Becoming a Somatic Coach: Accredited Certification Programs

By Team Simply.Coach
Published Date: January 23, 2025
Updated Date: January 23, 2025
16 min read
Table of Contents

Embarking on a career in somatic coaching offers a unique opportunity to assist your clients in managing stress, resolving trauma, and fostering a harmonious mind-body connection. Obtaining a somatic coaching certification not only enhances your credibility but also equips you with specialized skills to facilitate profound personal growth in others.

Somatic coaching stands out by delving into how physical experiences and sensations influence emotional well-being rather than focusing solely on cognitive processes or goal-setting. In a world where your clients seek solutions that address their whole selves, this perspective is increasingly sought after. Whether it’s building resilience or fostering mindfulness, somatic coaching holds immense potential to bring lasting change.

In this blog, we dive into the essentials of somatic coaching, the increasing demand for certified professionals in this field, the key factors to consider when selecting a certification program that aligns with your career aspirations and the best certification programs for you to choose from.

By the end, you’ll be prepared to choose a certification program that aligns with your professional goals, equipping you to take a step forward for a more rewarding career as a somatic coach.

What is Somatic Coaching?

Somatic coaching integrates the body into your coaching process, emphasizing the mind-body connection to help your clients achieve personal growth and transformation. Unlike traditional coaching methods that focus on cognitive strategies, somatic coaching encourages you to explore physical sensations, movements, and internal experiences. This approach empowers your clients to navigate emotional challenges, reduce stress, and build greater self-awareness and confidence.

Alternate titles of somatic coaching: As a somatic coach, you might identify with titles like:

  • Embodiment coach
  • Transformational coach
  • Holistic coach
  • Mind-body coach

Somatic coaching techniques

Somatic coaching involves various practices aimed at boosting growth and healing for your clients through the body. Some of the most common techniques include:

  • Mindfulness and meditation: Cultivating awareness of the present moment to enhance focus and reduce stress.
  • Breathwork: You introduce and promote the usage of intentional breathing to regulate emotions and manage the nervous system.
  • Movement practices: You help your clients get familiar with and engage in activities like yoga, tai chi, or dance to improve body awareness and release tension.
  • Grounding techniques: You, as a somatic coach, assist in connecting your clients with the physical environment to stabilize emotions, increase presence and enhance body awareness.
  • Alternative healing modalities: You introduce and help incorporate practices such as reiki, aromatherapy, or massage for holistic support for your clients.

Each session may vary, reflecting your strengths and your client’s unique needs. Whether you lean towards scientific methods or alternative healing, the goal remains the same: helping clients reconnect with their bodies for meaningful change.

What is somatic leadership coaching?

Somatic leadership coaching is an emerging field that continues to grow, with its approaches varying across practitioners and programs. It blends somatic coaching, leadership development, and personal growth to offer a well-rounded path to enhancing your and your client’s leadership effectiveness.

This coaching style focuses on building leadership skills by connecting the mind and body. It recognizes that effective leadership isn’t just about knowledge and technical skills; it’s also about embodying leadership qualities and expressing them authentically and holistically.

In practice, somatic leadership coaching enhances self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and nonverbal communication by connecting your body’s sensations, movements, and postures to your leadership style. This approach helps you cultivate a stronger, more impactful presence, aligning your clients and your actions with deeper self-awareness.

In her revised 2024 paper, Seeing How To Serve: Leveraging Somatic Intelligence to Lead and Engage,” Lissa Pohl highlights the significance of somatic intelligence in addressing workplace disengagement. Through methodologies like “Equine-Assisted Learning” and the “Lights on Leadership” program, she illustrates how body awareness can improve leadership effectiveness and bloom a more connected and purposeful work culture.

A research suggests that being more mindful of your posture and movements can help you create a more uplifting emotional experience by adjusting your body language. Another research published in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) also indicates that somatic experiencing can be an effective way to address the negative emotional impact and symptoms of trauma.

Top 8 Somatic Coaching Certification Programs

To help you navigate your options, we’ve curated a list of the best certification programs for aspiring somatic coaches like yourself.

1. Integrative Somatic Practitioner Certification Course – IWA Coaching

1. Integrative Somatic Practitioner Certification Course – IWA Coaching

Overview: This online program trains you to help your clients manage stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma through effective somatic tools and techniques. It covers topics such as the autonomic nervous system, quantum physics in healing, and ethical practice. The course includes virtual classes accessible 24/7, allowing you to progress at your own pace.

Key components:

  • Comprehensive curriculum: The course covers somatic foundations, healing the total self, quantum physics and biology, the autonomic nervous system, and various somatic tools and techniques.
  • Practical application: Includes practice hours working on oneself, sessions with fellow students, a full intake session, and a complete somatic session.
  • Ethical training: Emphasizes informed consent, boundaries, safe touch and much more in somatic practice.

