Coaching Certification Programs

That’s the question we hear most often! Here’s the overview.

CYWC
Generally a good fit for internal staff serving tweens, teens, or emerging adults who have no interest in professional coaching as a career path. They just want to add coaching skills to their current work. This is the path most often selected by leaders within youth-serving organizations and agencies (e.g., schools, non-profits, colleges, universities, juvenile justice, healthcare, etc.) who are seeking professional development for their internal staff.

CYRC (ICF-Accredited and CCE BCC Approved Training Path)
Generally a good fit for aspiring professional coaches, those in leadership roles over coaching staff, small business owners serving adolescents, or those who would like to pursue a private coaching practice as a side gig or career pivot.

CYBHC
Generally a good fit for those who serve or hope to serve tweens, teens, or emerging adults within a behavioral health, mental health, public health, health and wellness, or health system role. Those roles may be behavior intervention specialist, community health worker, health education specialist, mental health professional, case manager, juvenile probation officer, juvenile detention officer, peer recovery coach, etc.

Absolutely! Here are two free lectures that provide insight into what our knowledge-based content is like in the self-study modules.

Click this link to watch a 42-minute lesson – Introduction to Coaching.
Learn what coaching is and what it’s not, the differences between coaching, therapy, and other support services, and how we get to make a difference through coaching.

Click this link to watch a 30-minute lesson on Academic Coaching & Learning Science.
Learn about the research that supports why academic coaching is a vital resource to promote school engagement and protect against school burnout.

If you’re interested in our programs, but want to be sure our content is a fit for you before signing up for a full certification, you can complete a single course, Course 1: Basic Coaching Skills and Adolescent Well-being Science. Just go back to the home page, scroll down to that course highlight, and click Enroll. 

Absolutely!

Click here to review our Pacing Guide. 

Click here to review the Course 1 syllabus as a sample of our training content. 

All training, supervision, and practicum are completed 100% virtually and available internationally via live Zoom webinar and/or telephone conference call.

Candidates must be 18 years old or older.

Our training programs are ideal for professionals working directly with tweens, teens, and/or emerging adults, professionals leading organizations serving these populations, or those who aim to serve this audience in some capacity.

Coaching is a helping profession focused on learning and growth. Thus, it is a wonderful skillset addition for those in or interested in a career path within helping professions or education (e.g., human resources, counseling, social work, human services, leadership, nursing, teaching, public health, etc.)

Trainees who complete our programs most often apply their skills in the following ways:

• Adding coaching skills to enhance their work with tweens, teens, or young adults
• Coaching as a side gig for access to deep, meaningful work and extra income around a full-time job
• Coaching as a professional career path
• Coaching in a volunteer or mentoring capacity

Trainees may opt to complete individual courses for continuing education hours or the series of courses required to earn a certification through YCI. We offer three certifications with each one building to the next.

Trainees who complete courses 1-3 earn our Certified Youth Well-being Coach designation. This option is generally a good fit for youth-serving professionals, such as teachers or caseworkers, who want to add coaching skills to enhance their current work.

Trainees who complete courses 1-8 earn our Certified Youth Resilience Coach designation. This is our ICF Level 1 accredited and CCE-approved coach training program. This option is generally a good fit for aspiring professional coaches, those in leadership roles over coaching staff, or those who would like to pursue a private coaching practice as a side gig or career pivot.

Trainees who complete courses 1-9 earn our Certified Youth Behavioral Health Coach designation. This option is generally a good fit for professional coaches who support youth through behavioral health or health and wellness organizations offering full continuum of care services.

Yes! You can earn your first certification and come back to complete additional courses for next level certifications when you’re ready. Just purchase each next course or set of courses as you’re ready.

Just click the CYWC, CYRC, or CYBHC Full Package button to add the full program of your choice to the cart. Be sure to note which of the live schedules you want for the live courses included in your package upon checkout.

Our Certified Youth Well-being Coach and Certified Youth Resilience Coach training programs have an 80% live attendance requirement.

All live classes are recorded so that those who have an allowed absence are able to watch the recording to submit a missed class makeup summary to earn credit.

If you were scheduled to coach the day of your absence, you would also need to complete a makeup practice coaching session outside of class.

Life happens! Your well-being is our priority. If you need to pause your training, you can transfer to a later cohort to complete your training up to one year from the date of your withdrawal from your current cohort.

Absolutely not. Your basic coaching skills are generally applicable to any coaching-appropriate audience – tweens, teens, and adults of all ages.

The behavioral science knowledge you’ll gain is also generally applicable. You are practicing coaching peer trainees who are adults of all ages with various backgrounds, experiences, and cultures during your in-class training. This means that you’re learning to coach adults of all ages through this program.

Because your training with us is approved by the International Coaching Federation, you also qualify to obtain a higher credential through the ICF upon successful completion with us. The ICF’s designations are general professional coaching designations accepted in most coaching-related roles.

Yes, our internal payment plans can be accessed via the “Explore Payment Options” buttons on the Courses Overview page above, or directly on each class’s checkout page.

You can also add the full certification package to the cart to review external payment plan options offered by our payment processors at checkout before making a decision. Trainees may access lower monthly payment plans by using the Buy Now, Pay Later options offered through our external credit providers. 

