The Initial Trauma Recovery Coaching Certification

NEXT COURSE BEGINS ON FEBRUARY 18, 2025

Are you a survivor of trauma who would like to use all that you've learned in your recovery to help other survivors?

Do you have a natural ability to connect with those who are hurting and help them find peace and happiness?

Would you like to make a difference in the world and change people's lives?

Survivors need you.

Trauma Recovery Coaching might be the career for you! Trauma informed care is much needed in every part of the globe. Millions of people around the world experience trauma — whether as a result of childhood or adult interpersonal abuse, natural disasters, serving in combat zones, workplace harassment and bullying, serving on the front lines as a police officer or paramedic, racial oppression, marginalization due to ability or sexual orientation, or being displaced from their homes due to war, drought or famine. Looking solely at childhood trauma, in the United States alone 700,000 children are abused and neglected every year. Hundreds of thousands more endure other types of trauma around the world.

There are shockingly few resources to help trauma survivors around the globe, individuals who are suffering from mental health issues such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as problems with relationships, jobs, handling emotions, developing identity and self-worth. These survivors need and deserve help that is Trauma Informed.

Trauma Recovery Coaches serves a desperately under-served community. As we have worked in the mental health arena for the last 27 years we have encountered thousands of adult survivors of trauma needing and wanting affordable, high quality help recovering from their trauma. Trauma Recovery Coaching can meet this need, if provided competently and ethically.

We are excited to offer the world’s first and original Trauma Recovery Coaching Certification program. Successfully completing the program and gaining your certification will give you the skills you need to provide care to the international community of survivors.

The Initial Trauma Recovery Coaching Certification Process

All classes are recorded for the convenience of our students so that they can fit class time into their personal schedules. Classes will open Friday morning each week, except for the first week of class which will begin on Tuesday February 18, 2025. Students will have 18 months from the beginning of their course to complete certification and portfolio requirements.

To assist you in the learning process we will hold bi-weekly Q&A’s throughout the semester for students to attend live and ask questions about course material. Q&A sessions will be held, in our online classroom. To accommodate different schedules and time zones they will be offered the first Tuesday at 11am EST and the third Wednesday at 7:30pm EST each month. Q&A sessions will be recorded and the replay will be available within 48 hours for students who are unable to attend live. Our Q&A sessions will be hosted by our Executive Director and Course Creator, Bobbi Parish and one of our credentialed Supervisors.

We also provide students with three mentors who are available to engage and answer student questions in the group feed in each cohort. Mentors will answer student questions within 24 hours during the weekdays and engage with students about course topics throughout the semester.

Beginning the third week of class we will hold Practice Groups — on a variety of days and times announced after class begins. These groups are like the lab portion of the class — we learn the material during the recorded classes and then practice and apply it in Practice Groups. These groups will be facilitated by certified Supervisors. They will allow you to, initially, observe Trauma Recovery Coaching and, after four weeks, practice coaching with the group’s Supervisor and other students. We require that you attend at least 13 Practice Groups.

Aside from the weekly class and Practice Groups you will need to spend approximately three to four hours watching videos we have made, reading required books and documents, and completing homework. Homework assignments are geared at both helping you to understand yourself and to sharpen your skills as a coach.

You will begin your 7.5 hours of Practicum work during the last month of class. You will be paired with two other students to form a Practicum Triad. Your triad will meet five times during the Practicum period. During each session three of you will take turns fulfilling the role of coach, client and observer. You will rotate through these roles in each 90 minute long practicum session so that each of you gets a chance to play each role five times. For your final Practicum sessions one of our credentialed Supervisors will be present to do a final assessment of your coaching competency.

During the final month of the class you will also attend 5 Supervision groups. These are led by our Supervisors and are held throughout the week at varying times and dates. Attending Supervision Group will give you an invaluable opportunity to interact with experienced coaches who are out in the field doing this work. It will also give you an opportunity to ask for help in building your coaching practice and consult about clients you work with. After you finish your coaching course and receive your credential you are welcome to attend Supervision Group at any time, at no cost to you. The Association is committed to providing free Group Supervision to all of its coaches because it believes this support is incredibly valuable. It is the only professional organization of its kind that provides free Group Supervision to its coaches.