Duration: 55-60 hours/validity of up to 6 months to complete the program fully.

Cost: $1,200.

Accreditation: Not specified.

Mode of delivery: Online, self-paced, with 24/7 access to course materials.

You can enroll in this program if you want to elevate yourself with a full introduction and information on somatic principles, ethics and techniques if you have the required budget. 

2. Accredited Diploma in Body-Oriented Coaching – The Somatic School

2. Accredited Diploma in Body-Oriented Coaching – The Somatic School

Overview: This program offers a body-mind integrated approach to coaching, emphasizing embodied dialogue and somatic practices. It’s the world’s first somatic coach training awarded a Level 2 accreditation by the International Coaching Federation (ICF). The curriculum is divided into six online modules, each focusing on different aspects of body-oriented coaching.

Key components:

  • Module 1: Foundations
  • Module 2: Presence & Sense
  • Module 3: Resource & Regulate
  • Module 4: Attune & Resonate
  • Module 5: Contact & Constellate
  • Module 6: Embody & Integrate

Duration: 6 months, with one month allotted for each module, covered in two days of that month from 9 AM to 5 PM for the respective module going on.

Cost: £7,200 (approximately $9,002).

Accreditation: ICF Level 2, allowing graduates to apply for PCC (Professional Certified Coach) Credential upon meeting ICF requirements.

Mode of delivery: Online (Zoom), with small groups for an intimate, in-person style live experience.

It is led by experienced somatic coaches and practitioners; however, its price is on the higher end for coaches who have just started their journey.

3. Somatic Coaching Certification Program – Strozzi Institute

3. Somatic Coaching Certification Program – Strozzi Institute

Overview: As a pioneer in somatic coaching, the Strozzi Institute offers a comprehensive program combining in-person retreats, mentor coaching, and online learning. The curriculum integrates body-based methods, mindfulness, and principles from martial arts. Participants engage in in-person sessions supplemented by webinars and group mentoring.

Key components:

  • In-person retreats: Four immersive 4-day retreats focusing on somatic practices, mindfulness, and embodied leadership.
  • Mentor coaching: One-on-one mentor coaching sessions to provide personalized guidance and support.
  • Group mentoring: Collaborative group mentoring sessions to enhance your learning and community building.
  • Webinars and online learning: Supplementary online content, including webinars and resources, to support your ongoing development.

Duration: 8 months, with scheduled retreats and ongoing online components.

Cost: $15,450, with a $1,000 discount if enrolled early.

Accreditation: Accredited by ICF up to the requirements for the Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential level.

Mode of delivery: Hybrid, combining in-person retreats with online learning and mentoring.

The certification covers it all, from basic skills to advanced somatic coaching techniques.

4. Somatic Coaching Certification Program – Somatic Coaching Academy

4. Somatic Coaching Certification Program – Somatic Coaching Academy

Overview: This program offers a trauma-informed approach to coaching, integrating mindfulness, neuroscience, and bioenergetics and is divided into three levels, interconnected with each other. It aims to help coaches facilitate deep personal transformation by addressing the root causes of emotional patterns at the cellular level for you to benefit from.

Key Components:

  • Sensation-based motivation coaching: Focuses on helping you make your clients become aware of, decode, and reframe their emotional content through body sensations.
  • Mindfulness integration: Incorporates mindfulness practices to assist you in further enhancing your client’s awareness and presence.
  • Neuroscience and bioenergetics: The certification applies principles from neuroscience and bioenergetics to understand and facilitate change in your clients.

Duration: 11 months. 

Cost: $18,000 for all three levels.

Accreditation: The program is recognized by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) for Continuing Coach Education (CCE) units.

Mode of delivery: Primarily online, with four 4-day in-person sessions; further details can be obtained directly from the academy.

You can access a range of materials supporting the integration of somatic practices into your coaching. Nonetheless, the pricing is on the very high end, which makes it a certificate not everyone can opt for.

5. Somatic Experiencing® Professional Training – Somatic Experiencing International

5. Somatic Experiencing® Professional Training – Somatic Experiencing International

Overview: Developed by Dr. Peter A. Levine, this professional training program focuses on resolving trauma through a body-oriented approach. It combines theoretical lectures, demonstrations, and guided practice sessions to equip practitioners with skills to address trauma and stress disorders.

Key components:

  • Comprehensive curriculum: Covers the physiology of stress and trauma, techniques for restoring self-regulation, and methods to resolve trauma responses.
  • Experiential learning: Includes demonstrations and guided practice sessions to apply learned concepts.
  • Sequential training modules: Delivered in 8 modules, spaced up to 3 years.

