Coach Training FAQs | Life Changes Coaching Academy by Nina Madden 

Is the Diploma ICF accredited, and at what level?

Yes. The ICF & ABNLP Accredited Diploma in Coaching and Advanced NLP is an ICF Level 1 accredited programme, with 76 hours of coach training. ICF Level 1 is the training pathway to the ACC (Associate Certified Coach) credential. Most ICF accredited courses offer 60 hours.

Three months of ICF accredited mentor coaching (10 hours) is included. This covers the mentor coaching the ICF requires for your ACC, so you don't need to find and pay for it separately.

After graduating, you can apply for the ACC once you have logged the required client coaching hours and passed the ICF Credentialing Exam. The NLP training is accredited by the ABNLP, so you also qualify as an Advanced NLP Practitioner.

There is also a pathway to ICF Level 2 and ABNLP Accredited NLP Master Practitioner through further training with Nina Madden.

ICF accreditation matters because coaching is unregulated in the UK, so it shows clients and employers that your training meets the global standard set by the International Coaching Federation.

Anyone can call themselves a coach. An ICF accredited qualification sets you apart, and many organisations, HR teams and corporate clients look for an ICF credential when they hire coaches.

It also gives you a clear path to grow. The Diploma is ICF Level 1 accredited, which leads to the ACC credential, and you train to the ICF Code of Ethics from the start.

If you want to coach professionally, especially in organisations or internationally, ICF accreditation is worth it.

Not automatically, and this is the same with every ICF accredited training provider. Graduating gives you the training you need for the ACC, and you then apply to the ICF once you meet its experience requirements.

The Diploma is an ICF Level 1 programme, so your coach training, mentor coaching and performance evaluation are already covered when you graduate.

To apply for your ACC (Associate Certified Coach) credential, you then need:

• 100 hours of coaching experience with at least eight clients, starting from the beginning of your training. At least 75 of those hours must be paid.
• A pass in the ICF Credentialing Exam, a computer-based test.

Nina supports you through the application process with 1-1 mentoring, supervision and regular in person meetups.

ABNLP accreditation means the NLP part of the Diploma is certified by the American Board of NLP (ABNLP), an international board that sets standards for NLP training worldwide. Our training is also recognised by the ANLP (Association for NLP), the UK equivalent. You graduate as an ABNLP accredited Advanced NLP Practitioner.

The two accreditations cover different skills. ICF accreditation trains you in how to coach: the core competencies, presence, powerful questions and ethics. NLP gives you the psychological tools to work with the unconscious patterns behind self-doubt, anxiety, procrastination, imposter syndrome, self-sabotage and more.

Rooted in psychology and unconscious behavioural change, NLP takes your coaching deeper than coaching skills alone. Most ICF coach training doesn't include accredited NLP, which is one of the many things that makes this Diploma different.

ACC (Associate Certified Coach) and PCC (Professional Certified Coach) are two levels of ICF credential, and PCC is the more advanced of the two. The difference is how much training and coaching experience you have.

• ACC: at least 60 hours of coach training, such as an ICF Level 1 programme like this Diploma, plus 100 hours of coaching experience with at least eight clients.
• PCC: 125 hours of coach training, such as an ICF Level 2 programme, plus 500 hours of coaching experience with at least 25 clients.

Most coaches start with the ACC and work towards the PCC as their practice grows. This Diploma gives you 76 hours of training towards the ACC, with a pathway to ICF Level 2 through further training with Nina Madden.

No. Coaching is unregulated in the UK, so you don't legally need a qualification to call yourself a life coach. The same is true of psychotherapy. But just because something isn't illegal doesn't mean it's right.

Choosing accredited training is an ethical stand: it makes you a safe practitioner. Accredited training gives you proven coaching skills, ethical guidelines and supervised practice, so you start working with confidence rather than learning on your clients. It also makes a real difference to how good a coach you become and how easily you find clients.

No. Other bodies accredit coach training too, such as the Association for Coaching (AC) and the EMCC.

But the International Coaching Federation is the world's largest professional coaching body, and its credentials are the most widely recognised by clients and organisations around the world.

If you want to coach professionally, ICF accreditation is the clearest way to show you're properly trained. The ICF & ABNLP Accredited Diploma in Coaching and Advanced NLP is an ICF Level 1 programme, the training pathway to the ACC credential.