Q. Do I have to have a degree or any experience in coaching to take the courses?
No experience or education is necessary to take the Initial Certification Course. Most of our students come into the course without any experience or qualifications. The course is designed to teach foundational level Trauma Recovery Coaching skills from the ground up.
However, you do have to have completed the Initial Certification Course to take the Advanced Certification Course. And to apply for the Supervisor Certification you must have completed your Advanced Certification Course.
Q. Is your program accredited?
Accreditation is voluntary in the United States, not required. You can coach anywhere in the world with our Certification that allows coaching. We know of no country that does not allow it.
However, many ask us if we are accredited by the International Federation of Coaching, and if not, why we are not. The International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching (IAOTRC) is not accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). This is for several reasons:
First, we are fundamentally different in our structure, purpose and methodology from the ICF. The ICF is a coaching organization that upholds a set of core competencies, competencies which set a clear path for how accredited programs teach coaches. They are not designed to support any type of coaching that varies from their model and competencies. In that way, their focus is on ensuring conformation to their methods rather than a coaching program's effectiveness or impact because they believe their way forward is the best way.
The International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching does not conform to the ICF's model of coaching. We are not coaches who work with trauma survivors. We are trauma professionals who use the modality to coach to help trauma survivors build a life they love to live.
If we were to conform to the ICF's methods and competencies we would be limited in our capacity to help trauma survivors. Doing so would essentially gut our program of it's most effective and beneficial components. For this reason we have neither sought, nor will seek, ICF accreditation.
Second, The IAOTRC has always been on a path toward becoming an accrediting body for Trauma Recovery Coaching. Recognizing that standards and competencies are helpful within a profession we have pioneered the development for those within the modality of coaching with trauma survivors. A Code of Ethics, Guiding Principles and Core Competencies are vital to our success, but they must be ones that work for the population we serve. In the next few years the Association will launch their accreditation process.
If you wish to obtain an ICF credential you may still use our course to pursue that. If you follow the Portfolio Path you will be able to submit your course hours with us toward the number of overall coach education hours needed. Please refer to the ICF website for more information on that process.
Q. Are your classes online or in person?
All of our Certification Courses are held online in our private virtual classrooms.
Q. When are your classes offered?
Our Certification Courses are held twice a year unless otherwise noted on the certification course page.
Q. What are the costs associated with the courses?
Tuition for the Initial Certification course is $3000, plus the cost of four books for the required readings.
Tuition for the online Advanced Certification course is $2975, plus the cost of two books for required readings.
Tuition for Supervisor Certification course is $3150. There are no books required.
All classes are taught in our private Zoom rooms. There is no cost for you to join our classroom.
However, some of our courses may require you to have your own zoom account. Zoom is approximately $13/month. You will be given more detail in the course if this is needed.
Q. How much time will I need to devote to this course each week?
The Initial Certification Class will need approximately 7 - 10 hours of your time per week to attend classes, read required texts and complete homework. See the details here.
The Advanced Certification classes are taught online and over the course of three weekends, each held across three months so that there is a three to four week break between each set of classes. The class runs from 11am - 6pm (ET). See the details here.
The Supervisor Certification Course is taught online and over the course of three weekends, each held across three months so that there is a three to four week break between each set of classes. The class runs from 11am - 6pm (ET). Due to the tremendous responsibilities inherent in the Supervisor role, earning this certification is not just attending a course, but completing an entire Supervisor Training Program involving a great deal of experiential requirements, including but not limited to: observation, facilitation, coaching and coursework. See all of those requirements here.
Each course has a portfolio of work that must turn in to demonstrate your competency. The Initial and Advanced Classes each have an examination that needs to be studied for and passed. Time spent on those projects is very individual. We cannot estimate how much time this will take for each student.
Q. Do I have to attend each class? What if I need to miss one?
Initial Course Certification: You do not have to attend every initial certification class in person. Each class is recorded. If you miss a class you can watch the replay. The replay video links are usually up and available within 48 hours after class.
The only part of the initial course that has attendance requirements is for the Initial Certification Course Practice Groups. This is the portion of the course where students will have the opportunity to observe live coaching, and also to practice coaching themselves. You are required to attend 13 Practice Groups over the course of your 24 week Initial Course.
