Associate Brain Coach Certification:
ICF Level 1 Coaching Program
Get certified as an Associate Brain Coach. An ICF accredited program with expert faculty and a supportive community. Contact us today to learn more!
Associate Brain Coach Overview
Six Seconds’ Associate Brain Coach (ABC) program is a focused, ICF-accredited pathway that equips you with the core skills, structure, and resources you need to begin coaching right away. Through immersive training with seasoned faculty and hands-on practice in a global learning community, you’ll learn how to deliver coaching that drives meaningful change. On successful completion, you earn your Associate Brain Coach certificate and become eligible to apply for ICF Level 1 (ACC) credential — ready to launch or enhance your coaching career and help clients achieve concrete, measurable results.
Comprehensive, ICF accredited program
Expert, caring faculty
Challenging and supportive environment
Coaching practice infused with emotional intelligence skills and assessments
In-depth training with ample supervised coaching practice
Associate Brain Coach Outcomes
After completing the Level 1 Certification, you’ll be equipped with the essential skills to begin your coaching journey — grounded in the ICF Core Competencies and fueled by emotional intelligence. You’ll build a strong foundation to be a coach: cultivating presence, trust, and awareness in every coaching conversation. This program integrates practical EQ tools and ICF-aligned training to help you grow as a reflective, ethical, and impactful coach — and sets you up to confidently continue into Level 2.
By the end of this certification you will:
✓ Gain clarity and confidence in your identity as a coach.
✓ Learn to listen deeply, evoke awareness, and build trust.
✓ Practice coaching conversations using ICF Core Competencies.
✓ Apply emotional intelligence to support meaningful growth in clients.
✓ Engage in mentor coaching and receive supportive, developmental feedback.
✓ Begin to shape your own coaching style and professional direction.
And you’ll feel grounded, supported, and inspired — ready for the next steps in your coaching path, and connected to a vibrant global network of EQ coaches.
“A mind shifting experience in coaching that makes coaching more trustworthy because of all the EQ tools.”
Why Six Seconds’ Associate Brain Coach Certification?
Is this the right coaching program for you? Here’s what makes us stand out:
Deep, thought-provoking program for coaching. I feel personally uplifted as both a coach and a person.
I found the model to be thorough, easy to understand and well-grounded in solid research. Their resource library and support personnel are extremely knowledgeable and responsive and the way they melded their EQ model into the International Coaching Federation credentialing is outstanding.
A practical, empowering course which provided a safe space to gain insights & effectively learn the coaching process.
Associate Brain Coach Course Details
This course consists of a three-part journey and includes 10 hours of mentor coaching — 6 in group format and 4 individually — designed to strengthen your core coaching competencies and deepen your ‘self-as-coach’ presence. This final step of the Level 1 pathway is typically completed over a few months, depending on your scheduling and mentor selection. Please contact us to learn more about upcoming courses in your region.
Part 1:
EQ Practitioner (EQPC)
Experience the practice of EQ, deepen your understanding of the Six Seconds Model of Emotional Intelligence™, and strengthen core EQ skills.
ICF hours: 36, Level 1 or 2
Part 2:
Coach Certification Foundations (CCF)
Master coaching essentials with training in the ICF Core Competencies + Brain Profiler Certification included.
ICF hours: 58, Level 1 or 2
L1 Completion:
Group & 1-1 Mentoring
+ ICF Exam
* optional, if not continuing to ICF Level 2 – EQ Coach Certification right away)
EQ Coach Accreditations
Take your coaching higher through Six Seconds’ partnerships.
International Coaching Federation
The International Coaching Federation accredited Six Seconds’ coaching school at its highest level. ABC is a “Level 1 Training Program” granting 98.5 hours of accredited coach education; graduates complete their demonstration of competence directly with Six Seconds for an expedited process to achieve Associate Coach Certification from ICF.
Six Seconds also holds Level 2 EQCC and Level 3 Master Coach accreditation.
How is an Associate Brain Coach Different?
