Catalyst
A catalyst is what makes change happen in others without being consumed by it. That is the work of a coach, and it is where your career begins. Over 36 hours of one-to-one work, you stop being someone who gives good advice and become someone who can genuinely coach: present, trusted, and skilled enough to hold another person's growth. You are coached individually throughout, so the learning is shaped around you. You finish ready to take your first clients with confidence rather than hope.
Who this level is for
- People beginning a coaching career from scratch
- Managers, mentors and helpers formalising their skills
- Professionals changing direction towards work that means more
Entry requirements
Open to anyone serious about learning to coach. No prior coaching qualification is required, only commitment and a genuine interest in people.
Format and hours
Delivered entirely online and one-to-one. Your 36 hours are structured as:
- 12 hours of one-to-one online coaching and training with a professional coach
- 24 hours of guided self-work and research, including reflection, reading, practice and assignments
- Total: 36 hours
What you will be able to do
- Hold a coaching session with structure, presence and confidence
- Build trust and emotional safety quickly
- Listen beneath the words and ask the question that matters
- Work with limiting beliefs and self-talk without giving advice
- Coach ethically, within clear boundaries
Syllabus
Delivered across your one-to-one sessions and guided self-work. Each module pairs live coaching with reflection and practice.
Module 1: Foundations of professional coaching
What coaching is, and what it is not. The difference between coaching, advice, mentoring and therapy. The coaching relationship, scope, and the professional standards you will hold yourself to.
Module 2: Presence and the inner work of the coach
Why a coach can only take a client as far as they have gone themselves. Managing your own reactions, judgements and the urge to fix, so you can stay genuinely present.
Module 3: The core skills
Deep listening across its levels, powerful and clean questioning, reflecting, summarising and the disciplined use of silence. The everyday craft that makes coaching work.
Module 4: The architecture of a session
Contracting and agreeing goals, structuring a session from open to close, and a simple, reliable coaching framework you can use from day one.
Module 5: The psychology and neuroscience of change
In plain language: how habits form, why willpower fails, how beliefs shape behaviour, and the basics of the nervous system, so you understand why your interventions work.
Module 6: From training to practice
Working with limiting beliefs and self-sabotage compassionately, plus the practical first steps of coaching real people: agreements, ethics, confidentiality and getting started.
Assessment
Assessment is based on your actual coaching. You demonstrate a coaching session and complete reflective assignments. There is no multiple-choice exam, because coaching is a craft, not a quiz.
What you graduate with
- The ICI Catalyst Coach credential and the ICI-C post-nominal
- A working coaching framework you can use immediately
- The confidence and competence to take paying clients
- Membership of the ICI coaching community
Details at a glance
- Level1 of 4 (Foundation)
- Formatonline, one-to-one
- Hours36 total (12 coaching, 24 self-work)
- Suggested durationup to 3 months