Foundation Training
Program Overview
Take the first step to becoming a trained or credentialed coach.
Foundation Training
The First Step to Becoming a Trained Coach Starts Right Here
Coach Approach Training Institute’s Foundation Training program serves as the cornerstone of your coaching career, equipping you with essential skills to have more effective conversations, and transform lives.
The dynamic program experience blends evidence-based coaching frameworks with actionable strategies, enabling you to effectively support clients navigating ADHD, other neurodivergence, organizational challenges, productivity obstacles, and leadership development. Through both world class instruction and hands-on practice, you’ll master the techniques needed to facilitate lasting change and help clients achieve sustainable results.
Rooted in a strengths-based philosophy, our expert-led courses provide not only a way to improve communication and results within your current work, but can also be your gateway to a successful coaching career. You’ll develop the proficiency to support your clients in creating meaningful changes, and design “A Life That Fits” – one that authentically aligns with their unique neurotypes, strengths, and abilities.
Students Served
Since our founding in 2006, we’ve educated, mentored, and awarded credentials to a diverse range of outstanding coaches.
AND WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED.
Students Served
Since our founding in 2006, we’ve educated, mentored, and awarded credentials to a diverse range of outstanding coaches.
AND WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED.
Core Coaching Skills: Your Path to Professional Impact
Our Foundation Training Program builds essential coaching skills for professional organizers, productivity consultants, and those in allied fields such as education, advocacy, and mental health, as well as for aspiring ADHD coaches. You’ll discover this core program establishes a solid foundation in coaching principles, serving as a prerequisite for advanced training and the path to our nine specialized coaching credentials. The training is robust and life-changing.
What’s distinguishes coaching from other supportive professions? Coaching is a transformative partnership, empowering clients to uncover personalized strategies for growth and success. Through the practice of regular conversations—or seamlessly integrating coaching into existing work—coaches and clients work together to set goals, overcome challenges, and create actionable plans that draw on the client’s unique strengths. These skills are particularly effective for clients with ADHD and other neurodiverse needs.
Coach Approach Training Institute’s comprehensive curriculum prepares you not only to hold space for these impactful conversations, but also to deepen your own self-awareness. Many students happily report that the skills they gain enrich both their professional abilities and personal relationships.
How It Works
Foundation Training
Course Overview
The five core Foundation Training courses must be taken in order, and each has its own page with more detailed descriptions. After Coaching Essentials, if you want to deepen your coaching skills and use them in a wider range of services, take the remaining Foundation Training courses at your own pace (all five may be completed within a year). Complete them all and you will be a “graduate from a comprehensive and accredited coach training program.”
Coaching Essentials
Overview
An in-depth introduction to coaching skills, process, and ethics. As the required introduction for the five-course Foundation Training program, Coaching Essentials is designed to stand on its own. For beginners, this course provides essentials for coach training, and for existing organizing and productivity specialists, it offers education to deepen client communications. Those wanting more, or who wish to pursue a credential, move on progressively through the following four courses.
- 8 week course
- Offered three times per year
- Required Course
Strengths-Based Coaching
Overview
Learn to coach clients toward a deeper understanding of their strengths, helping them build sustainable systems and achieve successful outcomes by working in harmony with their unique abilities. Our training includes two unique core strengths models: Values & Needs, which builds client self-awareness around their priorities and boundaries, and Processing Modalities, which helps clients with organizing and productivity challenges to embrace strategies suited to specific processing and sensitivities. The course includes an introduction to neurodiversity concepts, preparing you to work effectively and empathetically with a range of client needs.
- 5 week course
- Offered two times per year
- Required Course
Brain-Based Coaching
Overview
A course unlike any other in our program, you will dive deeper into the use of coaching strategies with clients who live with the brain-based conditions commonly encountered in our work, including ADHD, depression, anxiety, and autism. You’ll gain essential skills for communicating ethically, compassionately, openly, and effectively—especially when addressing chronic disorganization, self-care and executive function challenges, high stress, and intense emotions.
