We support you in contracting 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.
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.
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.
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.
Optimus isn't a business opportunity someone spotted in a growing market. It's the direct result of Ruth's own training leaving her cold, and her deciding that "good enough" wasn't. Why does that matter to you? Because every design decision traces back to it — the depth of the modules, the size of the cohorts, the refusal to cut corners. When a provider builds from frustration rather than opportunity, the choices land differently. You feel it in the room from module one.
Most coach training hands you a model and a set of questions. We start somewhere else: with how people actually think, feel and change. Ruth has studied Psychology for over 30 years, and the curriculum reflects it — coaching psychology, positive psychology, neuroscience, somatic approaches, narrative and cognitive work. Why? Because surface-level coaching doesn't hold. When you understand why an intervention lands, you can adapt it. When you only know the script, you're stuck the moment a client doesn't follow it.
Most providers hold one accreditation. Both Optimus diplomas are accredited by the ICF, the EMCC and the Association for Coaching — your curriculum, trainers, assessment and ethics independently vetted three times, not once. Why bother with all three? Because we don't think your training should limit where you can work. ICF opens corporate and North American doors, EMCC covers Europe, AC is strong in the UK. You shouldn't have to guess your future market at the point of enrolment.
Trademarked and taught across six pillars — the client's emotions, context, identity, body, behaviour and brain. Some clients need one pillar. Some need all six. You decide, live, based on how they're presenting. As Ruth puts it, it's "always about the client, rather than putting somebody through a rigid process." Why? Because human beings don't arrive in a standard format, and any framework that forces them into one will fail the interesting cases — which are most of them. Click Here for more information
State, Engage, Learn, Focus, Listen, Explore, Support, Self-Reflection. A clear structure for a session that still leaves room to adapt. Crucially it starts with you — your state, your preparation, how you're being before you worry about what you're doing. Why lead with the coach? Because presence isn't a technique you deploy, it's a condition you arrive in. Get that right and the rest follows. New coaches consistently tell us this is what converted nerves into confidence.
This is not a course you watch. You coach, you're coached, and you observe — nearly every time the group meets. Ten points of tutor feedback including four recorded sessions, 50 hours of coaching practice, and over 30 example sessions across different sectors to study. Why so relentless? Because coaching is a craft, and nobody has ever become skilled at a craft by taking notes. Our feedback is strengths-based but rigorous — we don't hand out nice comments for the sake of it.
Cohorts are capped at 14. Every core trainer holds ICF PCC status or above with their own live practice and 500+ coaching hours. Ruth — one of roughly 150 MCCs in the UK, with 10,000+ coaching hours — teaches at least half the Professional Diploma herself. Why cap the numbers when bigger groups pay better? Because you cannot give meaningful feedback on someone's coaching at scale. As one graduate put it: "you are not a number."
Ten hours of mentoring — five group, five one-to-one with a PCC or MCC — included as standard, making the diploma a direct route to ACC or PCC with no bolt-ons. You're formatively assessed against the eight ICF Core Competencies throughout, then assessed in a live coaching session at the end. Why show your workings? Because we tell you the competencies you'll be judged on from day one. Nobody should reach assessment day and be surprised.
Miss a session? Everything's recorded. Drop below 80% attendance? We build you a bespoke programme across future cohorts. Need to pause because life happened? You pause, and we get you back. You attend one session a week and can move between daytime and evening as your life shifts. Why go to that trouble? Because talented people have messy lives, and writing them off is lazy. It's also why completion rates sit at 97%+, hitting 99% in 2025.
A qualification you can't earn a living from is an expensive hobby. So you get a free online business platform, monthly Q&As with Ruth herself, marketing sessions, business days shaped by student requests, peer coaching partners matched for you, pro bono placements with charities, and a coach directory listing on graduation. Why include all of it? Because sending people off to buy business training elsewhere would be an admission that we hadn't finished the job.
If you want to finish your training as a confident, credible coach who gets consistent results, recognised in the UK, across Europe and internationally, that’s precisely what we have built.
You will better understand what it is like to study on either of our Accredited Diplomas with Video testimonials included
A detailed breakdown of the different modules taught in both our ICF Accredited Diplomas.
Find out course dates and meet members of the Optimus team
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."
"This journey has been truly special. It's not just about learning to coach - it's about learning who you are as a coach and as a human being. The content is rich and expertly designed, but what sets Optimus apart is the depth of personal transformation it fosters. The trainers show up with such authenticity, vulnerability, and deep integrity. They don't just teach coaching - they embody it. I always felt supported, seen, and challenged in the best possible way. This experience has shaped not only the coach I am becoming, but the person I continue to evolve into."
