Advanced Certificate of Life Coaching and Psychology

Unit 1: Foundations of Life Coaching

• Defining life coaching
• Scope of life coaching
• Benefits of life coaching
• Ethical and professional frameworks
• Establishing professional standards
• Promoting accountability
• Understanding boundaries
• Defining responsibilities
• Boundary challenges

Unit 2: Facilitation Skills for Coaching Change

• Evidence-based coaching
• Evidence-based coaching models
• GROW Model
• Cognitive behavioural coaching
• Solution-focused coaching
• Positive psychological coaching
• Systemic coaching
• Psychology of change and motivation
• Stages of Change
• Resistance to change
• Motivation and change
• Self-Determination Theory (SDT)
• Psychological strategies
• Building resilience
• Empowering clients to take action
• Goal-setting frameworks
• Action planning tools
• Accountability mechanisms
• Cognitive behavioural techniques
• Motivation boosters

Unit 3: Communication for Life Coaches

• Effective communication
• Active listening
• Powerful questioning
• Active listening and questioning
• Common pitfalls
• Structured coaching sessions
• Coaching best practices
• Building rapport and trust
• Establishing trust
• Maintaining trust
• Overcoming challenges
• Cultural competence

Unit 4: Solution-Focused Coaching Techniques

• Solution-focused techniques
• Goal-setting strategies
• SMART Goals
• Visualisation and outcomes
• WOOP Method
• Solution-focused interventions
• Adapting to client needs

Unit 5: Cognitive Behavioural Coaching

• Understanding cognitive behavioural techniques (CBT)
• CBT in coaching
• Limiting beliefs
• Cognitive restructuring
• Behavioural experiments
• Thought records
• Goal-oriented problem solving
• Mindfulness and relaxation
• Challenging limiting beliefs
• Reinforcing new believes
• Building resilience
• Building emotional wellbeing

Unit 6: Structuring a Client Session            

• Structuring a client session
• Pre-session preparation
• Establishing rapport and setting the agenda
• Exploration and insight generation
• Action planning and accountability
• Effective session closure
• Post-session reflection and follow-up

Unit 7: Professional Growth and Practice Evaluation

• Reflective practice
• Steps in reflective practice
• Reflective practice tools
• Challenges in reflective practice
• Continuous professional development
• Seeking and integrating feedback into practice
• Overcoming challenges 

Unit 8: Building and Sustaining a Coaching Business

• Developing a business plan
• Legal considerations
• Ethical considerations
• Risk management
• Marketing your coaching practice
• Growing your coaching practice
• Strategies for client acquisition
• Developing your niche
• Pricing your services
• Leveraging LinkedIn
• Leveraging Facebook and Instagram
• Building a successful coaching website
• Email marketing
• Content marketing
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Strategies for client retention
• Balancing acquisition and retention
• Technology and tools

Unit 1: Introduction to Psychology

• What is Psychology
• The goals of psychology
• A brief history of psychology
• Biological perspective
• Behavioural perspective
• Cognitive perspective
• Humanistic perspective
• Psychodynamic perspective
• Socio-cultural perspective
• Psychology as a profession
• Psychology for everyday professionals

Unit 2: Research Methods in Psychology

• Psychology as a science
• Quantitative vs qualitative methods
• Common research designs
• Experiments
• Case studies
• Surveys
• Observations
• Ethics in psychology research
• APS code of ethics
• Interpreting psychology research in the media

Unit 3: Biological Bases of Behaviour

• Brain structure and function
• The nervous system
• Hormones: chemical messengers
• The endocrine system
• Genetics: the blueprint of behaviour
• Evolutionary psychology
• Biology and behaviour
• Sleep, stress, and mental health

Unit 4: Cognitive Psychology

• Sensation and perception
• Memory systems: short-term, working, and long-term memory
• Classical conditioning
• Operant conditioning
• Observational learning
• Problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking
• Cognitive psychology applications

Unit 5: Developmental Psychology

• Lifespan development
• Infancy (birth-2 years)
• Childhood (2-12 years)
• Adolescence (12-18 years)
• Adulthood (18-65)
• Ageing (65+)
• Piaget’s cognitive development theory
• Erikson’s psychosocial development theory
• Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory
• Attachment and bonding
• Identity formation
• Cultural perspectives on development

Unit 6: Personality and Individual Differences

• What is personality?
• Trait and type theories
• Freud’s psychodynamic theory
• Humanistic approaches
• The Big Five personality model
• Intelligence, creativity, and emotional intelligence
• Personality assessments and ethical considerations

Unit 7: Social Psychology

• How social context influences behaviour
• Components of attitudes (ABC Model)
• Persuasion
• Prejudice
• Group dynamics
• Conformity
• Obedience
• Leadership
• Cross-cultural social psychology
• Social psychology and marketing
• Social psychology and teamwork
• Social psychology and education

Unit 8: Applied Psychology and Mental Health

• Psychological disorders
• Anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia
• Approaches to treatment
• Positive psychology and resilience
• Psychology Iin applied settings
• Health psychology
• Educational psychology
• Business and organisational psychology
• Sports psychology
• Forensic psychology