Life Coaching Accreditation
Get properly assessed on recorded coaching sessions by an ICF-credentialled coach, and learn the business side that decides whether a coaching practice survives.
Taught and assessed by
Sarah LindqvistProfile pending contract
- Live teaching
- 30h
- Self-study
- 50h
- Duration
- 12 weeks
- Weekly load
- ~7h
What you will be able to do
- Hold a full coaching session that demonstrates the core ICF competencies
- Contract clearly with a client on scope, confidentiality and outcomes
- Recognise when a presenting issue requires therapeutic referral rather than coaching
- Ask questions that move a client rather than gather information
- Price and position a coaching practice from a costed income target
- Run the first ten client conversations that establish a practice
Who this is for
- Career changers building a coaching practice from scratch
- Managers and HR professionals coaching within an organisation
- Consultants and trainers adding coaching to an existing offer
- Existing coaches who have never been formally assessed
Who this is not for
- Anyone unwilling to be recorded coaching — assessment depends on it
- Anyone seeking to practise psychotherapy, which requires clinical training
What you need before you start
- No prior qualifications required
- Two practice clients for recorded sessions, which we help you find
What you will actually learn
12 modules · 12 weeks · 30h live
What coaching is, and is notThe boundary with therapy, consultancy and mentoring, established properly before any practice begins.
Covered in this module
- Coaching versus therapy versus advice
- Ethical frameworks and codes
- Recognising clinical need
- Referral in practice
ContractingThe conversation that prevents most of the problems a coaching practice encounters later.
Covered in this module
- Scope, confidentiality and its limits
- Outcomes and measurement
- Cancellation and payment terms
- Three-way contracts with employers
Listening at depthThe core skill, practised under observation until it changes.
Covered in this module
- Levels of listening
- What you notice and do not say
- Silence as an intervention
- Reflecting without paraphrasing
Powerful questionsAsking what moves a client rather than what satisfies your own curiosity.
Covered in this module
- Open questions that are not fishing
- Challenging supportively
- Questions that create insight
- Avoiding advice disguised as a question
Goals, and their limitsGoal frameworks, and when a goal is the wrong container for what a client brought.
Covered in this module
- Outcome versus process goals
- When the stated goal is not the real one
- Motivation and ambivalence
- Reviewing and renegotiating
Working with resistanceWhat to do when a client repeatedly does not act, without becoming their manager.
Covered in this module
- Ambivalence rather than obstruction
- Accountability that is not pressure
- Naming a pattern
- Ending a coaching relationship well
Recorded practice: round oneFull session recordings reviewed by tutor and peers against the competency framework.
Covered in this module
- Recording logistics and consent
- Self-assessment first
- Receiving critique
- Targeted improvement plans
Pricing from a real numberWorking backwards from the income you need, rather than from what competitors charge.
Covered in this module
- Costing your year properly
- Billable versus unpaid time
- Raising prices with existing clients
- Packages versus hourly
Finding clientsThe part most new coaches fail at, taught as assessed content rather than a bonus.
Covered in this module
- Positioning and niche
- The first ten conversations
- Referral systems
- What does not work
Corporate and team coachingSelling into organisations, which is where the larger fees are.
Covered in this module
- Buyer motivations in organisations
- Proposals and pilots
- Measuring impact credibly
- Pricing corporate work
Supervision and continuing practiceThe structures that keep a coach improving and safe after qualification.
Covered in this module
- Why supervision matters
- Peer triads
- Logging hours towards credentials
- Continuing development
Final assessment clinicSecond recordings and business plans reviewed live.
Covered in this module
- Final recording review
- Business plan critique
- Route to ICF credentialling
- Your first quarter
Dates and timetable
Life Coaching Accreditation runs as a live cohort over 12 weeks. Pick the start date that fits — every cohort gets the same tutor, curriculum and assessment.
| Starts | Live sessions | Cap | Status and action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ends | Thursdays 18:30–21:00 UK, 12 weeks | 18 | Enrolment closed |
| Ends | Thursdays 18:30–21:00 UK, 12 weeks | 18 | Choose this date → |
How you are assessed
Two full recorded coaching sessions submitted in weeks 6 and 12, assessed by Sarah Lindqvist against the published competency framework, plus a costed business plan for your practice. Written feedback on each recording with one free resubmission. Both recordings must pass — attendance does not earn the credential.
Our accreditation applications are in progress. We do not display an accreditation mark before it is granted — see the current status.
After you pass
- Contract and intake templates
- Pricing and positioning clinic
- Practitioner directory listing on passing
- Peer supervision triads that continue after the programme
Is life coaching regulated in the UK?
No. Anyone in the UK may call themselves a life coach and charge for it, with no qualification, registration or insurance legally required. Credentials from the International Coaching Federation and the EMCC are voluntary, which is why the assessed ones carry weight with informed buyers.
Sources
Does this programme give me an ICF credential?
No, and any provider claiming otherwise is misrepresenting how it works. The ICF awards its credentials directly, on its own application and assessment. This programme gives you the assessed training hours, the logged coaching hours and the recorded sessions that an application requires.
We are explicit about this because the distinction is routinely blurred in marketing.
What we provide: 30 hours of live tuition, assessed recordings against ICF core competencies, and a structure for logging your client hours. What we cannot provide: the credential itself, which only the ICF can award after its own assessment.
How much do life coaches earn in the UK?
Advertised UK rates commonly run from £50 to £150 an hour, with corporate and executive work higher. Actual income depends almost entirely on client volume rather than rate, and a large share of newly qualified coaches never build to full-time earnings.
We are deliberately careful with this figure because published, reliable data on UK coaching income does not really exist. The range above reflects advertised rates across practitioner directories, not a survey, and should be treated as indicative only.
The more useful thing we can tell you is where people fail, which is client acquisition. That is why it is assessed on this programme rather than mentioned.
Will I really be recorded coaching?
Yes, twice, and both recordings are formally assessed against the competency framework. This is the single most uncomfortable part of the programme and precisely the reason it produces competent coaches. Nobody can tell you whether your questions actually land without watching you ask them.
Common questions
What if I do not have practice clients?
We help you find them. Most learners coach a colleague, a friend of a friend, or another learner from a different cohort. Practice clients are not paying clients and are told so explicitly.
Can I do this alongside a full-time job?
Yes, though it is the most demanding programme we run — one 2.5 hour evening session a week for 12 weeks plus roughly four hours of practice and study. Recordings are the part people underestimate.
Is coaching the same as therapy?
No, and confusing the two causes real harm. Coaching works with people who are functioning and want to move forward. Therapy treats psychological distress. Recognising which is needed is taught and assessed here.
Related reading
CBT Practitioner Skills
A 10-week live programme in cognitive behavioural techniques for non-clinical practitioners, taught by a chartered psychologist with assessed competency review.
SubjectCoaching & Psychology
Assessed coaching and therapeutic skills programmes taught by chartered psychologists and ICF-credentialled coaches, with recorded practice and real feedback.
CareerHow to become a life coach in the UK
What a life coach actually does, whether the title is regulated, what training buyers check, and a realistic route to a first paying client.
AnswerICF vs EMCC coaching credentials
Neither is legally required in the UK. Corporate buyers usually name ICF. EMCC is the European alternative with supervision. Pick the market first.
ComparisonThe Study Guild vs The Coaching Academy
A dated comparison of a 12-week assessed coaching cohort versus an ICF-accredited diploma — including when the established academy is the better buy.