The Essentials of Life Coaching

Our 43-hour introductory course focused on the skills, tools and techniques necessary to make a rapid transition into the field of Christian life coaching.

The Essentials of Life CoachingYour instructors, Lisa Mladinich, PCC and Gary Roney, ACC are ICF-certified coaches serving on faculty at Professional Christian Coaching Institute who provide this uniquely Catholic private offering at the Institute.

The curriculum is designed around Dr. Gary Collins’ foundational book, Christian Coaching, and two other outstanding texts. The course is aligned with the standards of both the International Coach Federation (ICF) and the Christian Coaches Network International (CCNI).

All classes are taught live, via high-definition Zoom videoconference, and supplemented with home study as well as interactive peer coaching groups meeting each week. In this class you will:

  • Master critical distinctions between coaching, counseling, consulting, mentoring, & discipling.
  • Learn the Core Competencies of Coaching as established by the International Coach Federation (ICF).
  • Integrate your Christian faith & worldview into your work with both Christian & non-Christian clients.
  • Develop the skills, tools & techniques necessary for effective coaching practice.
  • Explore Christian coaching principles in Scripture, using these as your basis & mandate for practice.
  • Learn the keys to forming a strong coaching alliance with your clients.
  • Study the latest research behind remarkable personal growth and lasting change.
  • Hear live role play demonstrations & case examples by your instructors – two ICF-certified coaches.
  • Process readings from 3 exceptional texts and get direct answers to your questions.
  • Practice coaching skills live in telephone lab sessions and in class, receiving real-time feedback from instructors.
  • Learn to structure questions in a genuinely exploratory manner to avoid ‘leading’ your clients.
  • Develop the ability to hear beyond your clients’ words through their inflections, pace, energy, & even silence.
  • Develop the ability to hear beyond your clients’ words through their inflections, pace, energy, & even silence.
  • Become comfortable in confusion, embracing questions in a true spirit of curiosity and discovery.
  • Practice the skill of becoming ‘invisible’ as your clients listen to the Holy Spirit & their God-given desires.
  • Help clients operationalize their visions, setting measurable goals & timelines.
  • Learn empowerment skills to place clients more in-touch with their abilities & resources for dramatic life change.
  • Foster accountability that really works – through you, not to you.
  • Marshal pain & passion – the two great human motivators for change.
  • Understand the stages of personal & spiritual growth, and meet your clients in their own unique stages.
  • Learn what to do with resistance to change, and how to help a client get ‘unstuck.’
  • Identify and work with core values, vision, purpose, & mission.
  • Develop self-monitoring skills in your ‘use of self’ in this contractual, designed relationship.
  • Explore several major niches in Christian coaching to begin specializing in your areas of greatest passion.
  • Experience dramatic personal growth as you work through the very exercises you will use with clients.
  • Catch vision for the future of Christian coaching and how to position yourself in this explosive new field.

Required Texts:

How This Course Relates to Certification & Credentialing

The Essentials of Life Coaching is the FIRST STEP toward CPLC Certification and earning the ICF Level 1 and ICF Level 2 certificates. See the image below for the full path for each, and where this course is on that path. Click here for more information about certification and credentialing.

Credentialing Path

Upcoming Courses

March 2024

DAY: Mondays
TIME: 7:00 – 9:00 PM Eastern
DATES: March 18 – July 1, 2024 (NOTE: Class will NOT meet on 5/27)
INSTRUCTORS: Lisa Mladinich, PCC and Gary Roney, ACC

Tuition & Fees

Traditional tuition for Essentials of Life Coaching is $2,250. Students in this private offering are provided a $275 tuition reduction, which is reflected in the pricing table below.

Full Payment

$1,975
  • NO monthly payments

3 Payments

$672monthly
  • $2,015 total investment

6 Payments

$343monthly
  • $2,054 total investment

9 Payments

$233monthly
  • $2,094 total investment

All payment plans include a monthly service charge.

Due to the specially-discounted tuition on these private offerings, other offers, promotions, and discounts are NOT stackable with this course registration.

Ready to Register or Have Questions?

Speak with an Academic Advisor to begin your registration or to answer any questions you may have!