Becoming a Certified Transformation Life Coach is apparently the new rage and I just became one. Although from the 15-hour training I went through, I believe I was already doing this, even when I was a psychotherapist.
Professional Development
As a coach and coach educator I am always involved in some sort of professional development. For one, I must complete a certain number of training hours every few years to keep my credential as a Board Certified Coach active. And two, I love learning and I love teaching. Teachers can get stale at what they do if they don’t engage in continued learning themselves. At least that’s what I think.
So I set out to find a course with content I thought would benefit me. The course was titled, Certified Transformation Life Coach with an offering of 15 CE/CPD and the title intrigued me. I also purchased the accompanying book, The Complete Guide to Total Transformation by Joeel & Natalie Rivera. They say they have trained over 150,000 students. That’s impressive.
Course Content
While the course Terms of Use was very specific that I could re-purpose anything in the course to use with my own clients, I could not use the course content to teach other coaches. As a coach educator I can appreciate that. But my experience of this course is that the content is very much curated using exercises and theories that have long existed in coach and counseling circles (SMART GOALS, WHEEL OF LIFE, HERO’S JOURNEY, etc). Granted, the course is chock full of worksheets for self-exploration and client use, but there was nothing striking about the information. The course was very affordable, easy to follow and the information was presented in a palpable manner and for my purposes, the course served as a nice review.
Unsettling
The course I took was all self-paced with no interaction and the learning platform is designed so that one can simply check off each video or pdf and move on. Within 15 minutes, those with less integrity can have a certification in hand.
The course also stated that since coaching is not regulated (in the United States) that coaches should follow the ethics put forth by the American Psychological Association or similar psychologist/counselor organization. That is a a half-truth. No, coaching is not regulated like psychotherapy and counseling, but there are a few very prominent coach organizations that offer vetted credentials to coaches who must adhere to a strict competency and ethics code.
So, while I fulfilled part of my continuing education requirements and I experienced a nice review of theory and approaches I have implemented for nearly 30 years, I find it extremely unsettling that someone with no scruples could simply complete the check boxes and be “certified” within minutes. I have a stake in this coach education game because I offer courses too. But I don’t offer a certification. Here’s why.
Why I don’t offer a credential
If you look on the internet you can find a credential for just about anything. And in the field of coaching, the choices are plentiful. From $29.99 to $10,000 or more, you can receive your coach certification. Your educational requirements may be from 1 hour of training to 200 or more hours. For the credentials I hold, I had to be a licensed mental health practitioner with a master degree plus 30 additional hours of coach-specific training (for the Board Certified Coach credential) and 200 hours of coach-specific training (for the Certified International Health Coach credential).
I do offer a 200-hour course that is vetted by the International Association of Health Coaches (Certified International Health Coach). This organization accepts my training as the educational requirement necessary. In addition, a coach student must fulfill coach-client hours and pass a proctored exam. Both credentials adhere to a strict code of ethics.
I guess I could issue a piece of paper/badge that says my students are certified. But really? Who am I? I have been around for awhile and I may be known in the fields of coaching and counseling but I prefer to point my students to organizations outside of my own organization. I do that for accountability and transparency.
Interested in my training?
If you are interested in becoming a life or wellness coach, particularly with emphasis on incorporating your intuitive gifts, let’s talk. I teach you all the tools you need to guide your clients through transformation. My course is online and self-paced with ongoing written feedback from me throughout. If this sounds like something you are interested in, just check out the link below.