- 6 week course
- Offered two times per year
- Required Course
Life & ADHD Coaching
Overview
Further enhance your coaching training by deepening your understanding of holistic, whole-person coaching—often referred to as life coaching. This course equips emerging coaches with essential receptive and active skills specifically tailored for ADHD coaching, addressing executive functioning challenges that can arise from chronic stress or various brain-based conditions, including ADHD. LAC prepares you to offer comprehensive support, empowering your clients to navigate their challenges and achieve their goals.
- 6 week course
- Offered two times per year
- Required Course
Coach Integration
Overview
This final course brings it all together, culminating in a special graduation from the Foundation program. It provides a focused learning and integration experience, drawing together the many coaching skills, models and strategies taught throughout training. CI provides a pause for the emerging coaches to reflect on and clarify the focus they want for their coaching services.
- 4 week course
- Offered two times per year
- Required Course
Coaching Skills Lab (Elective)
Overview
A light, accessible way to practice and deepen coaching skills in a very small group with one instructor (completion of the Coaching Essentials class is the only prerequisite for this elective course).
The prerequisite is Coaching Essentials.
- 4 week course
- Offered two-three times per year
- Elective Course
Client Enrollment Best Practices (Elective)
Overview
Develop the skills to confidently conduct those first conversations with potential clients, ensuring a good fit for both coach and client (completion of the Coaching Essentials and Strengths-Based Coaching classes are a prerequisite for this elective course).
The prerequisites are Coaching Essentials and Strengths-Based Coaching.
- 3 week course
- Offered three times per year
- Elective Course
Cultivating Coaching Courage (Elective)
Overview
Deepen your self-awareness, emotional competence, and overall coaching confidence and presence using Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead.
The prerequisites are Coaching Essentials and Strengths-Based Coaching.
- 6 week course
- Offered three times per year
- Elective Course
Coaching Essentials (CE)
Overview
An in-depth introduction to coaching skills, process, and ethics. As the required introduction for the five-course Foundation Training program, Coaching Essentials is designed to stand on its own. For beginners, this course provides essentials for coach training, and for existing organizing and productivity specialists, it offers education to deepen client communications. Those wanting more, or who wish to pursue a credential, move on progressively through the following four courses.
Length of Course
8 Weeks
Frequency Offered
3 times per year
Required Course
Yes
Strengths-Based Coaching (SBC)
Overview
Learn to coach clients toward a deeper understanding of their strengths, helping them build sustainable systems and achieve successful outcomes by working in harmony with their unique abilities. Our training includes two unique core strengths models: Values & Needs, which builds client self-awareness around their priorities and boundaries, and Processing Modalities, which helps clients with organizing and productivity challenges to embrace strategies suited to specific processing and sensitivities. The course includes an introduction to neurodiversity concepts, preparing you to work effectively and empathetically with a range of client needs.
Length of Course
5 Weeks
Frequency Offered
2 times per year
Required Course
Yes
Brain-Based Coaching (BBC)
Overview
A course unlike any other in our program, you will dive deeper into the use of coaching strategies with clients who live with the brain-based conditions commonly encountered in our work, including ADHD, depression, anxiety, and autism. You’ll gain essential skills for communicating ethically, compassionately, openly, and effectively—especially when addressing chronic disorganization, self-care and executive function challenges, high stress, and intense emotions.
Length of Course
6 Weeks
Frequency Offered
2 times per year
Required Course
Yes
Life & ADHD Coaching (LAC)
Overview
Length of Course
6 Weeks
Frequency Offered
2 times per year
Required Course
Yes
Coach Integration (CI)
Overview
Length of Course
4 Weeks
Frequency Offered
2 times per year
Required Course
Yes
Elective Courses
Coaching Skills Lab
A light, accessible way to practice and deepen coaching skills in a very small group with one instructor (completion of the Coaching Essentials class is the only prerequisite for this elective course).
Prerequisites:
- Coaching Essentials
Length of Course
4 Weeks
Frequency Offered
2-3 times per year
Required Course
No; elective
Client Enrollment Best Practices
Develop the skills to confidently conduct those first conversations with potential clients, ensuring a good fit for both coach and client (completion of the Coaching Essentials and Strengths-Based Coaching classes are a prerequisite for this elective course).
