Professional Certificate in Advanced Coaching Practice
- Accredited at ICF Level 2 - Professional Certified Coach (PCC)
- Highly experiential, practitioner-focused for advancing coaching practice
- Builds on initial coach education and work towards ICF PCC or equivalent
- Develops insights into psychological perspectives to enable coaches to work with the whole person rather than just the presenting goal
- Encourages critical analysis of perspectives and deep reflective practice as a coaching practitioner
What you need to know
Overview
The Professional Certificate in Advanced Coaching Practice (PCACP) is an evidence-based practitioner-focused programme based around the ICF PCC markers to deepen coaching skills and expertise, as well as supporting external professional accreditation with the ICF.
The focus of the programme is on moving participants from ‘doing’ coaching to ‘being’ a coach, which requires a deep sense of self-awareness and comprehensive grasp of the core coaching competencies, with a working knowledge of the application of behaviour change theories.
Highly experiential, with reflective practice, this programme is delivered using a blend of live workshops and virtual learning, where the emphasis is on building coaching skills to an advanced level through extensive practice and feedback including three one-to-one mentoring sessions.
Suitable for
The programme is aimed at coaches who have completed an initial coach training programme and wish to advance their coaching practice, build on their earlier coach education and work towards ICF PCC accreditation or equivalent.
"“The PCACP provided a clear PCC accreditation pathway while giving me invaluable time and space to implement learnings practically. Most significantly, it's enabling deep reflection on my unique coaching style - understanding who I am as a coach at my…"
- Achieve progression to the PCC (Level 2) credential with ICF
- Attain 65 coach specific training hours to add to Level 1 coach specific training hours for Professional Certified Coach (PCC) level of accreditation with the International Coach Federation (ICF)
- Refine and deepen your coaching skills and expertise on this practitioner-focused, highly experiential programme
- Build on your coaching knowledge gained from the Henley Professional Certificate in Executive Coaching or other foundation coach training programmes, learning additional theories and how to apply them
- Develop increased self-awareness and build your capacity to reflect on your impact in the coaching relationship
- Increase knowledge of the competencies required at this advanced level of coaching and the skills to demonstrate them with ease
- Gain confidence in your own unique coaching style while honouring the ICF core coaching competencies
- Nurtures confident managers who are equipped with coaching skills for a wide range of business situations
- Enhancement of management and leadership skills
- Supports the development of the wider workforce through deeper people skills
- Develops employees who can contribute to organisational change through evidence-based coaching tools and techniques
Entry requirements
The Professional Certificate in Advanced Coaching Practice (PCACP) is aimed at coaches who have already completed foundational coach training, are in ongoing coaching supervision. Participants may be either self-employed coaches or internal coaches (or individuals) working within an organisation.
The PCACP is suitable for experienced coaches who are seeking to apply for ICF PCC coach accreditation and/or deepen their skills, knowledge and competence in coaching.
Admission criteria
- Must have completed at least 60 hours of Coach Specific Training Hours*
- Must have completed 100 hours of coaching practice
Successful completion of the programme results in an ICF Level 2 training certificate, provided that all criteria have been met.
The Level 2 certificate demonstrates the education hours for an accreditation. Participants will also require 500 hours of practical coaching experience, which can be built on after the programme, as required.
*Coach Specific Training Hours are specifically on ICF core coaching competencies
The programme is conducted in English. An excellent level of English is therefore essential and proficiency testing may be requested.
Start dates
Important note
Full attendance at all workshops and webinar sessions is mandatory for successful completion of this accredited programme. Candidates should be confident they will be able to attend all sessions when they confirm their place on their chosen cohort.
All programmes are subject to limited availability. Applications for the May cohort to be received by 1 May to allow for the pre-programme preparation required (approximately 7 hours) ahead of your programme start date and to guarantee sufficient time for your enrolment and on-boarding.
Course structure
The Professional Certificate in Advanced Coaching Practice runs over a total of six months, part-time.
The programme is designed around preparing learners to apply and gain ICF PCC accreditation, by providing the relevant knowledge, skills and competencies through a combination of taught content, facilitated discussion, observation and feedback, and coaching practice.
Learner-centric approach: a large portion of learning occurs via coaching practice, both in and outside of the workshops. Learners draw on their learning from the workshops and independent learning, including reflections, and implement this learning through their coaching practice.
Workshops: each workshop delivers content aligned with the learning outcomes and is supported by online resources and preparatory work. All workshops will be heavily focused on practice and observation. This means some of the work will be what emerges as learning points from observations.