Self-Study Courses: All tuition paid for self-study courses is non-refundable upon release of course access to the buyer.
Live Meeting Courses: Registrants can cancel or withdraw participation at any time within 14 days prior to the first scheduled live meeting date for their enrolled group for a full refund of paid tuition. Registrants can cancel within 7 days following the first live meeting date for the enrolled group for a 50% refund of paid tuition. If registrants cancel or withdraw from training more than 7 days following the first live meeting date for the enrolled group they are not entitled to any refund or any reductions in tuition owed, as they must cover the cost of the lost seat.

We offer two partial scholarships: the Educator Impact Scholarship and the Community Impact Scholarship. They reduce tuition by $1,800 for the CYRC and CYBHC training paths. Scholarship awards cannot be combined with other discounts, including the early bird discount. If you are awarded a scholarship, it will always be your larger savings.

Many trainees secure professional development funding through their employer to cover the cost of training for our Certified Youth Well-being Coach program.

Some also secure training or professional development grants through their state or regional workforce development programs or vocational rehabilitation programs. Here is a proposal that you can share with your employer or potential funder. 

Click here to use our AI-enabled Funding Finder tool to search for funding in your area. 

DISABILITY ACCOMMODATION POLICY

Youth Coaching Institute, LLC is committed to ensuring equal access to its coach training programs for all participants.

In alignment with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), YCI will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities to ensure equal access to its certification courses, training materials, and program activities.

To request an accommodation:

Trainees who require accommodations are encouraged to submit a written request to info@youthcoachinginstitute.com before or at the time of enrollment. Requests should describe the nature of the accommodation needed. YCI will engage in a good-faith, interactive process with the requesting trainee to determine an appropriate and reasonable accommodation. Because some accommodations require advance planning (such as captioning for live sessions or alternative format materials), early notice is strongly encouraged.

YCI will make reasonable accommodations that do not fundamentally alter the nature of the training program or impose an undue burden on the organization.

All accommodation requests and related documentation will be kept strictly confidential.

Trainees who believe they have been denied a reasonable accommodation or discriminated against on the basis of disability are encouraged to follow the Grievance Policy outlined in this agreement. 

In the United States, coaching is generally considered an avocational skillset, as most coaches do not earn full-time income solely through coaching credentials. Instead, many professionals integrate coaching skills into existing roles, coach part-time while preparing for a career pivot, or bundle coaching with related services.

According to the International Coaching Federation’s 2020 Global Coaching Study, coach practitioners include external and internal coaches, HR or talent development professionals, and managers or leaders who use coaching skills. The study also found that 94% of coach practitioners offer services beyond coaching, such as consulting (60%), training (60%), and facilitation (54%).

Most of our coach trainees are employed in youth-serving roles (e.g., teachers, nonprofit or juvenile justice workers, caseworkers, therapists), are parents of adolescents, or are community members seeking skills to better support young people.

Full-time, salaried youth-serving coaching roles are most commonly found in schools, colleges, universities, behavioral health agencies, and nonprofits. Examples include:

• Behavioral Health Coach

• Mental Health Coach

• Academic or Learning Coach

• Student Success Coach

• Career Coach

• Leadership Coach

These roles typically require a bachelor’s degree and 2–4 years of youth-serving experience. Behavioral Health and Mental Health Coach roles often require a master’s degree in a related field, along with a coaching certificate from an accredited program. Individuals without the required experience often complete our programs to build experience part-time while preparing for a career transition.

Our evidence-based youth well-being coach training prepares graduates to deepen their impact in a wide range of roles supporting tweens, teens, and young adults across education, nonprofit, workforce, and behavioral health settings.

Education & Student Support

• Student Success Specialist or Advisor

• SEL Coordinator or Behavior Specialist

• Academic Interventionist or Learning Specialist

• College Access & Success Counselor

Youth Development & Nonprofits

• Youth Program Manager or Director

• Case Manager or Youth Advocate (non-clinical)

• Community Engagement or Outreach Specialist

• Prevention or Early Intervention Specialist

• Resource Navigator

Mental & Behavioral Health–Adjacent (Non-Clinical)

• Behavioral Health or Youth Support Specialist

• Care Coordinator or Patient Navigator

• Peer Support Program Lead or Trainer

Workforce & Career Development

• Career Readiness or Workforce Development Specialist

• Apprenticeship or Internship Coordinator

• Transition Specialist (school-to-work, foster care, or postsecondary)

• Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

Training, Program, & Systems Roles

• Youth Program Trainer or Facilitator

• Curriculum or Instructional Designer (youth-focused)

• Program Implementation or Evaluation Associate

• Youth Services or School-Community Partnership Coordinator

Why This Training Is Valued

Graduates are equipped to:

• Apply evidence-based SEL, mental health, and life-skills strategies

• Support behavior change, executive functioning, and resilience

• Facilitate learning and growth and deliver scalable youth-focused interventions

• Work effectively across education, health, and workforce systems

Yes! 

Virtual: We can schedule a private group if you have 10 or more to train. 

In-person: We offer an in-person option for groups of 10 or more CYWC trainees. Trainees would complete the self-study content for Courses 1 and 3 virtually. We can schedule the Course 2 live supervision segment to be delivered over five days in-person. Your organization pays travel expenses in addition to training fees. 

Here is an overview of our training options for decision makers in your organization. 

Reach out to Dr. Leah at leah@youthcoachinginstitute.com to proceed with group options.