Our ICF Triple Accredited Associate Diploma is accredited by 3 bodies. ICF (Level 1), the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) and Association for Coaching (AC) giving you the option to be accredited by and of these three main coaching bodies on graduation.
This diploma is taught to a high standard using our trademarked Holistic Coaching Framework and Psychology-informed curriculum which is practical and engaging.
Enrolling now for w/c 16th November. Either Monday 6pm -9pm or Tuesday 10am -1pm. Timings are GMT / BST
Each body has independently audited our curriculum, our trainer credentials, assessment rigour and ethics alignment. Passing all three, means our program meets the strictest standards across the board, not just one body’s bar.
The International Coaching Federation (ICF) is world's largest organisation for professionally trained coaches and is best known for setting industry standards. It accredits coach training programs and issues the most widely recognized coaching credentials which for the Level 1 certification is the ACC (Associate Certified Coach).
European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC) founded in 1992 covers mentoring and supervision as core disciplines, not just coaching,. Its competence framework leans more towards developmental. Despite the name, now operating globally.
Associate of Coaching UK (AC) professional body for coaches, founded in 2002 and headquartered in the UK. It accredits coach training programs and offers individual accreditation at four levels. Distinctive features include client feedback as part of accreditation, professional indemnity insurance requirements and a strong ethics focus.
Our lead trainer is Ruth Kudzi, Founder and Master Certified Coach ( the highest ICF credential) and one of the UK’s leading coaches.
Alongside Ruth, all the trainers are either a Professional Certified Coach (PCC ) or a Master Certified Coach (MCC) accredited with decades of experience.
The depth of experience of the trainers and the fact they all run their own coaching businesses means you can be confident in the relevance of the course.
Our Psychology informed curriculum means you’re able to go deeper with your clients and work with their brains and nervous systems to create lasting change. We’ve developed and trademarked a whole person holistic approach to coaching which means when you finish the diploma, you will have a range of approaches and tools which allow you to be flexible with your clients.
We have developed the curriculum alongside a practical focus on application with coaching practice in nearly every session, lots of developmental feedback and at least 50 hours of coaching practice required outside the course. With this depth of experience you will be a confident and competent coach on graduation.
PLUS we have a strong community focus. We believe in supporting every coach as an individual and provide an inclusive supportive environment both during and after the course with ongoing access.
AND our experienced trainers are practicing coaches themselves, each with a minimum of 500 coaching hours. They bring their own case studies, examples and perspectives to bring the training to life and answer your questions. Alongside the trainers, we have a bank of example sessions across different sectors and using different tools so you can see real life examples to support your own development and practice.
You will get exceptional support with a team responsive to your individual needs and feedback. Our role is to ensure you become a confident, credible coach that gets consistent results. With over 97% completion rates, we know we deliver and are committed to supporting you in a flexible way if you need additional help and support. When you commit to us, we commit to you.
We support you to be a confident and competent coach, with the ability to use a range of tools and techniques. Our structured, high quality teaching focuses on Psychology-based coaching approaches, backed up by scientific research. This is based on our Holistic coaching framework, giving you a variety of tools, techniques and approaches which go beyond the GROW model. This means have much greater flexibility to work with clients to help them find their own solutions on a deeper, more transformational level.
We support you to develop strong coaching skills. The course is hands-on with coaching practice, scenario-based learning, coaching session observations and lots of competency based feedback. The combination of experience, feedback and mentoring support helps you define your own coaching approach with confidence to work with a variety of clients.
We support you personally to develop your own style and approach. Our experienced team get to know you as an individual, providing a flexible and compassionate space. We find our students build strong relationships and continue to support you through our alumni offer. All the team are generous with their time and knowledge. We all have our own coaching businesses and share examples with you.
Our curriculum is grounded in Psychology & Neuroscience, giving you practical tools and approaches you can use with clients, as well as helping you design your own coaching approach congruent with the ICF competencies. This well-rounded approach ensures you stand out as a coach.
We support you to contract as a group and identify how to get the most out of the program. We also frame the course learning and give insight into the ICF core competencies and code of ethics. This is where you get more practical with a focus on more of the “what” of coaching exploring transactional models as well as building on your knowledge of the core competencies.
We explore the GROW model as a framework for coaching. How to use G to set great Goals, moving onto how to explore Reality effectively with Clients. Then we move onto understanding the importance of exploring Options and then how to support Client growth through ways forward.
