By Danielle Harel | Updated: August 9, 2023
When it comes to showing up vulnerably or navigating relationship issues, people can have a lot of blocks and challenges. This is why so many people seek help from a trained professional – and why getting your relationship coach certification can set you up for a rewarding, lucrative career (in 2023 and beyond).
If you’re someone your friends come to for advice or a shoulder to cry on, you probably already have some of the soft skills of a relationship coach. With proper training, you can help people overcome their challenges and enjoy the many benefits of being a certified relationship coach.
What Does a Relationship Coach Do?
Relationship coaches are trained professionals who help couples and individuals unlock more fulfilling relationships. They help clients identify negative patterns and practice new, healthier ways to love and be intimate. Relationship coaches help their clients:
- Better respect others’ needs and boundaries
- Express themselves vulnerably and connect with others more intimately
- Repair relationships and resolve challenging moments of tension in relationships in a way that builds deeper intimacy and trust
- Overcome fears of disappointment, abandonment, loss, and rejection
[Here’s an in-depth explanation of what a relationship coach is.]
How Do You Become a Certified Relationship Coach?
As you research and compare different relationship coaching programs, here are 5 easy steps you can take:
- Check the Curriculum: Reputable programs should feature a solid core curriculum that includes versatile relationship coaching tools, as well as advanced classes to deepen your understanding of specific coaching challenges, like working with couples or using insights around childhood character strategies.
- Review their Teaching Approach: Whether it’s talk-based or experiential, a training program should offer opportunities for you to demonstrate your practical skills. Internal group leaders, mentors, or supervisors should be available to track your progress, observe your sessions, and provide feedback.
- Evaluate their Certification Pathway: Certification indicates your training and practice are reputable. Additionally, review the institutions’ external certifications to learn if they offer continuing education credits for licensed professionals as an indication of legitimacy.
- See if they Provide Business-related Resources: Being a certified practitioner isn’t enough to guarantee success — you need to also develop business acumen. Your ideal program should provide access to ongoing support for working with clients and promoting your practice after you graduate.
- Check the Length of the Program: If a coaching program promises to prepare you to work with people on both sex and relationships in less than a year, be cautious. There is a tremendous amount that needs to be learned in order to be an effective practitioner, and you also need time to practice and market your business. A really good program will probably take you a year to a year and a half.
If you want a distinguished program, consider attending a relationship coaching institute like Somatica, which offers dual-modality education and certification that focuses on both relationship and sexual issues.
Once you graduate, you can start your private practice. You can see individuals and / or couples, and offer group workshops. Some relationship coaches do all of their coaching in group workshops or seminars. Others work from home, rent an office, or offer their services online.
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Who Can Become a Certified Relationship Coach?
You do not need prior skills, degrees, or experiences to become a relationship coach. Anyone interested in a career in the field can pursue a relationship coach certification, but these are the qualities you should possess to be successful:
- You are passionate about helping people experience more fulfilling relationships.
- You are curious about what makes people tick, especially relating to relationships and sex.
- You love forming deep interpersonal connections and can extend empathy to people’s most tender fears and desires.
- You’ve experienced different relationship successes and challenges, and you know that learning and growth are possible.
Are There Licensing Requirements to Become a Relationship Coach?
Unlike licensed sex therapists (who must obtain an MA in therapy, fulfill certain internship hours, and take additional specialization courses), relationship coaches do not require licenses.
However, there are many reasons to become certified. A certification program provides the credentials and deep skills that help you become an effective coach who can truly help their clients. Relationship coach certification shows your clients you’re reputable and trustworthy.
Learn more about Somatica’s certification pathway.
What Are the Benefits of Being a Certified Relationship Coach?
As recently as 2022, the New York Times profiled 4 relationship coaches to answer the question “Should You Become a Relationship Coach?“. The resounding answer was YES.
Earn a Really Great Living Doing What You Love
Relationship coach salaries vary depending on geographic location. A good guideline is to check the rates therapists charge in your area.
If you choose to specialize in sexual issues, you can charge approximately 15% more than single-modality relationship coaches and therapists in your area. Here’s a guide to how much you can make as a sex coach / sexologist in a dual-modality practice.
Enjoy Tremendous Flexibility
Thanks to Zoom and Skype, you can now offer your services to people anywhere in the world. This enables you to live and travel wherever and whenever you want, save on renting an office, and work with a larger pool of potential clients.
Make an Easy Career Pivot
Because certified relationship coaches do not require licenses, it’s easy to explore a new career in relationship coaching without feeling burdened by significant financial and time investments or debts.
Spend Your Time on Rewarding Work
Given how important healthy relationships are to our well-being, helping others experience happier and richer lives can be extremely gratifying work.
Experience Personal Growth
When you enroll in the Somatica Training to become a relationship coach, you will inevitably transform your own relationships and personal life in the process.
Why Is Dual-Modality Training Important?
The two modalities of relationships and sexuality go hand-in-hand. Working with clients on relationship issues without being trained to understand sexual dynamics means you might miss deeper problems at play.
For example, you may have helped your clients resolve an emotional issue without addressing their sexual relationship. While the couple may appear happier on the surface, they could still lack that passionate connection in the bedroom.
Embark on Your New Relationship Coaching Career With Somatica Training
The unparalleled, two-modality sex & relationship coach certification training you receive at the Somatica Institute superbly prepares you to start a professional career helping others embrace more fulfilling sex lives and relationships.