaches seeking coach continuing education in evidence-based methods. These single class recordings are pulled from our live 30-week youth life coach training program.

International Coach Federation-credentialed coaches may use this training toward Resource Development CE for the maximum 16 hours of self-paced courses allowed for ICF credential renewal. See the ICF’s “self-paced courses and other self-study guidelines. Board Certified Coaches through the Center for Credentialing & Education may use these hours toward self-study CE. See the CCE’s CE guidelines.

Basic Coaching Skills for Organizations (Video Lecture Series) – Available to organizations employing staff or volunteer coaches who practice under the supervision of a coach certified by an ICF- or CCE-approved program. This series is not intended to serve as a stand-alone training or certification program for coaches. It is intended to serve as a training primer. Coaching is an applied discipline. Therefore, it is highly recommended that staff or volunteer coaches experience formal training in a synchronous setting wherein they have an opportunity to apply and develop coaching skills in practice under the supervision of a qualified coach.

Basic Coaching Skills Live (6 weeks)

We offer private training options via Zoom for organizations with a group of 6 or more. The Basic Coaching Skills live program includes 18 hours of training between a one-hour self-study lecture online followed by a once weekly two-hour live class.

Certified Youth Well-being Coach (14 weeks)

We offer private training options via Zoom for organizations with a group of 6 or more. If you have less than 6 to train at any given time, feel free to enroll them in any of our ongoing live training cohorts with space available.

Stage 4 Group Mentor Coaching Only (3 months)

We offer a private ICF group mentor coaching option for organizations with groups of 5-10 mentees. 

Contact us to schedule training for your organization.

Because we care to make evidence-based coaching financially accessible for all youth, trainees who certify through our program commit to coaching one to two pro-bono and/or severe sliding scale clients during or after training for low-income clients on a need basis. They coach their first pro-bono youth client as part of the Stage 3 training experience to secure their final exam recording submission.

Coaching is currently considered an avocational skillset in the United States, as most coaches do not secure full-time gainful employment solely through coaching skills or certifications. Most professional coaches are employed in other professions full-time and either 1) use coaching skills to enhance their full-time work, 2) coach on the side as an outlet for passion work, or 3) add coaching to other relevant business offerings for their audience.

According to the International Coaching Federation’s most recent Global Coaching Study (2020), coach practitioners include external and internal coach practitioners, human resources/talent development manager/or director who uses coaching skills, and manager/leader who uses coaching skills.

This same study found 94% of coach practitioners offer services in addition to coaching, including consulting (60%), training (60%), and/or facilitation services (54%).

Most of our coach trainees are employed in youth serving roles (e.g., teacher, non-profit worker, juvenile justice worker, caseworker, therapist, etc.), are parents of adolescents, or caring community members who pursue our training for additional skills to better engage and support the adolescents in their networks.