Become a Life Coach

Certification courses are available for professional life coach training now. Learn what is required to become a life coach today.

People naturally experience moments of doubt throughout their lives. Mistakes are made. Challenging decisions are required. Sometimes, choices about a specific direction in one’s life present themselves and people do not know which path to follow. If you have read this far and are inspired to help people overcome these challenges, you might be an excellent fit to become a life coach.

A life coach functions as a type of counselor. One primary job as a life coach is to assist people through significant challenges and transitions in their lives, with the goal of achieving the best healthiest outcomes. Certification courses are available for professional life coach training now. Continue reading to learn what is required and how much courses cost to become a life coach today.

Life Coaching Careers 101

The primary task required of a life coach is to help clients transform into their best possible selves. This includes helping these clients achieve specific goals they have set. Client goals range in type and level of priority as well. Some clients need help developing (and sticking to) nutrition, workout, and lifestyle plans for weight loss purposes. Some clients have major career ambitions but are confused about how and where to start acting. Certain clients need assistance with breaking unhealthy or self-destructive habits. Others are on spiritual journeys and need guidance to keep them on their desired paths. Additional reasons a person might hire a life coach include:

  • Choosing the right college.

  • Dealing with the aftermath of divorce.

  • Purchasing a new home.

  • Pursuing specific financial goals.

  • Pursuing a specific career field.

  • Changing unwanted personal traits into positive behavior patterns.

  • Coping with loss (such as a family death or acquired disability).

  • Anger management guidance.

  • Learning forgiveness.

  • Energy/spiritual cleansing and healing.

A life coach serves as much more than a coach. A life coach also functions as a counselor, confidante, co-planner, and guide for his or her clients’ most important decisions and moments. Acquiring the skills and mindset to do this job at a high professional level requires dedication, education, and training. Continue reading to learn about the types of life coach courses available today.

Choosing Your Direction

No degree is technically required to become a life coach. Some life coaches are naturally logical, intuitive, and equipped with strong people skills. Still, it is important to pick a specialization for which you have an affinity and pursue a career in the direction of this niche. It is possible to pursue multiple specializations as well when establishing your life coach. Even though this career field is rapidly increasing in popularity, the vocation is not currently regulated by U.S. state or federal government agencies. No licensing requirements are mandated either. This means you are permitted to choose any field of life coaching for which you feel confident and inspired. Obtaining on-campus or online training and education in one or more fields is also recommended to bolster your professional efficacy.

Types of Life Coach Courses Available

Courses available to train you to become a life coach are available on-campus and online for a wide variety of topics. Three primary levels of training and certifications are available. These three levels include Associate Certified Coach, Professional Certified Coach and Master Certified Coach certification programs.

Course work typically includes downloadable exercises, worksheets/questionnaires, and video tutorials. General studies emphasize multiple methods and strategies for structuring your coaching sessions and helping your clients achieve their best results. Study topics also include effective goal setting, management of negative emotions and belief systems and helping clients find their passions/purpose.

More specific courses such as the Animas Life Coach Training certificate course is also available. Animas programs teach a deep understanding about the career path and requirements of a life coach. Multiple levels and styles of coaching exist. Animas courses also teach about these levels and styles. Do you know what it takes to be the best life coach for your clients? The Animas certificate course teaches about the qualities required to be a great coach, including the development of your vision for yourself and career goals. The Animas Life Coach Training certificate course is an online program, which includes completely interactive video training sessions and more.

Coaching Models

Various types of coaching model’s programs are also provided. Each one approaches its training in a unique manner. For example, the highly popular GROW Coaching Model stands for the following priorities:

  • Goals.

  • Reality.

  • Options.

  • Will.

This course model teaches coaches to ascertain vital information about their clients by asking a minimal number of questions. These questions are designed to raise each client’s awareness of their goals and aspirations, present circumstances, obstacles (internal and external), possibilities (based on resources and strengths) and the correlation between actions and accountability. The GROW Coaching Model was co-developed in the late 1980s by Sir John Whitmore and his associates. The methods taught in this model are the most popular of their kind worldwide, and are used in meetings, communications, and daily leadership functions to help reveal possibilities and potentials. Additional life coach models and courses available include:

Requirements

Hard skills training requires education from the types of courses and models listed above. These include specifics about structuring your sessions to be as positive and effective as possible. Additional hard skill courses and required skills might include Entrepreneurship, Budgeting and Marketing. Developing strong Active listening skills combined with Leadership abilities is also vital to becoming an effective successful life coach.

Soft skills refer more to your personality and behavioral traits. Creativity is an important soft skill for a life coach. Creativity helps you deal with a variety of clients and their collective array of goals and needs. Additional required soft skills to become a life coach include a strong sense of ethics, networking prowess, sensitivity, and acute self-awareness.

Life Coach Training - How Much Does It Cost?

Life coach certification programs cost between $1,000 and $5,000+ to complete. The average course costs approximately $3,000, however. Why pay for and obtain a certification when it is not required? Obtaining a certification bolsters your credibility with your clients and in your profession alike. A certification course helps you learn how to better reach your clients, which in turn helps you better serve them and generate results.

Free Options

The Life Coach Training Institute offers a free online life coach certification program. Coursera, Udemy and Saylor also offer several free life coach courses online. Books on life coaching are also available. While not free, they cost significantly less than a certification course. Several of the top life coach training books available today include:

Best Life Course Training Institutions Available Today

The Life Purpose Life Coach Certification through Udemy is an excellent accredited certification course option. In fact, obtaining an accredited certification bolters your professional reputation and status even further. Several more top life coach certification programs available today include: