What does it take to be(come) a good coach/counsellor?
What are your talents and how can you develop and apply them to guide others in their process? In this training programme you will learn to recognise personal patterns as the root of certain issues, and will get acquainted with methodologies that can be applied during sessions with your client. You will discover which coaching methods suit you best, and how to deal with themes that are personally important to you.
This programme is suitable both as a basic coaching training programme, for people starting out in the coaching profession, and for people who are already a counsellor or psychologist and want to learn the skills of coaching and counselling in order to work more effectively with their clients.
Why do we combine coaching and counselling in this programme?
We intentionally combine coaching and counselling in this training programme, since the two are closely connected in practice. As a counsellor, you work together with clients to explore underlying patterns and causes, often rooted in the past. As a coach, the focus is more future-oriented: helping clients to develop new strategies, recognise opportunities and take practical steps forward.
By integrating coaching and counselling, you will learn not only how to help clients gain insight, but also how to support them in taking meaningful action. This helps prevent you, as a counsellor, from becoming stuck with clients in analysing the past. On the other hand, relying solely on coaching may cause important underlying issues to be overlooked, increasing the risk that clients may not achieve their goals. Through this training programme, you will develop a well-rounded and effective approach to guidance and support, enabling you to help clients both process the past and shape their future with confidence.
Discover who you are as a coach/counsellor
As a coach or counsellor you can be the most important factor in your client’s changing process. For that reason, it is very important to first know yourself, both as a person and as a professional, and to know where your specific skills and knowledge lie to guide others. In this training course you will learn theory and methodologies, as well as gain practical tools for personal and professional growth.
The training programme is based on 3 pillars: theory, practice and personal development.
- Theory: you will be studying the compulsory literature and the study syllabus.
- Practice: you will exercise and practice methods with fellow students during class days and work with test clients in between class days.
- Personal development: throughout the programme, you will receive feedback from your teacher and fellow students, and reflect on your own progress and personal themes/patterns. Since you will take on the role of both coach and client during class days, you will be able to experience both sides and gain new insights. You keep track of your personal learning process in your portfolio.
Over the course of the training sessions, your initial ideas of the work you want to do as a coach/counsellor are likely to change or fluctuate. It is a journey of discovering who you are, where your experience lies, what methodologies suit you best, and which specialisation and client demographic attract you most. A beautiful and inspiring journey that you and your fellow students will make in a safe environment.
Is this course suitable for you?
The course is suitable for anyone who wants to learn the basics of coaching and counselling. This can for example be someone who wants to set up their own practice as a coach/counsellor, but also professionals who want to apply the skills in their job. If you already coach or counsel others in your current profession, and you want to acquire more skills, this course can be very suitable for you.
What is the purpose of the programme?
After completing this programme, you will be able to coach people in both personal and business settings. In addition, you will learn the basics of counselling. After this training programme you can use the acquired skills as an independent coach, in your current job (for example as a manager) and in your personal life. However, if you want to work as an (independent) counsellor, it is required to follow the training programme Coaching and Counselling Year 2 after completing Coaching and Counselling Year 1.
The Coaching and Counselling Year 1 course is part of a two-year counsellor training programme. If you want to work not only as a coach but also as an (independent) counsellor, it is essential to also complete Coaching and Counselling Year 2.
Professional associations, such as the NFG (Dutch Health Care Federation) and LVSC (National Association for Supervision and Coaching), emphasise that a minimum of two years of study is required to be thoroughly prepared for the profession of coach or counsellor. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to further develop your expertise by enrolling in Coaching and Counselling Year 2.
What will you learn in the programme?
After successfully completing the training programme Coaching and Counselling Year 1 you will be able to:
- Coach people with various issues.
- Use counselling skills in coaching sessions with clients.
- Guide people to discover and develop their talents.
- Use different methodologies to guide people in their process.
- Recognise underlying issues and themes, discern what falls within your field of expertise and when to refer your client to other professionals.
- Make a sound decision on who you want to be(come) as a coach/counsellor and choose a specific direction to develop yourself.
During the training programme, you will go through a personal development process yourself. In order to become a good coach/counsellor, it is very important that you have a proper understanding of your own life themes and issues and that you have previously worked/dealt with them.
Who are your fellow students?
The students in this course are mostly people who wish to learn how to coach/counsel others and acquire the basic techniques and tools to do so. They may be people currently working in entirely different professions who want to make a career switch and become a coach/counsellor, as well as health care professionals or psychologists who want to learn how to (better) guide others and/or improve their coaching abilities. The first-year programme is also highly suitable for those who want to start guiding others within their current position.
Course schedule
The programme consists of 11 days of class, in which the following themes and subjects will be covered:
Day 1: Attitude of the coach/counsellor
- The principles of coaching and counselling
- Who are you as a coach?
- Building rapport
- Basic coaching skills
- The boundaries of the coaching profession
- Reflection and intervision
Day 2: Communication and conversation skills
- Types of questions and the role of verbal and non-verbal communication
- Listening, summarizing, deeper questioning
- Formulating learning questions with a client
- Giving and receiving feedback
Day 3: Stages of coaching and counselling
- Different process models for coaching and counselling
- The phases of coaching and counselling (the coaching process from intake until completion)
Day 4: Biographical work: inner child, attachment styles and coping styles
- Coping and attachment styles
- Discussing the life story
- Transactional analysis
- Behavioural patterns
Day 5: Systemic work and family constellations
- Systemic principles
- Systemic questioning
- Family constellations
- Circle of concern and influence
Day 6: Body, mind and soul
- Feelings, emotions and intuition
- Coaching with games: The Feelings Game
- Non-violent communication
- Coaching with stress and burn-out related issues
- Knowledge of psychological disorders
Day 7: Meaning and well-being
- Meaning and flow
- Dealing with different life philosophies in coaching
- Culturally sensitive coaching
- The logical levels of Bateson and Dilts
- Coaching with games: Values Game
- The wheel of life
- Body-oriented exercises (breathing exercises, body scan)
Day 8: Trauma, mourning and loss
- The stages of grief
- Theories on grief and grief recovery
- Talking about grief
- Trauma: what is it, how do you recognise it and what can you do with it as a coach?
- Referral (how and to whom)
- Deep listening
- Your own ‘unfinished business’
Day 9: Coaching and the 6 coaching positions
- Different roles as coach (e.g. manager as coach, expert as coach)
- What is your role, place and mandate. Who pays for the sessions?
- The 6 coaching attitudes
- Coachability and learning styles of the client
- Giving homework assignments to clients
- Completing sessions and anchoring the results (how can you make the process most effective in the long run)
Day 10: Dealing with disruptions in the coaching process
- Dealing with resistance or evasive behaviour
- The drama triangle (and you as a coach)
- Dealing with difficult situations in coaching
- Transference, countertransference and projection
- Meta-communication
Day 11: Practical exam and extra practice
- Practical exam
- Additional practice of methodologies
- Re-cap of the programme: your lessons learned
Throughout the programme, you will work on developing your own portfolio. This portfolio will contain reflection reports, homework assignments, reports of intervision meetings with your fellow students, and reports of coaching sessions with test clients.
The training programme contains both a theoretical and a practical exam. The theoretical exam takes place online. During the practical exam, you will demonstrate your acquired skills and coaching attitude during a coaching/counselling session with a (mock) client.
Classroom and online programme
Coaching and Counselling Year 1 is available as a classroom programme and as a Live Online programme. You can find more information about the online programme here.
The study load for this training programme is approximately 8 to 10 hours per week.