During the final week of class we’ll offer an additional Q&A session to answer any questions and wrap up details. At this point classes and supervised coaching will be finished. However, you will need to successfully complete a Portfolio project, attend 5 Supervision Groups and pass a written exam, with score of 80% or more, to obtain your certificate. The test is offered 13 times a year in a virtually proctored environment. You will receive Study Guides and have access to Study Groups to prepare you for the examination.

The Portfolio consists of a video taped coaching session you have provided to a client along with case studies and completed forms and worksheets. When we have received your portfolio our Portfolio Review Team will evaluate your work to insure that you have met our coaching competencies. If you have not met the standards set for the Portfolio we will provide you with written feedback as to what needs to be done to bring it up to standard.

Certification Qualifications:

  • complete the course by watching the recorded classes

  • attend Four Observation Practice Groups

  • attend Nine Participation Practice Groups and demonstrate coaching competency during your time playing the role of a coach

  • attend Five Group Supervision sessions

  • attend Five Triad Sessions and demonstrate core coaching competencies through your completed Practicum

  • demonstrate core coaching competencies by passing the written examination with a score of 80% or higher

  • demonstrate core coaching competencies by submitting a satisfactory Portfolio.

  • successfully manage your recovery journey so that it doesn’t adversely impact your coaching capacities

  • demonstrate that you can perform as a Trauma Recovery Coach within the boundaries of the Association’s Code of Ethics

  • complete your certification within 18 months from the date of the original course start date

Class Times and Dates:

All Classes are recorded and can be viewed according to each students schedule.

Q&A Session Times and Dates:

Live Q&A’s are held the first Tuesday and third Wednesday of each month unless specified in the syllabus. The Tuesday session will be at 11 am EST. The Wednesday session will be at 7:30 pm EST.

What You Will Learn:

The class is broken down into five parts:

Part I — Defining trauma and Trauma Recovery Coaching

Part II — How does trauma effect children and adults

Part III — Learning Trauma Recovery Coaching sills

Part IV — Coaching as a Business skills - how to set up and run a coaching business

Part V — Practicum Experience

Specific skills you will learn:

Syllabus: You can review the course syllabus here. Subject to change as needed for course function.

Content and Technology:

All of the coursework will be offered online. Classes are recorded and can be viewed to fit the students schedule. Live Q&A’s will be held bi-weekly in Zoom. Other required content will be available in PDF format, via audio files and via recorded videos. To participate in the course you will need to have and be able to utilize Zoom. You may need to sign up for a basic account so that you can record yourself providing coaching. We will talk more about technology in our first session.

Aside from the content we have written and will provide, there are four books that are required reading during the course: Complex PTSD by Pete Walker, The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb Dana and Trauma Stewardship by Laura Van Der Noot Lipsky and Connie Burk.

Register for the February 2025 course by completing the registration form and deposit. Registration constitutes permission for us to use your email address to communicate with you about the course.

Certifying With Us Offers Perks and Bonuses:

  • A listing in our Coach Directory on The International Association of Trauma Recovery Coaching website promoting you and your coaching services.

  • Opportunities to be featured in our Online Summits, Social Media and YouTube Channel. Access to webinars and group supervision offered only to our coaches.

  • Membership in our private network of coaches to network and access peer support for the 18 months Certification Period.

  • Eligibility to take Advanced Level courses which will earn you Advanced Certification and CE Credits.

  • After receiving your Advanced Level Certificate you will be eligible to earn your Supervisor Level Certificate, which will allow you to teach Initial and Advanced Coaching Certification courses and to Supervise Initial Certification Coaches. Read about the Path from Initial to Supervisor Certification.

Enroll now - Take advantage of our Early Enrollment Discount!

The early enrollment fee is $2850 beginning September 2 through December 31, 2024. (US Currency).

An initial non-refundable deposit of $700 is required to hold your spot for either deadline.

