Professional Coach with Diploma Program (ACTP Step 1)

This program is the starting point for all coach training. In addition, it is ideal for those who want to bring a difference to other’s lives, as well as their own.

This program introduces you to the coaching tools and methodologies you need to coach others in a professional manner. Additionally, this training acts as the first step to further your candidature for ICF credentials in the future. You can read more about ACTP (Accredited Coach Training Program) here.

When you have finished this program you can work as a coach and become an ICF member. To apply for an ACC or PCC certificate at ICF you can continue your coach training with our Certification Program.

Coaching
program

International Coaching Federation (ICF) and Professional Coaching

What is ICF?

ICF is considered the golden standard in coaching. It is the only organization that offers globally recognized coaching credentials to individuals who meet a strict set of requirements.

The coaching industry is evolving rapidly and it seems that anyone can easily call themselves a coach. For this reason, it is important to make sure high standards are kept when it comes to professional coaching.

What does ICF credential mean for a professional coach?

ICF credential is evidence of the fact that you have a deep understanding of the highest standards in coaching and have demonstrated a mastery in them. They declare to the world that you are a professional coach who is recognized for their coaching excellence.

How to become an ICF certified coach?

In order to become an ICF recognized coach you need first of all to go through coach education that is approved by ICF.

Depending on the level that you apply for, the number of training hours that you are required to complete increases and the same applies for the number of client coaching hours. You are also required to have at least 10 mentoring hours, complete a Coach Knowledge Assessment and go though an oral examination to prove your competence.

ICF offers three credential levels for coaching excellence:

Associate Certified Coach (ACC)
Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
Master Certified Coach (MCC).

For ACC and PCC levels there are 3 paths to choose from (see below). You cand read more about the 3 paths on the ICF website here.

ACTP (Accredited Coach Training Program)
ACSTH (Approved Coach Specific Training Hours)
Portfolio Path

CoachCompanion Romania supports coaches through start to finish ACTP programs for ACC and PCC levels.

What does ACTP mean?

ACTP means start to finish or all-inclusive coach education. Such a program includes all the training hours, mentor coach hours and oral examination that ICF requires. After you go through the program with CoachCompanion you will receive a certificate which proves this. Having this certificate, the only thing left for you to do is to complete the Coach Knowledge Assessment, submit your application request on the ICF website and wait to receive you credential after 4 weeks’ review period.

Going through CoachCompanion Romania’s ACTP program also means that you can apply for either ACC or PCC level. It all depends on how many client hours you have. If you for example have 100+ hours you can apply for ACC level and in the moment you reach 500+ coaching hours you simply need to apply for PCC.

The CoachCompanion ACTP program is made up of two steps: Professional Coach with Diploma (Step 1) and Self Mastery ICF Certification (Step 2). You will find more details about the Professional Coach with Diploma Program below and you cand read more about the second step here: Self Mastery ICF Certification

Program Structure

As part of this program, you will receive 8 days of training, 5 mentor coaching hours, course literature, on-demand support, 10+ years of coaching know-how, and a separate Diploma Day for the examination, in order to prove your skills through a
live coaching session.

The program is structured as 4 modules, spread over 8 days, with each module covering 2 days each.

The program includes:

•8 full days of training from 9 am to 5 pm.
•5 hours for one-on-one sessions, with a mentor coach, during the days between modules.
•Coaching is taught through practice! Opportunity for at least 15 practice client hours with at least three clients between training days, and completed before Diploma Day.
•Handouts and book with all training material, created by CoachCompanion.
•On-demand support during all training days.
•Peer-coaching with other program participants (voluntary but recommended).
•Includes the cost for fees for the Examination to be an approved coach and receive the diploma.
(in case of failure, we will give participant another chance to clear the examination, upon payment of exam fees of 50 Euros).
•Free membership to the CoachCompanion ALUMNI network, which is a place for all certified coaches and for those with the diploma.
•Option to market your coaching skills and services, through the CoachCompanion Romania website.
•Free follow-up call with a mentor coach, after Diploma Day.

Note that the class size is limited to 12 participants.

When can I participate?
Training days & costs

Location: Online, Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Bucharest

Language: English, Romanian

Training hours: 09.00-17.00

Price: 2.800€ (VAT included for private, + VAT for companies)

Payment plan option: we support our participants with a payment plan of up to 4 months.

20€ administration fee is applicable to each invoice in the payment plan.

Enrollment Fee: 300€ (deducted form the total cost)

(!)Early bird price: 2.500€ for enrollment no later than one month before the start of the training

We offer special discount for employees in NGO’s

JANUARY (ongoing)

MAY Cluj/Combo

SEPTEMBER

JANUARY (ongoing)

MAY Cluj/Combo

SEPTEMBER

What will I learn?
Competencies & content

The base for the training lies in the ICF Core Competencies of a coach. Of course, the core competencies are strongly connected with one another, so even though different module will focus on certain core competencies it is important to remember they all build one another.

Module 1 (Day 1 and 2) – Setting the foundation

After module 1 the participants get concrete tools to get started with coaching with their practice clients.

