Title of the program

Courageous Living Coach Certification

General program vision and goals

The Courageous Living Coach Certification (CLCC) is a life coach training program that takes a holistic approach to the coaching skill-set. Goals: to train our life coaches to the highest standards, using an understanding of how clients experience fear and how clients can develop courage and emotional resilience as the backbone of coaching.

List of classes/modules/parts

We start with an in-person retreat weekend, move to a distance learning format with Lesson content and Field Work calls, add in niched coaching content via the Major Concentration calls, and offer specific Topical call content for additional practice drills and learning.

TOTAL SYNCHRONOUS PROGRAM HOURS: 64.5

ASYNCHRONOUS HOURS: 20 

TOTAL HOURS: 80.5

Additional optional hours (Major Concentrations/Bonus Calls): 24

Breakdown: Retreat Weekend (in-person retreat): Total retreat hours: 18.25 hours of synchronous instruction

Lesson Content:

Module 1: Goal-setting and the first session
Module 2: Many faces of fear
Module 3: Person-centered coaching
Module 4: Designing practices
Module 5: Fear-based habits + courage-based habits
Module 6: When the past is in the present
Module 7: Emotions + process work
Module 8: Experimenting, creativity and spontaneity
Module 9: Trusting yourself + building confidence
Module 10: Relationships
Module 11: Money
Module 12: Managing client progress
Module 13: Shadow work
Module 14: Biochemical issues + somatic awareness
Module 15: Listening deeper for problems + solutions
Module 16: Empathy mapping
Module 17: Creating a client journey
Module 18: Accountability
Module 19: Confronting with Kindness
Module 20: The client’s ongoing journey
Total Lesson Call hours: 42 hours of synchronous instruction

Field Work/practicum calls (calls where trainees practice coaching with one another; these calls are spaced at intervals over the first 6 months of the program): 7 calls Total Field Work/practicum hours: 14 hours of synchronous instruction

Major Concentration calls (calls that cover niched coaching topics):
Career Coaching (3 calls, 2 hours each = 6 hours)
Health + Wellness Coaching (3 calls, 2 hours each = 6 hours)
Executive Coaching (3 calls, 2 hours each = 6 hours)
Somatic Coaching (3 calls, 2 hours each = 6 hours)
Total Major Concentration hours: 24 hours of synchronous instruction

Topical Calls (calls that cover specific ICF Core Competencies, 1 hour each; these calls are spaced at intervals across the training program): Establishing the Coaching Agreement
Ethical Guidelines and Professional Standards
Establishing Trust + Intimacy With the Client
Coaching Presence
Active Listening
Powerful Questioning
Direct Communication
Creating Awareness
Designing Actions
Planning + Goal-Setting
Managing Progress + Accountability
Integration + Review
Total Topical calls hours: 12 hours of synchronous instruction

Retreat = 18
Curriculum = 40
Field Work = 14
Major Concentrations=24
Topical Calls=12
Portfolio review call=1

Number of student contact hours approved by the ICF.

TOTAL APPROVED SYNCHRONOUS PROGRAM HOURS: 111.25
TOTAL APPROVED ASYNCHRONOUS (SELF-STUDY/HOMEWORK) HOURS: 20
TOTAL APPROVED COURAGEOUS LIVING PROGRAM CERTIFICATION HOURS: 131.25

Learning Goals

  • All graduates of the CLCC will have an in-depth intellectual and applied understanding of all of the ICF Core Competencies.

  • All graduates of the CLCC will understand the different ways that fear shows up for clients, as well as the different applications of behaviors that are defined as courageous, so that clients can develop emotional resilience.

  • All graduates of the CLCC will personally develop themselves as individuals and leaders, undertaking an examination of their own strengths and weaknesses.

  • All graduates of the CLCC understand what an ethical, professional, and supportive coach-client relationship looks like, and all graduates act in accordance with those standards.

  • All graduates of the CLCC will use a community-lead, peer-to-per model for learning, in which participants both learn from observing and offering feedback on the experiences of others when others are in the client or coach role, as well as offering their own coaching and client experiences so that peers may learn from them, as well.

  • All graduates will complete at least 60 hours of one-on-one coaching with peers and/or outside clients, with the aim of gaining experiential practice with all concepts.