The enrollment fee will increase to $3000 January 1 - January 31, 2025.

Course Tuition Payment Options

This course is limited to 80 individuals on a first come, first served basis. Full Payment or $700 deposit secures your spot. No spots will be held without payment.

Pay in Full

Our most popular payment option is for students to pay the course tuition in full.

Automatic 6-month Payment Plan: 

ALL DEPOSITS ARE NON REFUNDABLE

When students are unable to pay in full after the initial deposit, the Association offers a 6-month automatic payment plan. If you are utilizing the payment plan you must set up automatic payments in Dubsado to make the 6 payments after you’ve paid your deposit. Payment plans will have a monthly $25.00 processing fee added. Please email helpdesk@iaotrc.com if you have any questions or need to change the date your payments are deducted. $700 deposit (to hold your spot) and six installments of $408 ($383 + $25 processing fee) due every 30 days.

*Failure to set up automatic payments will result in the student being removed from the course and forfeiting any refund. 

**Certification will not be granted if students do not pay their course tuition in full. If students complete all other requirements and the course tuition has not been paid in full, and a student wasn’t removed from the course, their certification will be held until payment is made in full. If payment is not made in full within 18 months from the start date of the course, students will forfeit certification rights and all payments made.  

*Read our Disclosures before you register.

Enrollment for the February cohort is now open.

click the "Register Now” button to complete your enrollment.

Do you have questions? Please read through our FAQ page. If you have further questions please reach out to Info@IAOTRC.com

We have had unprecedented interest in our classes. We encourage you to place a deposit if you are interested in the course.

Refund Policy

BEFORE CLASS STARTS

If a student pays in full and withdraws from the course before it starts, a refund of all charges except the deposit fee, will be made to them within 30 business days. Please reach out to helpdesk@iaotrc.com to make withdrawal arrangements. The non-refundable deposit fee may be applied to a future initial course if the student re-enrolls within the following two cohorts. Otherwise, non-refundable fees will be forfeited.

WITHIN 30 DAYS

If a student withdraws from the course after it starts but before 30 days into the course have elapsed, a refund of all charges except the deposit and the first monthly payment will be made to them within 30 business days. Please reach out to helpdesk@iaotrc.com to make withdrawal arrangements. Non-refundable fees may be applied to a future initial course if the student re-enrolls within the following two cohorts. Otherwise, non-refundable fees will be forfeited. 

AFTER 30 DAYS

If a student withdraws from the course after 30 days of it starting all funds paid to date will be forfeited. Students will be removed from the course. NO refunds will be offered. NO option of applying non-refundable fees to future certification will be offered. Students can enroll at full fee at any future date.

NON PAYMENT

If a student is removed from the course due to payment failure of our 6-month automatic payment plan all funds paid to date will be forfeited. NO refunds will be offered. NO option of applying non-refundable fees to future certification will be offered. Students can enroll at full fee at any future date. 

NON COMPLETION

If a student has paid for the course in full and does not complete the certification requirements within the 18 month completion period and has not applied for or was denied ECP re-enrollment due to extenuating circumstances, students may continue in the course for personal growth and development. No certification will be earned.

If a student wants to attain certification in the course, they will need to re-enroll in a future course at full fee and complete all certification requirements to achieve certification status.

It's important to note that students will forfeit any refund. Additionally, there will be no option of applying non-refundable fees to future certification.

Renewal Requirements for Initial Certification:

  • 1st Renewal at 2 Years: 

    • Obtain supervision: either 25 group hours and 5 individual hours with an IAOTRC Supervisor OR 35 group hours 

    • Obtain 15 credits in Continuing Education Units 

    • Successfully complete an Ethics Review and Quiz

    • Pay a $50 certificate renewal fee 

    • Submit a copy of your current Policies and Procedures document

  • 2nd Renewal at 2 Years & Subsequent 2 Years: 

    • Obtain 15 credits in Continuing Education Units

    • Successfully complete an Ethics Review and Quiz

    • Pay a $50 certificate renewal fee 

    • Submit a copy of your current Policies and Procedures document