Core competencies:

Listens Actively: the 4 levels of listening
Demonstrates Ethical Practice: confidentiality, ethical guidelines, professionalism, the difference between coaching and other professions
Embodies a Coaching Mindset: trust the client and see the greatness in them
Establishes and Maintains Agreements: written and oral coaching agreement
Cultivates Trust and Safety: self-awareness and integrity of the coach are a prerequisite in order to coach clients successfully

Module 2 (Day 3 and 4) – Coaching the client and not the topic

The Volcano Coaching® Model is presented and practiced.

In module 2 the participants get a number of exercises that lead to increased self-awareness in the client and help them set goals that are aligned with their true selves.

Core competencies:

Evokes Awareness: values, gifts & talents, dreams & visions
Facilitates Client Growth: setting goals & designing actions

Module 3 (Day 5 and 6) – The Coach’s toolbox

This module develops your coaching by offering new and diverse tools to help the client to evoke awareness, challenge and explore the current and future patterns of behaviours, thinking and emotion. A buffet of different tools is introduced and practiced, such as using the senses, the space and pictures.

In this module we also learn ”What makes a question powerful?” and how the coach by being more proactive can increase the client’s awareness and help them see new possibilities.

Core competencies:

Evokes Awareness
Facilitates Client Growth

Module 4 (Day 7 and 8) – My greatness as a coach

In module 4 the participants practice merging what they learned so far about the core competences and use them to form their unique coaching style.

We also practice process coaching (coaching feelings) and by that we take the coaching to an even deeper level.

Core competencies:

Maintains Presence
Facilitates Client Growth: celebrating success and showing appreciation
Evokes Awareness

Diploma Day

Diploma Day is an extra day reserved for all participants to showcase their coaching skills after finishing the program. The oral examination consists of a coaching session with an examiner assessed over a 15-minute phone conversation. The day concludes with a Diploma Ceremony, when we reflect on our coaching journey and celebrate with champagne!

The diploma is recognized by ICF and it states the number of training hours (65), mentor coach hours (5) and practice clients hours (15) that the participants achieved as part of the ACTP training.

After you finish the Professional Coach with Diploma program you can choose to continue with step 2 of the ACTP program: Self-Mastery ICF Certification (ACTP Step 2) or register for one of the specialization modules: Leadership, Career, Team or Wellness.

How will I learn?
Method & Approach

Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is the most efficient way for acquiring new skills that remain with you. You get concrete tools that you can immediately put into practice, while you also get to experience their impact on yourself. All our programs are based on experiential learning: this means we rarely use presentations and lectures in-class. The learning is done through a lot of practice and exercises where the participants learn by doing, observing, experiencing, self-reflection and feedback from their peers, which are essential for creating awareness and making an impact. Of course, handouts and materials are sent at the end of each module, but practice is the key.

Volcano® Coaching

Volcano® coaching is a holistic approach to doing coaching. We use this metaphor to refer to the sleeping power source of the untapped potential which we bring to life. For long-term results we discovered that self-awareness is the key element to help clients achieve goals. Anchoring the goals into a strong foundation ensures their fulfilment. All our 15+ years of experience of coaching are gathered in this powerful, modern approach to doing coaching. With very carefully chosen exercises and experiential learning you set a goal from knowing your true self and your values. From knowing what gifts and talents you have and with awareness of your dreams and visions you find the energy and power; and in this you find your motivation to reach your goals.

Appreciation

What you focus on grows! This is something that guides us as coaches and is also deeply rooted into the way we do training and into the flow of our coaching programs. As a coach you have unyielding faith into your client and see their greatness. You don’t need somebody to tell you what’s wrong, you grow when somebody gives you feedback on what you do good. We build on what is already there because you have the potential and the answer lies within you. As a participant in our program, you will deeply experience what that means and know that your uniqueness makes you the best coach you can be.

When can I participate?
Training days & costs

Location: Online, Cluj-Napoca, Brașov, Bucharest

Language: English, Romanian

Training hours: 09.00-17.00

Price: 2.800€ (VAT included for private, + VAT for companies)

Payment plan option: we support our participants with a payment plan of up to 4 months.

20€ administration fee is applicable to each invoice in the payment plan.

Enrollment Fee: 300€ (deducted form the total cost)

(!)Early bird price: 2.500€ for enrollment no later than one month before the start of the training

We offer special discount for employees in NGO’s

JANUARY (ongoing)

MAY Cluj

MAY Brasov

SEPTEMBER

Testimonials

I felt the whole program as a journey against my "normal" way to do things but at the end of each day I felt enlightened and always left being curious to come back and see what else I've been doing "the hard way" until now. It was one of the most interesting learning experiences I had. I could not believe how easy it is to learn by doing and how the whole puzzle was coming together during the courses.

The content of the course and the way it was organized prepared me for success. The atmosphere gave me the courage to open up and say anything that crossed my mind. This program helped at both professional and personal levels. I have more confidence, I am more aware of what I am capable of, and besides the fact that I can practice coaching, I can use the skills that I learned here in other areas as well, like helping people or groups to achieve what they want.

The trainers were very experienced, inspiring and fun. I loved the structure of the course, the approach and the tools because they are applicable in all areas. My key takeaway: the hero approach. It’s been helping me to keep developing my compassion towards myself and others.