This module focuses on the “who” of the client by exploring emotions and deeper work. Exploring ways to work with client’s emotions Supporting clients to identify emotions and change emotional state.
This module focuses on exploring your needs, your Client's needs and their identity on a deeper level. We also discuss having an appreciation of the clients context and it’s impact on the coaching relationship. We discuss the merits of a strengths-based approach to coaching and what it mean.
This module explores research in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology applying in to coaching topics linking in with current coaching research and supporting improved decision making. Some of the topics we explore are supporting gratitude practice and positive affect, ways to build resilience in clients, models for wellbeing and strengthening the coaching mindset and coaching presence using positive psychology tools.
This module brings together all of the learning from previous sessions and explores habit formation and behavioural change, understanding how to work more effectively with clients brains and helping clients to reduce stress and make better decisions.
This is where we bring together all of your learning whilst reviewing the holistic coaching framework and understand how to use it, reflecting on your learning and next steps and building your confidence on the path to certification and accreditation.
For more details on our triple accredited Associate diploma, including more information on all our modules, a summary of how Optimus’s coaching approach is different and how our training creates Confident, Credible coaches that get Consistent Results, download our brochure.
As someone relatively new to coaching, you may be asking yourself, “Do I have what it takes to become a coach?”, “Am I the right person to coach others?” Self-doubt can creep in, but confidence in coaching doesn’t come before training. It comes through it. Our trademarked SELFLESS™ model provides a clear and flexible framework, giving you confidence in the ingredients of successful coaching sessions by understanding how to be a coach as well as how to “do” coaching.
This is coupled with our focus on practical skills using scenario based learning, case studies and example sessions alongside coaching practice and developmental strengths based feedback to build your confidence in your ability as a certified coach.
As a newly accredited coach, with relatively little coaching experience, you may be asking yourself how will I credibly stand out against other coaches, especially those with more experience. Imposter syndrome may play a part with some people. The good news is that less than 10% of all coaches are ICF Accredited. Even better news is the fact both our Associate and our Professional Diplomas are actually accredited by 3 leading coaching global organisations. Firstly, the International Coaching Federation ( ICF), the leading global organisation for coaches and coaching, and also the European Mentoring and Coaching Council ( EMCC) and finally the Association of Coaching (AC).
As a newly qualified coach, you will have learnt extensive frameworks and tools to enable you get meaningful results for a wide range of clients. You’ll have flexibility in your approaches by learning a variety of techniques including: Core values exercises, coaching for emotions, emotional intelligence development, somatic awareness practices, visioning and visualisations, mindfulness and meditation and strengths based coaching. By going beyond standard transactional forms of coaching, we equip you with more holistic methods that give you more chance of real success. Our trademarked Optimus Holistic Coaching Framework™ focuses on coaching the whole person, giving you flexibility to tailor your approach to suit the client in front of you. This means you can go beyond surface-level issues to uncover underlying beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. This enables clients to gain powerful insights and build new neural pathways rewiring the way they think, feel and act. By working with your Clients in this way, you help them to get consistent results with higher levels of satisfaction.
As an existing coach the deepest confidence shift you will experience through our training and ICF credentialing is moving from thinking you are good to knowing you are good —and having the internationally recognised proof to back you up as an independently verified professional. As an experienced coach you often operate on the assumption that you’re effective — because clients seem happy, renew sessions, or refer others. Structured feedback on your actual coaching practice replaces that assumption with real evidence. When you receive specific, objective feedback confirming that your questioning technique, presence, or ability to hold space is genuinely strong — that confidence becomes unshakeable because it’s grounded in proof, not hope.
The regular feedback we give you, when acted on and integrated into your coaching, you will see evidenced in future sessions — creating an upward spiral. As a coach you will receive feedback, improve, receive more feedback confirming the improvement, and improve further. Over time this compounds into a deep, settled confidence that is very different from the brittle self-belief of someone who has never had their practice examined. It becomes confidence rooted in continuous growth rather than static self-assessment. An experienced coach operating without a formal framework may have blind spots in their practice — areas where their approach is inconsistent or underdeveloped without them realising it. ICF training surfaces those gaps and fills them, removing the subconscious anxiety of not knowing what they don’t know. Plugging those gaps creates a much more solid foundation to coach from] Our trademarked SELFLESS™ model provides a clear and flexible framework giving you confidence on the ingredients of successful coaching sessions by understanding how to be a coach as well as how to “do” coaching.