Coaching philosophy/model/approach

At the CLCC, we want our graduates to be able to approach coaching from a holistic place, learning many tools “from the toolbox” that are then applied to unique clients as they are applicable (as opposed to a coaching model that teaches “this is the way to coach, in this format, and it is to be applied to each client in a linear fashion). In particular, we look at how clients experience fear, and how they can learn the applied skill-set and habits that go into behaving with courage and developing emotional resilience as they face life’s challenges.

Listing of lead instructors

Director: Kate Swoboda Rado

Lead Coaches:
Valerie Tookes, PCC
Liz Applegate, PCC

Dates and locations of when and where the program is to be delivered

The program runs January through November each year.
Required in-person retreat weekend: Petaluma, California.
All other classroom delivery: e-learning/virtual on Thursdays/Saturdays, January through October of each training year. Dates are given to trainees in the calendar each year.

Language(s) that are used in program delivery:

English

How the program is delivered

Predominantly live/synchronous with some asynchronous coursework that is validated (eg, peer swap sessions, homework).

Intended participants:

People who are interested in a holistic and experiential coach training that also incorporates the ICF Core Competencies and an understanding of how fear, psychological courage, and habit-formation are part of a client's process of change.

Requirements students must meet to enter the program:

Completion of the CLCC application (applicants are evaluated based on their desire to take part in a community-oriented training program, whether or not they have time in their schedule to fully commit to the time required for the program, and whether or not they indicate via their responses that they share the CLCC's values around vulnerability and transparency in doing personal work, with integrity). Participants must be willing to come to the in-person retreat, to attend all classes, devote 10 hours a week to training while the program is in session, and have a high-speed internet connection in order to ensure that they can participate on training calls. Because all of our calls are delivered in English, English fluency is needed.

Policies on payment of tuition and fees:

Participants register with a non-refundable deposit to hold their space in the program. Tuition is non-refundable. Participants can submit tuition as one lump sum, or pay in installments that are invoiced monthly. There is a late fee schedule for tuition payments that are more than 7 days late, of $25 per 7-day period that an invoice is past due.

Policies on withdrawals and refunds:

Participants register with a non-refundable deposit. Tuition payments are invoiced monthly. If the student elects to withdraw from the program, the total program tuition will still be due as outlined in the agreement.

Partial Completion Policy

CLCC is run as an end-to-end coaching program and does not offer partial completion policies to participants who have not completed all course requirements.

Transfer of Credit Policy

CLCC will validate all completed synchronous and asynchronous hours for any student wishing to transfer hours. The student must work with their new institution, however, regarding how those credit hours are applied (for example, the student will have to demonstrate to/collaborate with the new institution to define how CLCC’s curricula applies in the context of the new institution’s curricula/program/policies).

Illness Policy

Students cannot miss more than 6 hours of training time during their training year. In the event that illness causes a student not to complete the program, CLCC cannot grant graduation through alternative pathways outside of our designated and approved curricula. CLCC will validate all completed synchronous and asynchronous hours and can work with the student on application of those hours to a different training year.

First year of inception

The CLCC was first run in 2014 and has concurrently graduated participants each year, since.

Graduation Rates

All training years have had at least five students enrolled. Each year, our graduation rate has ranged from 96-99%.

Open + Free Learning Environments

We provide an environment that respects learning differences and offer recordings and transcripts of all sessions to participants for additional review. Holding sessions virtually allows participants to occupy spaces where they feel safe and can arrange themselves in comfortable positions. When learning in-person, we utilize spaces that are friendly to those who are differently abled.

Ethical Marketing Agreement

CLCC aligns with the principles of ethical marketing in alignment with the International Coach Federation’s Statement on Ethics, Integrity, and Transparency Policy. This statement identifies the ICF Core Values, Ethical Principles, and standards of behavior for all ICF Professional Coaches and Accredited Providers.

CLCC is direct, open, and transparent in all marketing and communications with all current and future students, participants, organizations, and partners. What is and is not included in our program is clearly outlined in our agreement.

We will not share, sell, or otherwise mis-use your personal data and information, maintaining confidentiality and privacy for all participants. We adhere to the Anti-Spam legislation that provides boundaries for email marketing, and we will not send you direct email messages without: 1) obtaining consent, 2) clearly providing our identification information, and 3) providing an unsubscribe mechanism.