A mental strength coach is like a personal trainer for your mind. They help you improve your focus, manage stress better, and, most importantly, build mental resilience.
If you’re aspiring to become one, be sure to keep reading! We’ll talk about what mental strength coaching is exactly, how it differs from therapy, and the best certifications you can take to start your journey.
For now, here’s a quick summary of the best mental strength coach certification programs:
- Warrior Mind Coach – Best for Self-Paced Training
- The Mental Toughness Research Institute – Best for Short and Intensive Training
- Transformation Academy – Best Budget Option
Table of Contents
How Does Mental Strength Coaching Work Exactly?
A mental strength coach starts by really getting to know their clients. The goal is to understand their unique situation so they can tailor their coaching approach to the individual’s needs.
Once they get a good grasp of where the client is coming from, they will work together to set clear, achievable goals. These aren’t vague aspirations like “be happier” but specific targets like “reduce anxiety before public speaking” or “improve sleep quality.”
To build mental strength, a coach might introduce cognitive behavioral techniques. For instance, they could help identify and challenge negative thoughts.
If the client often thinks, “I’m going to fail,” the coach might teach them to reframe this thought to something like, “I’ve prepared well, and I’ll do my best.”
Here are other ways a coach might help:
- Guide through mindfulness exercises like focusing on the breath, guided meditations, or mindfulness walks.
- Work on developing a growth mindset.
- Help establish routines like setting a consistent sleep schedule, incorporating physical activity into the day, or finding time for hobbies that bring joy.
- Celebrate wins and help navigate setbacks.
Among many others.
But do keep in mind that mental strength coaching is not something that’s one-size-fits-all. Regular check-ins allow mental strength coaches to adjust strategies as needed.
How Mental Strength Coaching Differs From Therapy
Therapy is usually more focused on diagnosing and treating mental health conditions like anxiety disorders, depression, or trauma.
Therapists are trained to deal with these clinical issues, often exploring past experiences to understand and heal deep-seated emotional pain.
Mental strength coaching, on the other hand, is more forward-focused. Coaches can help enhance their clients’ mental skills and resilience to improve their current and future performance and well-being.
They don’t diagnose or treat mental health disorders; instead, they give practical tips on how to optimize mental and emotional strength that people can apply immediately.
How To Become a Mental Strength Coach
Technically, you don’t need a formal education to become a mental strength coach. However, without certification and professional credentials like a degree in psychology, counseling, or social work, you’ll be doing your clients a disservice.
With that said, if you have the necessary skills, knowledge, and credentials to become a reliable and ethical mental strength coach, here are the best certification programs to consider.
Best Mental Strength Coach Certifications
These training courses are chosen for their comprehensive curricula, expert instructors, and industry recognition.
If you’re serious about helping people build resilience and overcome mental hurdles, these programs will give you the tools you need to succeed.
Self-Paced Option: Warrior Mind Coach
The Mental Strength Coaching Program, created by experienced peak performance coach Gregg Swanson, is delivered through a self-directed learning format.
What you’ll learn from the course you can apply in various areas, including sports performance, sales performance, business performance, and personal development. This makes it ideal for coaches looking to expand their expertise across diverse domains.
The program is divided into three sections: personal coaching, understanding client thinking through neuro-linguistic programming, and mental toughness training.
You’ll also get some handy tools to use with your clients, including client intake forms, goal-setting forms, and time management sheets, all ready for you to download and use right away.
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: $395
- Accreditation: None
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Short and Intensive Training Option: The Mental Toughness Research Institute
The Mental Toughness Research Institute conducts 2-3 days long intensive training centered on mental toughness. You can choose among three options:
- Certified Mental Toughness Coach
- Certified Mental Toughness Facilitator
- Certified Mental Toughness Coach + Facilitator Training
The coach training is designed for working one-on-one with clients and small groups, while the facilitator training prepares you to coach larger groups. Both programs cover essential mental skills, the 5C’s of mental toughness, and the principles of elite performance psychology.
In each course, you get to profile a client or group of clients and design a mental toughness training program.
- Course Length: 2 days – Certified Mental Toughness Coac; 2.5 days – Certified Mental Toughness Facilitator; 3 days – Certified Mental Toughness Coach and Facilitator
- Program Cost: $2,680 for Certified Mental Toughness Coach and Facilitator; pricing for individual courses available upon request
- Accreditation: None
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Budget Option: Transformation Academy
Transformation Academy offers alot of very affordable training that’s also self-paced and accredited. All individual programs are under $200 and they include ready-made templates, forms, and sheets to help you get started as quickly as possible.
They don’t have a mental strength coach certification program per se, but their variety of specialty certifications can assist you in honing much-needed skills for mental strength coaching. Some of the programs you might want to consider include Focus Mastery, Goal Success, and Confidence and Growth Mindset.
- Course Length: Self-paced
- Program Cost: $197
- Accreditation: CPD
- Mode of Delivery: Online
Special Offer: Get 50% off all certification programs at Transformation Academy by clicking our link or entering code LIFECOACHMAG at checkout.
Conclusion
Choosing the right certification program is a very important step in becoming a reliable mental strength coach.
Whether you prefer self-paced learning with the Warrior Mind Coach or a budget-friendly option with Transformation Academy, there’s a program out there to fit your needs.
If you’re thinking about exploring other niches or going deeper into life coaching, you might want to check out options like Transformation Academy and Coach Training Alliance. Both these schools offer some really valuable training to help you grow even more as a professional coach.
The Life Coach Magazine staff is your team for high-quality content on topics from personal development, to coaching tips, to how to grow your coaching business.
Be First to Comment