Life Coach
As the world becomes more complex and demands more time, attention, and resources, individuals may benefit from the assistance of empathic third parties, often known as life coaches, who can assist with personal, family, educational, mental health, and career decisions and situations. Many life coaches move into this work from a background in counseling or therapeutic training, after becoming aware of their own personal development, in order to provide therapeutic service to their clients.
Because life coaches may deal with a wide range of issues, they need to be flexible, creative, self-motivated, and able to think on their feet. Life coaches are often consultants, counselors, or therapists in private practice, but they may also work in schools or colleges, businesses, and nonprofit agencies.
At JFKU, the School of Education and Liberal Arts (SELA), in cooperation with the Ford Institute for Integrative Coaching, has established an undergraduate certificate program in a method of life coaching known as Essentials Coaching. Designed for individuals interested in becoming a professional certified integrative coach (CIC), the certificate stands alone and also complements many undergraduate or graduate degree programs offered at JFKU and other accredited institutions.
In addition to theories and techniques of the coaching model, the Essentials Coaching program emphasizes personal responsibility, integrity, accountability, and access to inner wisdom as the foundation for personal development necessary to become a coach. Each course supports the developing self-awareness of one’s skills, strengths, and limitations, as well as the applied and cognitive learning needed for effective coaching practices.
SELA also offers related undergraduate-completion programs in psychology, philosophy and religion, and social ecology, as well as a program in science, health, and living systems.
Related JFKU degree programs from the Graduate School of Professional Psychology (GSPP) include counseling psychology (with a specialization in marriage and family therapy), organizational psychology, psychology, coaching, and the PsyD.
Related JFKU degree programs from the School of Holistic Studies (SHS) include counseling psychology (with specializations in holistic studies, somatic psychology, or transpersonal psychology), integral psychology, transformative arts, and consciousness and transformative studies.
The MA in Career Development through JFKU’s School of Management (SOM) may also provide education that is appropriate to the professional goals of aspiring life coaches.
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