Adoption competency training for coaches and professionals
Your clients could benefit from a coach or professional who genuinely understands
The Adoption Attuned Coaching® Certification: 30 hours of adoption certification training, taught by people who have lived adoption.
30 hours of certification training
Three months, cohort-based
ICF-approved Continuing Education
The importance of this training
Why adoption competency matters
There is an urgent need for professionals who are adoption competent and trauma-informed, who listen without judgment or quick advice, and who recognize that when you work with one member of the adoption constellation, the other members are in the room, too - in the heart and mind of the person sitting in front of you. Our focus is to bring them into the conversation through gentle questions that evoke awareness.
You can be that skilled coach or mental health professional: caring and effective for adopted people, first families, and adoptive parents.
Adopted people
First families
Adoptive parents
Our story
Why we created it
As adopted people, birth/first parents, and adoptive parents, we once needed specialized support ourselves. We searched high and low for professionals who knew how to be with us. This course gives you the training to serve the adoption community with confidence: to listen, to ask powerful questions, and to use the TriSpective Approach in your sessions.
Listen
Ask powerful questions
The TriSpective Approach
What your clients need
Adopted people and their families need a coach or professional who:
Knows about adoption and believes everyone in the triad experiences loss, especially the adopted person
Has the skills, life experience, and professional experience to truly listen
Holds the client capable and lets the client lead
Believes all three triad members affect one another, seen or unseen, known or unknown, and that taking the TriSpective view benefits the client
Recognizes that adoption is complex, and is not benign
Two programs, one for you
Which certification is right for you?
For certified coaches
Adoption Attuned Coaching Certification (AACC)
For coaches accredited by a coaching certification body. Learn to use your coaching competencies and skills within the adoption community. You can fill the gap between therapy and consulting by giving your clients a space to think about their future, direct their own lives, and chart their own course to their goals. Ideal if you want to build your own practice or work with companies that offer coaching to their clients.
For mental health and adoption professionals
Adoption Attuned Professional Certification (AAPC)
For social workers, counselors, therapists, and others who work with the adoption community. Adoption complexity can make your job harder. AAPC elevates your skills so you feel less overwhelmed in difficult situations, and it makes your adoption protocols more effective by giving you a fuller picture of the people most affected by the decisions being made. With your certification in hand, you show clients you can meet them where they are on their journey.
How it works
How the certification works
AACC
Adoption Attuned Coaching Certification
30 hours of training over three months
Taught by certified coaches who are part of the adoption constellation (Our Coaches)
Self-paced online curriculum that fits your busy schedule
Cohort-based: you will not be alone. Meet and learn with your peers.
Live Zoom calls twice a month with your cohort: sharpen your skills in practice coaching sessions, with immediate feedback from instructors and fellow students
30 ICF-approved Continuing Education credits (18 Core Competency, 12 Resource Development), or apply the hours to a Level 2 coaching program at the Center for Coaching Certification
AAPC
Adoption Attuned Professional Certification
30 hours of training over three months
Taught by certified coaches who are part of the adoption constellation (Our Coaches)
Self-paced online curriculum that fits around your working day
Cohort-based: you will not be alone. Meet new people and learn with your peers.
Live Zoom calls twice a month with your cohort: learn coaching skills to add to your treatment modalities or your daily work, through practice client sessions with immediate feedback from instructors and fellow students
Continuing Education for social workers: the course may qualify for 30 CE hours in most states. Check with your state accrediting body. A justification packet for state boards is available on request.
The next cohorts begin January 15, 2027.
What you will learn
The adoption certification curriculum
Up-to-date information on adoption practices, dynamics, and complexities for each triad member
The TriSpective Coaching Approach, Adoption Attuned Coaching® practices, the Adoption Attuned Parenting® approach, the Adoption Language Dictionary, and Adoption Philosophy
Special considerations for each triad member, taught by triad members
The Adoption Attuned Coaching® Toolkit: specialized coaching techniques, exercises, and checklists
Model coaching and client sessions with instructive debriefs
Everything you need to enroll new clients: questionnaires, agreements, and coaching plan templates
Live class discussion and practice coaching sessions twice a month on Zoom
A private Facebook group for support and community with other Adoption Attuned coaches and professionals
Ongoing access to new information and training from Growing Intentional Families Together
Price and what is included
Your investment
$1,299
Payment plans available: quarterly installments, or half down and the balance later.
Included after you certify
A free two-year listing in our Directory of Adoption Attuned Certified Coaches and Professionals
Ongoing access to new material
From our graduates
What graduates say
Questions and answers
Your questions, answered
Do I need to be a certified coach?
For the coaching certification (AACC), yes: you may be certified, or working toward certification, with any coaching body, such as the International Coaching Federation (ICF), the Association for Coaching (AC), or the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC). Not a coach? The professional certification (AAPC) is for you.
How long does it take?
30 hours over three months.
Are the live sessions required?
Yes. You need to attend 80% of the live sessions to receive your certification.
Do I get CE hours?
The Adoption Attuned Coaching Certification is approved for 30 ICF Continuing Education hours. Social workers can check eligibility with their state accrediting body. CE hours are granted after you pass the final exam and coaching practicum at 80% proficiency.
Will I be listed in the directory?
You can list your name, photo, and business or organization in our directory free of charge for two years.
What if I am outside the US?
We welcome you. You can take the course from anywhere in the world, and we will set live Zoom calls that suit your time zone.
Ready to become adoption attuned?
The next cohorts begin January 15, 2027. Ask us anything, or save your place today.