Professional Bodies
When choosing a life coach it can be reassuring to know that they work to certain standards of good practice as a professional, as you will be placing a huge amount of trust in them. Not all qualified life coaches are members of a professional body, however being a member means a life coach has met certain requirements set by their member organisation and must abide by a code of ethics and complaints procedure.
All professional bodies differ in their requirements for membership; some require very strict standards for all their members and others provide different categories for their members (e.g. Associate Member, Member, Accredited Member). Life coaches who are a member of a professional body will make this clear on their profile. To find out more about a professional body please see the list below.
Accredited Life Coaches
Being accredited with a professional body means the individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation. Life Coaches who are accredited with their professional body will have the stamp to the left on their profile. To find out more information about accreditation visit the professional bodies’ websites below. Each will have information on their requirements.
Life coaching professional bodies
- Association for Coaching (AC)
The Association for Coaching is one of the leading professional bodies for coaches and organisations. The Association is made up of a number of different membership categories, e.g. Associate Member (AMAC), Member (MAC), Accredited Member (AC Accred), with the different categories standing for different levels of training and experience. Accredited Members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association. The Association has a Code of Ethics & Good Practice and a Complaints Procedure. - Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (APECS)
The Association for Professional Executive Coaching and Supervision (APECS) is the professional body for executive coaching and for the supervision of executive coaches. The Association is made up of a number of different membership categories, including Associate Member and Accredited Executive Coach. Accredited Members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association. Members are bound by Ethical Guidelines and a Complaints Procedure. - UK International Coach Federation (ICF)
The International Coach Federation is the professional association for personal and business coaches worldwide. Coaches can become accredited by the ICF, who have three grades of membership: Associate Certified Coach (ACC), Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and Master Certified Coach (MCC), with the different categories standing for different levels of training and experience. Master Certified Coach’s have achieved a substantial level of training and experience. Members of ICF are accountable to a professional code of ethics. - International Institute of Coaching (IIC)
The IIC (originally the ECI) is an internationally focused organisation working to promote best practice. There are a number of different membership categories, including associate members, accredited members and corporate members. The IIC have their own Standards and Ethics and Complaint Procedure. - Special Group in Coaching Psychology (SGCP)
To be a member of the SGCP, a coach must first be a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS). The SGCP have two categories of membership: Full Member and Affiliate Member. BPS Members with the Graduate Basis for Registration are are eligible to become Full Members of the SGCP. All other members of BPS are eligible to become Affiliate members. Members of the SGCP are bound by the BPS Code of Conduct, Ethical Principles and Guidelines.
Other professional bodies
- British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
BACP is one of the UK’s largest professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy. The Association is made up of a number of different membership categories, e.g. Associate Member, Member (MBACP), Accredited Member (MBACP Accred), with the different categories standing for different levels of training and experience. Accredited Members have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by the Association. All members are bound by a Code of Ethics & Practice and a Complaints Procedure. - UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
The UKCP exists to promote and maintain the profession of psychotherapy and the highest standards in the practice of psychotherapy throughout the United Kingdom. The general training requirements for a practitioner to become registered with UKCP are that they must have completed a postgraduate level course in psychotherapy of at least 4 years part time duration or equivalent. However UKCP is an umbrella organisation for all the different psychotherapies and each different type of psychotherapy has slightly different training requirements. Registration with UKCP is obtained through one of their Member Organisations and each practitioner must maintain membership of a Member Organisation to maintain their UKCP Registration. They must adhere to approved Codes of Ethics and Practice and be accountable to UKCP Complaints and Appeals Procedures.
This list of professional organisations is not exhaustive, and more can be found on our Useful Resources page. Here at Life Coach Directory we recognise the value of being a member of a professional body, and for those of you who are wary about visiting a life coach we would suggest choosing a life coach on our site who is a member of a professional body. This way you know they are part of an organisation that offers a code of ethics and a complaints procedure.
