The 5 Best Happiness Coach Certifications

Last updated on July 29, 2024

We all share one ultimate life goal—to be happy. The road to happiness is rarely easy; that is why an increasing number of people rely on happiness coaches for support and guidance. 

If you feel like helping people find their true happiness is your calling, a happiness coach certification can help you jump-start your career. Here are the best happiness coach certification programs. 

• Transformation Academy – Best Overall
• Happiitude – Best for Applying Happiness in Workplace Settings
• Happiness Studies Academy – Best for Comprehensive Learning
• IAP College – Best for Building a Business 
• Happiness Management Institut – Best for Personal and Professional Happiness Coaching

What Is a Happiness Coach?

A happiness coach is a life coach who helps clients discover how to approach their problems and change their thinking and behavior to achieve a sense of happiness and fulfillment. They provide counseling, guidance, and motivation to clients.

It’s difficult to define what exactly a happiness coach focuses on since the notion of happiness is unique to each individual. Some of the lifestyle changes that a happiness coach can focus on are self-confidence, facilitating a mindset change, spirituality, relationships, exercise, finding a life purpose, and more. 

How To Become a Happiness Coach

​​Happiness coach training is the easiest path to a career as a happiness coach. The training will provide you with a set of tools, techniques, and skills you need to be a successful coach in this field. You’ll also be able to observe experienced coaches and pick up helpful coaching tips and tricks.

We ought to mention that a certification isn’t a prerequisite. However, the competition among life coaches is growing, and without a certification that proves your knowledge and expertise, it will be difficult to stand out and attract clients. 

If you’d like to become a happiness coach, here’s a general skill set that will help you succeed in this field:

• Strong listening skills
• Confidence
• Effective communication
• Problem-solving skills
• A positive attitude
• Motivational skills

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Happiness Coaching Certification

Where to begin your search for the right happiness life coach certification? The key factors that should influence your decision are the cost, course length, and accreditation. 

Program Cost

There are numerous programs for happiness coach training, so the prices differ greatly. What can lower the cost is if you enroll in a course online where the variety is greater so you can easily find a reputable program that fits your budget. 

Course Length

Consider your timeline for becoming a certified happiness coach. The courses can last anywhere from a few weeks to over a year. If your busy schedule doesn’t allow scheduled lessons, you can choose a self-paced program and learn on your own time. 

Accreditation

What does it mean when a certification program is accredited? Accreditation indicates that the organization’s content, ethic, and techniques are verified by the accrediting body and are in line with their standards. The most reputable accreditation entity is the International Coaching Federation (ICF), but there are other well-known accrediting organizations in the coaching world such as the Continuing Professional Development Standards Agency (CPD).

Best Happiness Life Coach Certification Programs

Top Pick: Transformation Academy

Transformation Academy has numerous courses for aspiring coaches, and we’ve done an in-depth review about TA that covers what they offer, what makes them different, and how students reviewed their courses. 

Their Happiness Life Coach Certification program is affordable and comprehensive, providing powerful tools, strategies, and a step-by-step coaching system. You’ll learn how to teach with confidence and how to guide clients to overcoming limiting beliefs, achieve their desires, understand their emotions, and much more. 

We absolutely love that it also focuses on the business aspect of coaching. You’ll receive insight on how to enhance your coaching business and offer new services to your clients. 

• Course Length: Self-paced
• Program Cost: $197
• Accreditation: Continuing Professional Development Standards Agency (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.

Happiness in the Workplace Option: Happiitude

If you want to narrow your target audience to business professionals and companies, this is the certification course for you. What differentiates the Certified Happiness Coach program created by Happiitude and The Berkeley Well-Being Institute is that it teaches you the frameworks for building workplace happiness, how to instruct clients to align company values to behaviors, and ways to sustain happiness in the workplace.

The program consists of three levels starting with the basics of happiness and progressing towards specifics such as designing workshops and creating happiness initiatives in the workplace.

• Course Length: 6 weeks
• Program Cost: $1,085
• Accreditation: Berkeley Well-Being Institute
• Mode of Delivery: Online

Comprehensive Option: Happiness Studies Academy

The Certificate in Happiness Studies by Happiness Studies Academy is a year-long program that provides the knowledge and the tools to generate happiness on several levels: individual, interpersonal, organizational, and national. This program is for coaches who want to expand their reach and work with clients on making personal, professional, and social changes. 

What’s unique about it is that it explores happiness through various disciplines, not just through psychology and philosophy, but also theology, biology, art, history, literature, economics, and more. 

• Course Length: 1 year
• Program Cost: $3,900
• Accreditation: ICF
• Mode of Delivery: Online

Coaching Business Option: IAP College

The International Association of Professionals (IAP) College offers a Happiness Coach Certificate Course that has a strong focus on starting your coaching business and successfully delivering happiness coaching services. 

We would recommend this course to those who want to learn more about the business side of happiness coaching since it teaches you everything from how to write a business plan to using marketing tools for wooing clients. 

• Course Length: 6 weeks (or up to 12 weeks)
• Program Cost:  $399 ($149 at the moment)
• Accreditation: Better Business Bureau
• Mode of Delivery: Online

Personal and Professional Happiness Option: Happiness Management Institut

Do you want your coaching business to focus both on personal and professional happiness? The Happiness Coach Certification program by Happiness Management Institut will equip you with science-based knowledge and proven methods for helping clients reach their full potential in their private lives and careers.

The program covers various coaching practices, including career coaching, emotion coaching, approaches in relationship coaching, and performance coaching. 

• Course Length: 16 weeks
• Program Cost: Available after free consultation call
• Accreditation: None
• Mode of Delivery: Online

Alternatives (non-niche)

Having a niche doesn’t mean that you must solely develop coaching skills in that field. You can lay a foundation with general life coaching courses to perfect your coaching capabilities as well. 

You may also gain knowledge in different coaching niches such as mindfulness that you can later apply in your happiness coaching practices.

If you want to work on your life coaching skills, our recommendation is the ICF-accredited program through Coach Training Alliance. If you’d like to know why they are our top pick, read our review. 

FAQs

• How much does a happiness coach make?

The average salary of a happiness coach is $42,568, according to ZipRecruiter. 

• Do you need a certification to be a happiness coach?

Earning a certification isn’t a requirement; however, as a certified happiness coach, you’ll have proof of your expertise which can boost your confidence and help you get more clients. 

• How much does a happiness coach certification cost?

Since there are so many different courses, the cost varies widely. The fees generally start at $100 and can reach several thousands of dollars.

• Does accreditation matter in a happiness coach certification program?

Accreditation isn’t required, so you can freely take a course that isn’t accredited and still become a certified happiness coach. Accreditation does however assure you that the program respects the guidelines of a reputable accrediting body. 

• What is the most recognized coaching certification? 

It’s impossible for clients and fellow coaches to keep up with the innumerable coaching certification programs out there, so no one certification holds more clout over the others. If recognition is your aim, you should focus on accreditation. ICF- and CPD-accredited programs are safe bets for certification programs with name recognition.

Conclusion

Life coaching is the second fastest-growing industry in the United States. Becoming a happiness coach is a promising profession that can lead you to a full-time profitable job tailored to your lifestyle.

To achieve that freedom and flexibility that life coaches have, you’ll need to master happiness coaching. While any of the above-mentioned programs can help you reach that coaching excellence, our recommendation for the best all-around program goes to Transformation Academy.

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