how to become a relationship coach

Why Become a Relationship Coach?

Relationships offer us some of the richest experiences. They also hit on our greatest vulnerabilities, which can make them quite challenging. So many people need help navigating the terrain of relationship – and you can help them when you become a relationship coach.

become a relationship coach

How Do I Become a Relationship Coach?

If you are interested in becoming a relationship coach, you have many programs to choose from.

For example, you could focus solely on improving people's communication skills and get a certificate in nonviolent communication. If you want a less specific and more well-rounded program, consider attending a relationship coaching institute. These institutions sometimes even offer dual-modality education, focused on both relationship and sexual issues. If you feel like sex is something you are comfortable addressing with your clients, this could be a good choice.

What to Look for in a Relationship Coaching Curriculum

As you research relationship coaching institutes, you want to ensure their program has a well-framed certification pathway. You'll also want access to ongoing support in working with clients after you graduate. Of incredible importance is also to check if your desired program includes support to help you market your business. Many coaches actually fail on the business side – even if they are amazing practitioners.

You want to check if your desired relationship coaching program has a solid core curriculum that includes a variety of tools around both sex and relationship coaching. It is also important to see if they offer advanced classes, to deepen your understanding of specific coaching aspects, like working with couples or using insights around childhood character strategies. Finally, they might have internal group leaders or mentors who make sure they are tracking your progress, observing your sessions, and giving you feedback about your work.

Once you graduate from your coaching program, you can start your private practice seeing individuals and/or couples, and possibly offering group workshops as well. 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.

What Will I Be Able to Offer My Clients as a Relationship Coach?

Secure attachment and greater self-expression in relationships.
Relationship repair: how challenging moments of tension in relationships can not only be resolved, but be the catalyst for deeper intimacy and trust.
A way to express themselves vulnerably, helping them connect with people in every area of their lives.
Resilience in facing the fears that paralyze them – including fear of disappointment, abandonment, loss, and rejection.
A way to relate to others' needs and boundaries without feeling pressure or rejection.
Perspective: a realistic view of what they can (and cannot) get out of a relationship – so they don't miss out on all of the potential gifts they can receive.

relationship coach practicing with a client

Do I Need to Get Licensed to Be a Relationship Coach?

In the United States, there is no such thing as a relationship coach license. Only therapists are licensed. If you want to become a licensed sex therapist, you need to get an M.A. in therapy, which takes about 2 years. Plus an additional program to specialize around sex, which usually takes another year. After that, you need to do many unpaid hours of internships.

Coaching students take the Somatica Training first, start their sex and relationship coaching practice to earn a living, and then proceed to get their M.A. degree. It's common that you are able to charge higher rates as a sex and relationship coach than you could in your therapy practice.

Why Get Certified?

You do not need any prior skills, degrees, or experiences to be a relationship coach. There are many reasons why to get certified, and a thorough certification program gives you the added credentials and skills to be an effective relationship coach.

Make sure the training you attend requires you to practice your tools with clients. It should also offer supervision and give you feedback about your growing edges. Lastly, the certification test should require you to demonstrate your practical skills – not just report about them.

Relationship coach observing clients

How Much Can I Expect to Earn as a Relationship Coach?

Relationship coach salaries vary depending on geographic location. A good guideline is the rates therapists in your area charge. Salaries will be higher for coaches who additionally specialize in sexual issues. They are able to charge about 15% more than single-modality relationship coaches and therapists.

Make sure you have a clear idea of the rates you should be charging, any packages you are offering, and that you are inviting the clients you really want to work with.

Can I Practice as a Relationship Coach Online?

Zoom and Skype have opened a whole new world of opportunities for coaches to reach people in different geographical areas. Many coaches are now beginning to see the benefits of being a relationship coach online.

It allows you to offer your services to people anytime, anywhere – from the comfort of your home, or where ever you may be living at the time. This not only expands your practice radius, enables you to live location-independently – it also saves you the significant cost of renting an office.

Is the Somatica Sex & Relationship Coaching Training for Me?

Relationship and sexuality are deeply intertwined. Working with clients on relationship issues without being trained to understand the sexual dynamics means you might miss the deeper problems at play. Or, helping clients resolve emotional issues without addressing a couple's sexual relationship often leads to a couple becoming closer – but still lacking that passionate connection.

The Somatica Training not only prepares you to be a great sex coach – it also teaches you how to be a relationship coach. During the training, you will enter into a powerful, interpersonal relational process with your fellow students, group leaders, and the teachers, Celeste and Danielle. You will learn, practice, and embody the essential and powerful tools of relating: vulnerability, mutual empathy, acceptance, and repair.

Somatica will prepare you with an extensive set of tools you can bring into a professional relationship coaching practice right away.

The Somatica Training is for you if…

You are passionate about helping people have a better life and sexier, more successful relationships.
You are ready to embrace your dreams and embark on a fulfilling coaching career.
Being in deep interpersonal connections is something you love, and you can extend empathy and care to people's most tender fears and desires.
You are someone who is curious about what makes people tick, especially when it comes to relationships and sex.
You have had some of your own relationship successes and challenges, and you know that learning and growth is possible in the realm of relationship.

When you take the Somatica Training to become a relationship coach, you will inevitably transform your own relationships – read all about your personal transformation as well!