Duration: 3 years.

Cost: $9980 for all modules, with rates being divided as per the levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) with a discount on early registration.

Accreditation: Upon completion, participants earn the title of Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP).

Mode of delivery: In-person training modules, with some regions offering hybrid formats; details are available through the somatic coaching certification’s training calendar.

This certification is designed in a way to enhance your skills in addressing trauma and stress-related disorders, but you need to keep in mind that it requires a longer commitment from you and is quite pricey as well.

6. Breathwork Instructor Training – SOMA Breath®

6. Breathwork Instructor Training – SOMA Breath®

Overview: SOMA Breath® offers a comprehensive breathwork instructor training program that combines ancient pranayama techniques with modern science. The training is designed to equip instructors with the skills to facilitate breathwork sessions confidently and effectively.

Key components:

  • Pranayama techniques: Focuses on scientifically backed pranayama breathing methods for you to implement an unconventional method and drive results.
  • Brainwave music technology: Incorporates music designed to enhance the breathwork experience and develop a better rhythm with meditation sounds using isochronic tones and trypnaural beats.
  • Scientific validation: SOMA Breath’s methods are scientifically grounded and currently under study at Cambridge University. You can complete SOMA Breath’s specialized, science-based training across two levels, each designed to be finished within a few weeks.

Duration: Levels 1 and 2 within 40 days, going at a faster rate.

Cost: Detailed pricing information is available upon inquiry.

Accreditation: SOMA Breath® is accredited by the Accredited Counsellors, Coaches, Psychotherapists and Hypnotherapists (ACCPH) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Accreditation.

Mode of delivery: Online, with options for live group-calls with a mentorship add-on program available.

Its flexibility makes it one of the top options to consider, and it also has a unique approach that is scientifically backed.

7. Dance Alchemy Academy by FICHO Institute

7. Dance Alchemy Academy by FICHO Institute

Overview: This somatic coaching certification is led by Goran Bogdanovski and is a comprehensive program designed to equip participants with the skills and confidence to facilitate transformative dance experiences. Integrating contemporary methodologies with ancient wisdom, the program emphasizes the use of dance as a medium for personal and societal transformation.

Key components:

  • Holistic curriculum: The training encompasses over 70 tools, games, and exercises derived from dance improvisation, contact improvisation, dance therapy, and body-mind-spirit practices, designed for self-development and for facilitating, teaching, coaching, and working with groups.
  • Structured approach: Participants learn a proven 8-step structure to design and lead sessions confidently, aiming to create impactful embodied and transformational outcomes.
  • Flexible delivery: The program offers both online and in-person components, including video tutorials, live online group workshops, one-on-one coaching, and immersive retreats in locations such as Slovenia and Bali.
  • Certification: Upon completion, participants receive a certificate from the FICHO Institute, validating their capability.

Duration: The online course is self-paced, complemented by live workshops and retreats. The in-person retreats typically span 12 to 14 days.

Cost: Pricing varies based on the selected components and retreat locations. Prospective participants are encouraged to schedule a connection call with Goran Bogdanovski to discuss personalized pricing options.

Accreditation: While the program provides a certification from the FICHO Institute, it does not specify external accreditation.

Mode of delivery: Primarily an online course, including live virtual workshops, one-on-one coaching, and in-person retreats.

This certification makes the most out of relieving stress through physical activities for both you and your clients and enables you to approach coaching through a different route.

8. The Pause Somatic Coaching Certification

8. The Pause Somatic Coaching Certification

The Pause Somatic Coaching Certification is a program designed to train you to become a masterful somatic coach, guiding you through body-based transformations that lead to deeper embodiment and freedom for you and, ultimately, your clients.

Key components:

  • Holistic curriculum: The program covers The Somatic System™, a method that uses the body’s intelligence to create lasting change, moving beyond mindset work to address root causes.
  • Live training: Led by Samantha Skelly and her team of expert coaches, the program includes weekly live training sessions, providing real-time guidance and support.
  • Mentorship: You’ll be paired with a trauma-informed, experienced coach/mentor who embodies Pause principles and values, offering personalized support throughout the program.

Duration: Six months, with weekly training content and live sessions.

Cost: Pricing details are available upon request; interested individuals are encouraged to book a discovery call to discuss personalized options.

Accreditation: The program is accredited by the International Certification Association for Integrative Health Practitioners (ICAHP).

Mode of delivery: Entirely online, offering flexibility for participants to engage from anywhere.

The program emphasizes personal growth, encouraging you to embody the mastery you aim to facilitate in others.

What Exercises can You Use in Somatic Coaching?