Advanced Certification Course: You must be present, with your camera on and actively engaged in the class, 80% of the course hours. There are 48 hours of coursework, so therefore you must be present for 38 hours of the class. If you cannot do so we ask that you apply for a semester where you can attend at least 80% of the training dates in person.
Supervision Certification Course: You must be present, with your camera on and actively engaged in the class 80% of the course hours. There are 48 hours of coursework, so therefore you must be present for 38 hours of the class. If you cannot do so we ask that you apply for a semester where you can attend at least 80% of the training dates in person.
Q. How much of an income can you guarantee me as a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach?
We cannot guarantee you an income of a specific amount. We will give you the tools to both coach and to set up a coaching practice: learn how to blog and create videos, define your ideal client and market to your ideal client. We will also teach you how to price your fees and structure your appointments to maximize your income. Most Trauma Recovery Coaches charge between $75 and $200 an hour. However, there are multiple other ways to earn income other than doing one-to-one coaching:
Teaching trauma related courses both for survivors and helping professionals, on or off line
Holding webinars for survivors, families of survivors, and helping professionals
Consulting with organizations, employers and even churches who want to provide trauma informed services
Group coaching, online or in person
Retreats for trauma survivors
Writing books
Speaking about trauma and abuse
All of these methods can be combined to earn a livable wage as a Certified Trauma Recovery Coach.
Q. Why become a Trauma Recovery Coach?
Serving survivors of childhood abuse is one of the most rewarding careers you can choose if you desire to help others. There are so many adults who need help recovering from their dysfunctional childhood upbringing that the need for coaches is virtually endless. You will have the opportunity to immediately impact other's lives for the better.
Coaching is also very versatile. You can coach out of your own home using Zoom, Skype or other video conferencing methods or you can meet clients face-to-face. You can coach with groups or clients or just one at a time. Coaching can be your part time career or your full time career. You set your own schedule and determine your own fees.
Q. Why work with The International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaches to become Certified?
We are internationally recognized experts in Trauma Recovery. We’ve worked with 1000's of survivors of domestic violence, childhood abuse, dysfunction and neglect around the world. Bobbi Parish, MA, CTRC-S, our Executive Director, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, graduating number one in her class from her graduate school program.
We are significantly different from other programs that teach trauma coaching. We are an organization of Trauma Recovery professionals who use the modality of coaching to help our clients. We are mental health professionals first and coaches second. Other programs are coach education businesses who teach coaches how to work with trauma. They build a non-specific coaching box and try to fit trauma into that model. We build a trauma box, customized to fit the science of trauma recovery, and have built a significantly effective coaching model that fits this very specific trauma box.
As the first Trauma Recovery Coaching program in the world we have pioneered the field of Trauma Recovery Coaching. No other organization has written coaching safety protocols and a Code of Ethics for the field. We are the first to put those together into a Trauma Recovery Coaching Certification Program.
To support and organize Trauma Recovery Coaches who obtain certification we also launched the International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching. This program credentials Trauma Recovery Coaches and upholds the highest quality and ethical standards within the field of Trauma Recovery Coaching. No other trauma coaching program has a professional organization to support, resource and provide continuing education after students graduate.
We offer free Group Supervision to all of our coaches. Supervision is a requirement of all other mental health professions — therapists, psychologists, social workers. Because we are mental health professionals as well we utilize the Supervision process as a means to support our coaches as they work in the field of trauma. No other mental health professional association offers free Supervision to their members. But we see it as so valuable in how it offers resources and community building to our coaches that we do just that.
Our program is also uniquely focused on diversity. We lead the way in teaching our students how to incorporate the aspects of each client’s unique experience into the coaching process. Our coursework has elements of diversity and understanding the trauma of being in a minority or marginalized community built into every educational and experiential component.
This program is not just another coaching education program written by someone who thinks they understand trauma from an outsider’s point of view.
We know what trauma survivors experience and understand what it takes to recover. Our program has been entirely developed, written, taught and led by trauma survivors.
We have used our experience and education to create a robust educational program. Some of our students have reported experiencing more healing in their own trauma recovery journey as a result of taking our classes — because they are coming to understand trauma in a new way.