Key themes
- Developing a Coaching Mindset: Understand your coaching baseline and internal narratives.
- Building Partnership: Explore relationships, biases, and PCC competencies.
- Embracing Difference: Focus on diversity, trust, and advanced psychological theories.
- Deepening Practice: Consolidate skills and prepare for final assessments.
PCACP: Session 1 (self-directed learning): Preparing for the learning journey
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Critically evaluate your own coaching based on the PCC markers
- Reflect on your own internal narrative and its impact on your coaching mindset
PCACP: Workshop 1: Self-awareness and the Coaching Mindset
Explore your motivations, drivers, and personal narratives to enhance self-awareness and deepen your coaching mindset.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Establish effective working agreements in coaching practice
- Differentiate between ACC and PCC coaching levels
- Identify personal learning objectives through self-assessment and feedback
- Recognise and apply PCC-level coaching competencies with improved proficiency
- Build personal presence
PCACP: Session 2 (self-directed learning): Preparing for Partnership
Consider yourself in relationship with others, particularly in the coaching partnership.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Explore partnership and your role and drivers to relationships
- Build awareness of the drivers and potential biases in your relationships with others
PCACP: Workshop 2: Partnership for Co-creation
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Critically analyse a range of psychological theories and approaches to coaching
- Build a deeper awareness of partnership and co-creation, including the barriers to successful relationships
- Navigate ethical dilemmas through a robust process
- Master transference and projection in coaching relationships
- Practice transactional analysis and its relation to partnership
- Understand unconscious bias and working with uncertainty
PCACP: Session 3 (self-directed learning): Preparing to Consolidate Advanced Coaching
Prepare to consolidate the advanced learning into the demonstrable skills of a PCC level coach.
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Critically evaluate the ICF Code of Ethics and Professional Practice
- Focus on diversity, trust and advanced psychological theories
- Identify your own attachment style
PCACP: Workshop 3: Consolidating Advanced Practitioner Skills
Key Learning Outcomes:
- Identify and navigate common coaching mistakes through the lens of advanced coaching
- Recognise the implications of your own attachment style on the coaching relationship
- Identify your process for exploring ethical dilemmas
- Understand the challenges and opportunities in working more systemically in your coaching
- Work within multiple systems and difference
PCACP: Session 4 (self-directed learning): Deepening Practice
Prepare for your final assessment and performance evaluation.
PCACP: Assessment
At the end of the course, you will submit a 30-minute recording of a coaching session, as well as a 2,500-word assignment, drawing on the relevant literature and reflecting on how you have developed a coaching mindset and a commitment to continue ongoing development of self.
PCACP: Post-Programme
You will have ongoing contact with Henley Business School through:
- Access to resources from the online learning portal for up to 12 months
- University of Reading and Henley alumni status
- Option to continue membership of The Henley Centre for Coaching (fee payable)
Modules or course content marked as optional are indicative and may be subject to change. Please note, constraints in timetable scheduling may mean you are unable to take some optional modules at the same time as others.
Accreditation
The Certificate is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF at Level 2). On successful completion of the programme, on achieving 500 hours of experience, participants can apply for a credential.
Teaching staff
Location and facilities
Set in sweeping parkland on the banks of the River Thames, Henley Business School's Greenlands campus provides an inspiring and reflective environment for focused work and study.
Why choose Henley?
4th
in the UK overall for executive education programmes
(Financial Times Executive Education ranking 2025)25th
in the world overall for executive education open programmes
(Financial Times Executive Education 2025 )The Henley Centre for Coaching
The Henley Centre for Coaching is a global leader in coaching research and coach training. The Centre is home to a wealth of resources, including the National Coaching Resources Centre, and is a proud recipient of the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) Coaching Award.
Executive Education at Henley
For 80 years, Henley Business School has developed confident and resilient business leaders. Executive Education at Henley is:
- Practical: we combine academic rigour with a strong practical focus, so you can immediately apply what you have learned back in your organisation.
- Relevant: Henley faculty are experienced practitioners who can support you in exploring solutions to your organisation’s challenges.
- Collaborative: Open programmes enable you to expand your network, gain new perspectives and share ideas with peers from a range of backgrounds and sectors.
- Personal: deliberately small learning groups allow you to benefit from individual attention and a confidential environment. We encourage you to understand your unique strengths, leadership style, and areas for development.
Contact us
Open Programmes
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the programme, please contact our programme advisors.
Email: exec@henley.ac.ukTelephone: 01491 418767
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