This is coupled with our focus on practical skills using scenario based learning, case studies and example sessions alongside coaching practice and developmental strengths based feedback to build your confidence in your ability as a certified coach.
The deepest credibility shift an ICF credential creates for an existing coach is moving from being trusted by the clients you already have to being respected by the clients you haven’t met yet. Achieving an ICF ACC or PCC credential from the world’s most recognised coaching body gives external validation that you are an expert coach and that your skills are formally recognised. It’s no longer just an opinion you may have of yourself — it’s an internationally respected organisation saying “this coach meets a world-class standard.
Coaching Clients particularly those in corporate, executive, or professional settings — do their research before hiring a coach. Many specifically search for ICF credentialed coaches because they understand what the accreditation represents. An existing coach without that credential is invisible to that entire segment of the market. With an ACC or PCC, you become immediately visible and credible to exactly the kind of high-value clients who take coaching most seriously and are willing to invest most significantly in it.
One of the most significant credibility shifts an ICF credential creates is access to the corporate market. HR directors, L&D managers, and procurement teams commissioning coaching for senior leaders and executives frequently require — or strongly prefer — ICF credentialed coaches as a minimum standard. Without that credential, an existing coach is simply not considered regardless of how talented you are. With an ACC or PCC, you become a credible candidate for organisational coaching contracts that can transform the scale and income of their practice.
An ICF PCC credential in particular opens the door to becoming a mentor coach or supervisor for coaches working toward their own credentials. This is a significant credibility shift — moving from practitioner to recognised authority within the profession itself.
It signals long term commitment to the Profession. Achieving an ICF ACC or PCC is not a one-time event — it requires ongoing Continuing Coach Education to maintain the credential through renewal cycles. When clients and organisations see that a coach holds and maintains an ICF credential, it signals that this is not someone dabbling in coaching as a side interest. It demonstrates a long term, serious commitment to professional development and mastery that distinguishes them from coaches who completed a course years ago and never developed further ]
Both our Associate and our Professional Diplomas are actually accredited by 3 leading coaching global organisations.
Firstly, the International Coaching Federation ( ICF), the leading global organisation for coaches and coaching, and also the European Mentoring and Coaching Council ( EMCC) and finally the Association of Coaching (AC).
These accreditations give you credibility which is boosted further by our evidence based curriculum which is aligned with current coaching research. By integrating Psychology & Neuroscience into the curriculum you can talk with credibility about how coaching works and have materials to deliver workshops and training alongside coaching.
The deepest consistency shift an ICF credential creates for an existing coach is moving from getting great results sometimes to getting great results by design. It transforms coaching from a craft shaped by personality and intuition into a professional discipline built on structure, rigour, and repeatable excellence — where outstanding outcomes are the expected standard, not the happy exception. Many experienced coaches without formal ICF training have developed their practice through instinct, trial and error and personal style. This produces inconsistent results because the quality of the coaching becomes dependent on how the coach feels on a given day, how much they connect with a particular client or whether their intuition happens to fire well in a specific session.
ICF training replaces that unpredictability with a structured, evidence-based competency framework that works regardless of mood, energy or personal chemistry — meaning every client gets the same quality of experience every time. Part of achieving consistency is making sure your needs as a coach are being met. The “being” side of coaching: how you show up and embody being a coach, doing your own work so you can be fully present, emotionally regulated and in your nervous system, focused and intuitive. This is an important piece which we work on and will help you get consistent success.
We provide structured, high quality teaching with a focus on psychology-based coaching approaches, backed up by scientific research. These include Neuroscience, Positive Psychology & Somatic approaches as well as normative coaching methodologies.
Our trademarked Optimus Holistic Coaching Framework™ focuses on coaching the whole person, giving you flexibility to tailor your approach to suit the client in front of you. This means you can go beyond surface-level issues to uncover underlying beliefs, emotions, and behaviours. This enables clients to gain powerful insights and build new neural pathways rewiring the way they think, feel and act. By working with your Clients in this way, you help them to get consistent results with higher levels of satisfaction.
Plus your tailored mentoring and post course supervision, case studies and practice coaching mean you’ll have plenty of experience and resources to support your clients.
We build leaders’ confidence by replacing assumption with evidence. Many leaders judge their effectiveness on indirect signs, such as when targets are met, when they do not receive any complaints/ push back or if a team seems settled. Through regular coaching practice and strengths-based feedback, leaders get specific, objective proof of what they do well and where to grow. They move from thinking they lead well to knowing they do.
