Life Coaching and Becoming a Life Coach

The concept of ‘life coaching’ is becoming increasingly popular in Australia as more and more people strive to manage their personal and professional goals. Life coaches endeavour to lay the foundations for people to achieve these goals. Consequently, as the popularity of life coaching continues to rise so to does the appeal of becoming a life coach as a career option.

The Life Coaching Institute of Australia provides comprehensive information and training courses for people wanting to become a life coach. Training courses at both certificate and diploma levels are available for enrolment for those interested in a career in life coaching.

Speaking with one of the life coach counselors or consultants at The Institute is a great way for those interested in life coaching to find out more about what it entails. This allows potential students to gain a greater understanding of life coaching before enrolling in a course. These course consultants are students and graduates of The Life Coaching Institute and are therefore well informed to answer any questions potential students may have and guide them in choosing the most suitable course for their needs. General information on course duration and fees is also available.

The Life Coaching Institute offers two programs in life coaching:

- The Certificate IV in Life Coaching

- The Diploma of Life Coaching

The Certificate IV in Life Coaching is five to six months in duration depending on the chosen path of the applicant. There are two main study paths available:

- Practitioner of Coaching

- Advanced Practitioner of Coaching

The advanced study path is a more intensive course, offering greater scope for advanced learning and face to face training. Both courses come with a ‘pre-learning pack’ which provides information on coaching, what you need to be a successful life coach and important information on how the coaching sessions are conducted. The pack also contains various exercises to help students in understanding the essential characteristics of a life coach, such as decisions making, communications skills, an influential spirit, awareness of one’s self and beliefs, and an appreciation of the beliefs of others.

On successful completion of the Certificate IV, the Diploma of Life Coaching can be taken as further study, progressing students’ life coaching training to a higher level. The Certificate and Diploma courses can be taken both together or sequentially. If taken together, studies for the Diploma course are introduced to a student’s timetable after the completion of a couple of months of the Certificate course, ensuring that students have both the required knowledge for participating in the Diploma course and the ability to keep up with both levels of study.

The Diploma of Life Coaching takes about twelve months to complete on a part-time basis and consists of five main areas:

- Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner Training

- Trainer’s & Public Speaking Skills Training

- Executive Coaching

- Your Successful Coaching Practice

- Developing a Coaching Product & Marketing it

Those serious about a career as a life coach and keen to establish a significant home based practice for themselves must complete the Diploma course as it not only provides essential information on life coaching but also gives you hands on experience in running a life coaching agency. It also helps interested individuals to develop their own life coaching products in the form of CDs, articles, and books etc.

As the demand for life coaching grows so too does the need for well trained and skilled professional in the field. Comprehensive information and accredited training courses are available for those interested in starting a career as a life coach from The Life Coaching Institute of Australia.