The training is really good, and I really recommend CoachCompanion. First because you become a better person: you understand yourself better, you know your values, you know what you want to do, you follow your passions and you develop your intuition and it’s very beneficial for you in the first place. In the second place it’s very, very beneficial for the people around you, because when you become a better person, then everyone round you becomes better. And because you become a professional coach with high standards, and you know what you are doing, then you can help a lot of people: clients, family friends and basically everyone around you. You develop your communication skills, you know how to listen, you are present, you are more mindful and you are really armed with a toolbox that can help you everywhere: with your client, with the people around you and you really develop yourself as a person and also in your career. If you want to become a better coach and want to help a lot of people, then this place is for you. You can come here and develop yourself through the CoachCompanion programs and they will really help you develop as a professional and certified coach and you will be very glad you did this. Thank you very much and I look forward to seeing you here!

I think what I liked the most was the fact that it had a lot of exercises. It was a hands-on experience all the way. We got the concepts, but everything we learn, we learned from experience. And before we use any coaching tool with our clients, we use it with ourselves and we see what is happening and I think that’s important.

I liked the fact that we had a chance to practice and put into action all the exercises that we learned in the program. It was amazing to have the interaction with the colleagues. We had a lot of opportunities to learn from each other, to discuss each step in the process and I also enjoy Maria’s guidance throughout the process and her being there to tell us about the most important things in this program. I also liked the energy and atmosphere during the classes. It was warm, welcoming, safe and it really helped me exercise all the steps for reaching this coaching goal for me.

The coaching program was really intensive, but also personal with different kinds of activities that challenge your perspective of how to do coaching and also challenges yourself and develop yourself into becoming a better coach. It is a really good combination of practice activities, but also discussions among us. It’s not just a trainer-facilitated program, but also a peer-to-peer facilitated program, so we had a lot of interesting experiences within the team doing activities together and demo coaching together. And we had a lot of homework, so I think it’s a really complex program that can help you a lot in developing your competencies.

I think one of the most important things I learned during this program is one of the key concepts that really stuck with me: trust the person in front of you and see the hero in your client. That was a really important aspect because I had consultancy experience before going to this module of coaching and you are just used to telling clients what to do or consulting them or giving them the solutions, whereas from now on you should start listening to them and actually help them find their own solution and just trust that they have their own solutions- they know it. Event if it’s obvious for you and for them not yet. So this was one really important aspect that I think is crucial for being a really successful coach: see that in your client. And trust that he really does have the answers, you just have to be patient and be there with him, along his side.

Changes I actually felt on more than one level. I felt it personally. I feel that I grew a lot with the competencies that I developed, the core competencies of a coach. They grew me as well in terms of communicating and in terms of understanding people- so the way you relate with people, and that goes into your professional and personal life. I saw myself grow in dealing with clients and my family. So all of this, this questions ... I can answer that it affected me on a big, big level.

In the first place I think this is a great experience to develop yourself and definitely learn new things and yes- why not, to help others!

This was a great element in this training. Very interesting people participated, and it was nice to have inputs and to share experiences with people that are working in training, learning and development, managers, people coming from the IT area. And the dynamics of the group was full of joy and full of interest to develop our coaching competencies. Besides the trainers, I got a lot also from the participants in terms of competencies and sharing with our peers this incredible journey.

The CoachCompanion experience was so great for me because it’s not only about learning how to become a coach, it’s about discovering yourself and discovering how to guide and help other people reach their goals and make a change. I met so many great people here, had a lot of nice and deep experiences. Big “thanks” for my trainers and I love being here; it’s a sweet moment for my heart!

I am really happy that I decided to attend this program because I really took a lot from it, not only on a professional level, but also on a personal one. I learned a lot about what it means to be a coach and I also learned a lot about myself. And this was just as valuable for me. I believe this will be something that will help me in the future: in my career and my personal life.

For me this program was a super great experience. I met some extraordinary people and it helped me develop tremendously so thank you for that! I had so many questions about coaching my exercise clients and I really needed her guidance! This service gave me an amazing coaching experience and helped me tremendously develop as a future coach! I'll certainly recommend this service to anyone might be interested in benefits of coaching.

This coaching program was one of the best programs I’ve been participating to. I recommend it to everyone who wants an improvement on every level, whether it’s personal development or professional life. I think it can really contribute to your growth!

Professional Coach with Diploma was a great program, it was very insightful. I felt very good and I learned a lot of new things which will help me in my career so I can implement it with my clients in order to obtain great results together.

Professional Coach with Diploma helped me a lot in my personal and professional life. I learned a lot of tools that I can use with my clients and it helped me know myself better.

In addition and as a bonus, during in-class training CoachCompanion invites all our program participants to join us for a Swedish Fika, on all training days. The Fika is a uniquely Swedish tradition, of mingling over coffee and specific Swedish delicacies. Therefore we offer all participants a yummy start to the day with a delicious breakfast buffet, to go with their morning coffee, as well as an afternoon coffee break with organic treats. Enjoy your Fika as you mingle with a great mix of participants who share their experiences with each other from day one!