At the centre of this is the Optimus SELFLESS™ model. It puts the other person at the heart of every conversation and asks leaders to consider how they’re being, as well as what they’re doing. For a leader that structure brings both confidence and flexibility, whatever conversation lies ahead.
S – State
Leaders learn to check their own state before a conversation.
Example: A senior manager heading into a performance review straight from a stressful board meeting takes two minutes to reset. She arrives calm and present rather than distracted and defensive. She knows the difference this makes because she has felt it in practice and seen it reflected in her feedback.
E – Engage
Leaders build relationships high in trust and psychological safety.
Example: A newly promoted head of department finds his former peers guarded. By deliberately creating space for honest conversation, he sees people begin raising their problems earlier, instead of hiding them. That openness is his evidence that trust is growing.
L – Learn
Leaders stay curious and help people reach their own insights.
Example: Rather than assuming why a project is stalling, a director asks, “What’s getting in the way that we haven’t talked about?” The team member realises she’s been waiting for permission she didn’t need.
F – Focus
Leaders get clear on what the person actually wants before moving to solutions.
Example: A team member asks for “more support.” Instead of offering extra resources, the leader explores further and discovers the real need is clarity on priorities. One focused conversation solves what weeks of help wouldn’t have.
L – Listen
Leaders hear what is and isn’t being said.
Example: A business owner notices that a usually vocal manager goes quiet whenever a restructure is mentioned. Gently naming it opens up a conversation about job security that would otherwise have stayed buried, and turned into disengagement.
E – Explore
Leaders help people think through options rather than handing over answers.
Example: Facing a client complaint, a team lead asks her colleague to map out three possible responses and their risks. He chooses one, owns it, and handles the next complaint independently.
S – Support
Leaders guide people to commit to clear next steps.
Example: A one-to-one ends with the team member stating exactly what they’ll do and by when, in their own words. The leader no longer has to chase actions, because the person owns them.
S – Self Reflection
Leaders review their own conversations through reflection and supervision.
Example: After a difficult redundancy conversation, a manager reflects on what went well and what she’d change. Over time she builds a record of her own growth, which becomes the strongest evidence of all.
Why this builds lasting confidence
Each stage gives leaders something they can see working: a team member who opening up, taking more ownership or finding their own answer. Feedback confirms the improvement, which fuels further growth, and confidence compounds over time.
Our training and coaching frameworks helps leaders and team managers become more credible in two ways: through recognised external proof of their skill and through the trust they earn day to day with the people they lead.
1. Independently verified credentials
Both the Associate and Professional Diplomas are accredited by the three leading global coaching bodies: the ICF, EMCC and AC. A leader with a triple-accredited coaching qualification has visible proof that their coaching skills meet international standards. That carries weight with their team, their peers, senior stakeholders and future employers.
Example: An operations manager putting herself forward for a people-development role can point to an accredited diploma, not just a claim that she’s “good with people.”
2. Learning grounded in psychology and research
The training draws on neuroscience, positive psychology, somatic and cognitive approaches, all backed by research. Leaders can explain why their approach works, not just that it does.
Example: When a sceptical director questions spending time on coaching conversations, a team manager can explain how habit formation and behavioural change work in the brain. The conversation shifts from opinion to evidence.
3. Depth to handle any situation
The Optimus Holistic Coaching Framework™ gives leaders a range of approaches for different people and moments. A leader who stays composed and effective with an upset team member, a resistant peer or a struggling high performer earns credibility that a job title alone can’t give.
We help leaders and team managers get more consistent results by giving them a reliable structure for their conversations, plus the flexibility to adapt it to each person. Good outcomes stop depending on mood, instinct or a good day and become repeatable.
1. A repeatable structure: the Optimus SELFLESS™ model
Inconsistent results often come from inconsistent conversations. Some one-to-ones go brilliantly, while others drift or end without action. SELFLESS™ gives leaders a dependable shape for every conversation:
2. Flexibility without losing consistency: the Optimus Holistic Coaching Framework™
Consistency doesn’t mean treating everyone the same. Our trademarked framework draws on neuroscience, positive psychology, somatic, narrative and cognitive approaches, so leaders can adapt to the person in front of them and still get the same quality of outcome.
Example: One team member needs help managing stress, another is stuck in a limiting story about their ability and a third has lost motivation. The leader uses a different approach with each and all three move forward.
3. Behaviour change that sticks
The neuroscience module covers habit formation and neuroplasticity. Leaders learn why change often fades after a good conversation and how to help people build habits that last.