Associate Brain Coaches are life and executive coaches with specialized training in how to integrate emotions as valuable data — both for their clients and for themselves as coaches. Starting with Level 1 certification, Associate Brain Coaches build a solid foundation in coaching competencies while developing the self-awareness and presence that make their coaching more impactful and human-centered.
Associate Brain Coaches:
- Partner with clients through trust and presence, creating space for insight
- Use emotional intelligence to navigate complexity and support authentic growth
- Practice listening deeply and asking meaningful questions that evoke awareness
- Reflect on their own mindset and emotional cues to be fully present in sessions
- Receive mentor feedback to strengthen ethical practice and coaching confidence
- Encourage clients to explore emotions as a source of clarity, energy, and action
Want to learn more? Contact us today, we’d love to share more about the program and the easiest transition to Level 2.
ICF Programs
ICF Accredited Emotional Intelligence Coaching Programs
Compare Six Seconds’ ICF accredited coaching programs – Level 1 (ACC), Level 2 (PCC) and Level 3 (MCC).
Associate Brain Coach Certification (ABCC)
ICF Level 1 Accredited Coaching Program
Learn to coach, collect certifications as you learn practical, proven tools. Earn Associate Brain Coach certification and apply for Level 1 ACC from ICF.
Pathway: EQ Practitioner > Coach Cert Foundations (+ Brain Profiler) > Brain Coach Completion
* also counts toward the PCC Level 2 program
Languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese (plus partial completion hours in Italian, French, Arabic, Japanese
Audience: Professionals committed to developing expertise in people development
ICF Hours: 108 ICF Hours (See our Knowledge Base article on ICF hours)
Pre-requisites: None
Delivery method: Live virtual courses + eLearning
Contact: 831-763-1800 or via email at 6sec.org/contact. Contact persons vary by region; Director of Education is Joshua Freedman, MCC
EQ Coach Certification (EQCC)
ICF Level 2 Accredited Coaching Program
Become a transformational coach with life-changing learning, extensive practice & advanced tools. Earn Certified EQ Coach certification and apply for Level 2 PCC from ICF.
Pathway: EQ Practitioner > Coach Cert Foundations (+ Brain Profiler) > EQ Assessor Coach Cert Integrations > Coach Cert Solutions > EQ Coach Completion
Languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese (plus partial completion hours in Italian, French, Arabic, Japanese
Audience: Professionals committed to developing expertise in people development
ICF Hours: 224 ICF Hours (See our Knowledge Base article on ICF hours)
Pre-requisites: None
Delivery method: Live virtual courses + eLearning
Contact: 831-763-1800 or via email at 6sec.org/contact. Contact persons vary by region; Director of Education is Joshua Freedman, MCC
Master Coach Certification (MCC)
ICF Level 3 Accredited Coaching Program
As an experienced professional coach using emotional intelligence to fuel transformation, you know that emotions are the key. You have the skills. You are becoming the coach you mean to be. Step more fully into your presence of BEING COACH, tap your and your clients’ emotions even more clearly, and cocreate the future of EQ coaching. Earn Certified EQ Master Coach status (MCC-Level to meet ICF’s MCC education & mentoring requirements. Then, when you choose to, pursue MCC status from ICF).
Class Names & contact hours: EQMC, 80 hours (40 synchronous)
Dates/locations: Next available session: Oct 2026, Bali
Language(s): English
Delivery method: In-person + online
Audience: Professional Coaches with deep experience and commitment to leading the emotional intelligence coaching field
Pre-requisites: PCC + significant experience with Six Seconds EQ tools + >500 hours of professional coaching experience
Contact: 831-763-1800 or via email at 6sec.org/contact. Contact persons vary by region; Director of Education is Joshua Freedman, MCC
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Six Seconds is a global nonprofit working to support ALL people to grow and practice emotional intelligence.
We think the world would be a better place if a billion people were practicing the skills of emotional intelligence (EQ). So, we research and share scientific, global, transformational tools & methods to support that goal. Learn more about Six Seconds' vision or to go deeper, explore EQ Certification Training for coaching, facilitating, consulting or educating.
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