Training To Become A Life Coach

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Probably the second most common request I get (after direct coaching requests) is for advice on training to become a life coach. This is a tricky one for me because I didn’t train in the US and I am loathed to recommend companies that I’ve had no direct experience with. I know some excellent UK companies that offer training of one form or another, Salad probably being the best, but on the whole they are not life coach training.

I believe, and I know people that would disagree with me here, that NLP training or some form of training around the use of language in coaching is critical. I would expect that the 18-month courses that you usually need do to gain CPC certification in the US would cover a lot of that. However, I am not sure that they would go into any great detail with either NLP or hypnotherapy. Both of these can be very useful with change work, and I for one would not want to be without them. It is a very personal thing though and I am sure there are some excellent life coach’s out there that use neither, or more accurately, use neither knowingly. I know people that use NLP naturally (in fact to be pedantic we all do to a greater or lesser degree) but don’t know it’s called that.

If you’re considering training to become a life coach I would say two things.

1) Go for it!

2) Do as much research on the companies as possible.

Don’t take what they say on their website as gospel, speak to people that have used them and try and find out what qualifications you actually need. Business and executive coaching for example will be much tougher to break into because you will invariable be dealing with HR departments, and they will want to see the bits of paper supporting your claims.