Prerequisites:
- Coaching Essentials
- Strengths-Bsed Coaching
Length of Course
3 Weeks
Frequency Offered
3 times per year
Required Course
No; elective
Cultivating Coaching Courage
Deepen your self-awareness, emotional competence, and overall coaching confidence and presence using Brené Brown’s book Dare to Lead.
Prerequisites:
- Coaching Essentials
- Strengths-Based Coaching
Length of Course
6 Weeks
Frequency Offered
3 times per year
Required Course
No; elective
Length of Course
4 Weeks
Frequency Offered
2-3 times per year
Required Course
No; elective
Length of Course
3 Weeks
Frequency Offered
3 times per year
Required Course
No; elective
Length of Course
6 Weeks
Frequency Offered
3 times per year
Required Course
No; elective
A good fit
This program is for:
Aspiring new coaches seeking comprehensive training in the realms of ADHD, neurodiversity, and leadership
Organizing and productivity professionals who work with clients impacted by chronic disorganization and/or executive functioning challenges, and who seek a deeper understanding and/or possible certification
Individuals committed to supporting neurodivergent clients, helping them to understand their unique strengths, and how to advocate for what works best for them
Other supportive professionals in areas such as education, mental health, leadership, human resources, advocacy, and even newer coaches seeking to specialize and sharpen their skills
You might be wondering...
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I have once I complete the five Foundation Training courses?
You will be a graduate of our Foundation Program, receive a certificate and digital badge evidencing your completion of the training, and can let friends, colleagues and networks know that you are a trained coach. You may also consider moving into one of our advanced tracks to earn your credential, thereby further enhancing your credibility in the coaching industry.
How will I use these credentials this training to have a bigger impact (and maybe launch a new career)?
Our students find that whatever field they’re in, coaching is immediately useful, meaningful, and practical. They have deeper, more impactful conversations and skills to support others to have sustainable, positive results in reaching goals. That said, some students also choose to develop their own coaching business, working one-on-one with individuals or with groups.
Who will want to hire me once I’ve completed my Foundation training?
Students who have completed our training often find that colleagues, supervisors, current clients, and others in helping professions are eager to experience the power of coaching, and/or refer their own clients to them for their coaching expertise. It’s important to be able to define coaching accurately, and let people know what you can do!
How much does the program cost?
Depending upon your payment choice (full or monthly, packages, etc.) the price of our Foundation program ranges from $3,035 to $3,360. Elective courses are very affordable, ranging from $200 to $470 per course. See each individual course page for full information.
How long will it take to complete the program?
Our Foundation Training program is designed to be completed within one year. However, if you need to take a break at any point in the program, you may return in the future at the same spot you left off.
What are the class and course schedules like?
Courses range from 4 to 8 weeks, with 90 minute class times each week, and 90 to 120 minute weekly Skills Building Group meetings outside of class. Because we have students joining us from around the world, class meeting times vary. See the individual course pages for full information, dates and times.
Our Skills Building Groups
Integral to our program is a unique and transformative feature: the Skills Building Groups (SBGs). In every Foundation Training course, students meet outside the classroom in small groups of 2-3 peers, creating an essential space for practicing and refining their coaching skills.
Why are these SBGs so critical? Because great coaches are made through consistent, live practice. While classroom instruction and discussion of the concepts is key, we believe that the coaching “muscle” strengthens only with regular use. The SBG meetings allow students to coach one another, gaining real-world experience that deepens their proficiency, confidence, and ability to be fully present in their current and future work with clients.
To ensure accountability and maximize growth, we ask students to record their meetings, and participants submit reflective reports for instructor feedback. Additionally, select sessions are observed by instructors to provide personalized verbal and written guidance. These groups aren’t just a requirement—they’re an opportunity to grow not only as coaches but as individuals, shaping a foundation for meaningful, impactful work.
Testimonials
Success Stories from Our Students
Hear from students who’ve transformed their careers and clients’ lives through Coach Approach Training Institute’s Foundation Training Program.
