We know this can get confusing. Since we abide by ICF's standards, ethics and credentialing process, read through this article which clarifies the difference between the three and answers other common questions about coach credentialing.

No, you don't. However, because the Life Coaching Essentials (LCE) component teaches the fundamentals of coaching, we recommend that you have made some headway into the course before the Deep Coaching Intensive component begins.

To support you through this process, you will have four Group Training Calls in the four weeks leading up to the DCI. These four calls are designed to give you the foundational understanding of what coaching is, how it works, how to set up a coaching session, and more.

Because this part of the course is cohort based, you will need to register for the DCI Portfolio program no less than 4 weeks prior to the start of the DCI. In fact, we suggest registering at least 5 weeks in advance to have plenty of time to review the material before the live calls.

Registration for the Portfolio Program closes 4 weeks and one day prior to the start of the DCI. That one extra day is there to make sure you have time to join the live call.

There is no requirement to complete the self-study portion of the course prior to the group calls. Although we don't recommend you take this long, you do have an entire year to move through the self-study portion of the LCE, if needed.

As soon as you've made your first tuition payment, you can begin Life Coaching Essentials.

The four Group Training Calls and the two Coach Development Calls are designed to optimize your learning journey.

During the four Group Training Calls you'll, with the support of your course instructor, go deeper into what coaching is, how it works, how to set up a coaching session, and much more.

You'll experience live coaching sessions, and witness demonstrations of effective and ineffective coaching, among other activities.

In the 1-to-1 Coach Development Calls you'll send a pre-recorded coaching session to your course instructor. They will provide detailed written feedback. And then on the live call, you and your coach trainer will talk through your strengths, areas for improvement, and set up a plan to continue refining your coaching.

One of ICF's ACC credential application requirements is 10 hours of Mentor Coaching over a minimum of three months.

We offer this as a stand-alone service with a professional mentor coach.

These mentor coaching hours would be used after you have completed both components of the Portfolio program: Life Coaching Basics and the Deep Coaching Intensive.

The purpose of mentor coaching is to further develop your coaching skills and knowledge in preparation for your ICF assessed session recording and coach knowledge exam, two other ACC application requirements.

When you are ready to begin mentor coaching, contact us for details on our mentor coaching program and approach.

Not exactly "any time." We advise that you purchase mentor coaching only after you have completed both Life Coaching Essentials and the Deep Coaching Intensive.

In addition, before you begin mentor coaching, you will need at least 30 hours of client coaching experience. Some of this you will get during LCE and the DCI, and the rest you will accrue outside the course.

Once you have all of this completed, and you are certain that you will apply for your ICF ACC credential, then it's time to begin mentor coaching.

Contact us for details on our mentor coaching program, pricing and approach.

When applying for your coaching credential via ICF's Portfolio Path (click here to learn more), coach training hours are measured in units called "Continuing Coach Education Units" or CCEUs.

1 CCEU = 1 training hour

CCEUs are also broken down into two types: Core Competencies (learning that focuses on ICF's coaching competency framework) and Resource Development (learning that develops you as a coach beyond the framework).

Our DCI Portfolio program meets all of ICF's CCEU requirements for the ACC application in one comprehensive training: a minimum of 60 coach specific training hours (or 60 CCEUs).

Life Coaching Essentials offers 20+ training hours (= 20 CCE units).

Deep Coaching Intensive offers 40+ training hours (= 40 CCE units).

Once you have completed the program successfully, we provide you with the documentation to verify this; documentation that you submit to ICF with your application.