Example: Instead of revisiting the same performance issue every quarter, a manager helps a team member design small daily habits. The improvement holds.
4. Practice and feedback that sharpen skills
Through scenario-based learning, case studies, example sessions and regular strengths-based feedback against ICF competencies, leaders identify what works and refine it. Practice that is examined is what turns occasional success into a dependable skill.
5. Fewer blind spots, fewer surprises
Training surfaces habits that undermine results, such as jumping to solutions, avoiding emotion or skipping clear agreements. Once leaders can see these habits, they can fix them, which removes a common source of unpredictable outcomes.
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You'll learn more about the curriculum, structure and how we deliver the program so you can be confident it works for you.
You'll learn how we integrate our trademarked SELFLESS model and our trademarked holistic coaching framework into our training to support you to become a confident and competent coach.
You'll hear from our recent students, more about our team and hear from our Founder, Ruth Kudzi so that you can get a good idea of who we are and what we stand for.
The next start date for the Associate Coach Diploma is w/c 16th November 2026, completing w/c 15th March 2027.
You can choose either Monday 6 pm – 9 pm, or Tuesday 10 am- 1 pm
w/c 21st, 28th December
w/c 4th January
After November, the next start date for the Associate Coach Diploma is w/c 25th January 2027
You can choose either Monday 6 pm-9 pm or Tuesday 10 am – 1 pm
Our group sizes are deliberately small for each cohort to maintain a good trainer / student ratio and so once available spaces are filled, availability moves to the next in take.
To enrol for this diploma or discuss your options, book a call or email hello@optimuscoachacademy.com
With our flexible payment options
Pay in full at £3950 + VAT or 6 x £668 + VAT (this is £4740 inc VAT or 6 x £801.60 inc VAT
Outside the UK? Please email hello@optimuscoachacademy.com to sign up
Discover how professional coach training can help you develop the skills, confidence, and knowledge to begin your coaching journey.
"Doing the Optimus Coach Academy diploma has been such a game-changer for me. I now feel armed with a great range of tools to support any individual. The mix of practical learning, live practice, and support from mentors and peers made the whole experience both challenging and inspiring. I've come away with real confidence in myself as a coach."
"From start to finish, the Optimus experience was amazing. The care and attention for our learning journey from the staff was always present. The course material is great and I always felt supported. Thank you so much. "
"What a journey! From play-acting our way through the models when we first met, to deep, authentic coaching conversations, it's been an absolute pleasure to learn with Optimus. The trainers made each session engaging, and we've made some lifelong friendships along the way. Would highly recommend!"
"This course has changed my life! Nothing about me is the same as when I started. I've left the corporate world behind and I'm now starting out as a coach and consultant. I notice how I can engage differently in situations and use my positive curiosity for better outcomes. If anyone is thinking about signing up, don't hesitate for a minute. You will have no regrets!"
For further information on our Diplomas and accredited training programmes
Our goal is to support you to become a Confident, Credible coach that gets Consistent results for Clients
Get a wealth of support to start and grow your own coaching business, with in-depth mentoring so you can build your practice while you develop your skills as an excellent coach
Our highly experienced tutors and trainers are all ICF qualified, from a wide range of backgrounds and with diverse industry knowledge, to support you every step of the way. Our founder Ruth Kudzi, MCC delivers around 30% of the training for the Associate diploma.
You’ll study a wide range of evidence-based coaching approaches including Neuroscience, Positive psychology, Somatic coaching and Coaching for Emotions linked into our holistic coaching framework. We teach you how to be a coach, how to inform your practice and then frameworks, tools and approaches you can use.
As well as the chance to coach and be coached in most sessions (with feedback), you’ll also be matched with a coaching peer to further develop your skills. And you can build your coaching hours with opportunities for pro bono coaching, if you want to work with third sector and charitable organisations (or if you want to get more coaching hours under your belt and feel totally confident, before you take the leap into your own business!). We can always support you with coaching hours.
The course is accredited by the ICF, EMCC and AC.
For you to become accredited with the ICF, when you have 100 coaching hours, you can apply for ACC.
For you to become accredited with the EMCC, this can happen directly after completion. You will be accredited at the Practitioner or Senior Practitioner level depending on your experience.
For you to become accredited with the AC, we support you with the process.
All of the accreditation bodies charge a fee for accreditation: remember you don’t need to do any additional training as all is covered in the course up to the PCC level for the ICF.