As a somatic coach, you have the opportunity to guide your clients toward deeper healing by tapping into the body-mind connection. Here are some impactful exercises you can integrate into your practice:

  • Mindfulness and meditation: Encourage your clients to stay present and connect with their body’s sensations, promoting awareness and creating a sense of calmness.
  • Breathing techniques: Teach belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) to help your clients regulate emotions and manage stress effectively.
  • Body scanning: Guide your clients through a body scan to identify and further release areas of tension or discomfort.
  • Biofeedback: Use tools like heart rate monitors or muscle tension trackers to help your clients observe their physical responses to tension and adjust accordingly.
  • Emotional mapping: Assist your clients in locating where specific emotions manifest in their bodies, strengthening the link between feelings and physical sensations and bridging the gap for optimized results.
  • Movement practices: Incorporate physical movements, including diverse types of exercises and physical activities, to assist your clients in releasing stored energy and emotions.
  • Emotional resilience training: Equip your clients with strategies and tips to manage emotions in a healthy, constructive way.
  • Grounding techniques: Spread awareness on using grounding techniques like feeling the ground beneath their feet and focusing on that sensation to aid your clients in staying centered and present.

Tip – Additional methods you might explore include body-mind centering, Feldenkrais, laban movement analysis, dance, yoga, pilates, or aikido.

By blending these approaches, you can create a coaching style tailored to your client’s unique needs and goals.

Launching Your Somatic Coaching Practice

Once you’ve earned your certification, it’s time to build your practice. Here’s how to get started:

1. Define your niche and methodology

Identify the area where you can provide the most value. Whether it’s trauma recovery, stress management, or emotional resilience, tailoring your services will attract the right clients. A clear niche helps you stand out in a competitive market and positions you as an expert.

2. Design an impactful coaching program

Create a structured program that aligns with your niche. Focus on clear coaching paths, session structures, and measurable outcomes. For example, you could offer a 12-week transformation program with weekly sessions or provide intensive workshops for deeper engagement.

3. Build client relationships

Networking is essential. Leverage social media platforms, host workshops, and offer discounted sessions to build your client base. Engage in communities that value somatic practices to establish authority. Consider writing blogs or creating videos that showcase your expertise and attract potential clients.

4. Continuous professional development

Stay updated with the latest advancements in somatic practices. Attend workshops, join professional associations, and collaborate with other coaches to refine your skills and expand your network.

5. Use digital coaching platforms

Incorporating a digital coaching platform to assist in managing your coaching practice can significantly enhance your efficiency and client engagement. Coaching platforms like Simply.Coach offer comprehensive tools tailored for you, including client management, session scheduling, action plans & progress tracking, and secure communication channels, taking automated session notes, using different forms for feedback and creating real-time reports as well. 

Utilizing such a platform allows you to streamline administrative tasks, maintain organized client records, and deliver a seamless coaching experience. This integration enables you to focus more on impactful coaching and less on operational details whilst integrating all these somatic coaching techniques, ultimately elevating the quality of service you provide to your clients.

By following these steps, you’ll be well on your way to building a successful somatic coaching practice that makes a meaningful impact on your clients’ lives.

What can You Earn as a Somatic Coach?

Your income as a somatic coach can vary based on factors like your expertise, specialization, and service structure. According to SimplyHired, the average hourly wage for a somatic coach in the United States is approximately $21.97. ZipRecruiter reports that somatic therapists earn an average annual salary of $68,084, salaries changing as per the state you operate in.

Set your own rates: Unlike salaried roles, as a self-employed coach, you have the flexibility to set your rates, which can significantly impact your income. With the right strategies, many coaches earn six figures or more.

Factors that influence your earnings:

  • Experience: As per your experience and advanced skills, years of practice enable you to charge higher rates.
  • Location: Urban areas or regions with higher demand for somatic practices often support higher pricing.
  • Specialization: Focusing on a sought-after niche, like trauma recovery or corporate wellness, can boost your earning potential.

With thoughtful planning and targeted marketing, reaching a substantial income is achievable as a somatic coach.

Streamline Your Path to Somatic Coaching with Simply.Coach

Pursuing somatic coaching is a chance to create lasting transformations in your client’s lives. With demand rising for holistic approaches that address mind-body connections, earning a somatic coaching certification equips you to meet this need with expertise and credibility.

Start by choosing a program that aligns with your career goals, as these certifications provide the skills and tools needed to build a thriving practice, whether you specialize in trauma recovery, stress management, or emotional resilience.

As you embark on this journey, streamline your practice with platforms like Simply.Coach, for better practice management. The platform has features that allow you to focus on impactful coaching while delivering a seamless client experience.

Schedule a demo or sign up for the free 14-day trial and experience optimized assistance!

Begin today, take the next step toward certification, and position yourself as a trusted expert in somatic coaching. Transform lives, including your own, with a fulfilling and rewarding career.

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