How to Become a High Conflict Divorce Coach (HCDC)
If you’ve recently experienced a child custody battle or high-conflict divorce, you may be searching for purpose and meaning after your journey. This postseason can involve self-reflection, reconnecting with old friends, and even further professional training.
Many High Conflict Divorce Coaches (HCDCs) complete their training after experiencing a high conflict divorce of their own. Oftentimes, these HCDCs voice a desire to make a major career change, informed by both personal wisdom and professional certification.
In Part 1 of this series, we explained the purpose and approach of an HCDC. In Part 2, we’ll discuss why you may want to become an HCDC, how to complete the required training, and how a HCDC certificate can be used to advocate for clients across the world.
What Type of Experience Do I Need to Become a HCDC?
While it’s common for people to enter the HCDC field after their own experiences in the family court system, prospective HCDCs offer a diverse range of experiences and perspectives. They may have supported a friend, family member, or another loved one through a divorce or custody battle, and later pursue HCDC training to provide more professional support. Some HCDCs are former law professionals or mental health specialists and seek further education to expand their services.
Wherever you began your journey, and wherever you find yourself as you read this, marks a perfectly acceptable place to begin HCDC training. The varied backgrounds of students in our HCDC program reflect this reality. Past graduates include child custody evaluators, family law attorneys, mediators, psychiatrists, parenting coordinators, newly single parents, and others simply looking to reinvent themselves after raising children.
Are There Prerequisites to Become an HCDC?
There is no “perfect” student, and there are no prerequisites required for the High Conflict Divorce Coach Certification Program (HCDCCP). We simply ask that students apply and join the program with a willingness to learn and engage. Regardless of your background, you must also be far enough in your own healing journey to hold space for future clients. Our students come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from family court attorneys and psychologists to those who have personally experienced a high conflict divorce or child custody battle.
What Can I Expect from the HCDC Certification Program?
Compared to traditional divorce coaches (DCs), HCDCs graduate from our program with the ability to strategize with their clients. Oftentimes, this involves working in the trenches of what might be someone’s most challenging life experience. Before applying these skills with clients, you’ll first develop the knowledge and strategies needed to navigate the family court system, with the understanding that clients always hold the reins.
Our eight-week HCDC certification program includes self-paced modules and lessons, and online class time via Zoom. We recognize and respect that students enter our program with varied commitments, and many maintain their careers and family obligations while working toward their certificate. You can expect to commit 10-15 hours per week to your HCDC training, at a pace and timing that works best for your schedule.
At the core of our HCDC program is a deep understanding of post separation abuse. In each week of our HCDC training, we prepare you to guide survivors through court systems that often prioritize parental rights over child safety. The eight-week curriculum is taught by top experts in psychology, trauma, parenting, law, business, marketing, and coaching, and is divided into the following categories:
1. Week One: Interpersonal Topics
In your first week, you’ll learn about coaching as a career, the foundation of a healthy and sustainable coaching practice, and how to walk alongside clients in the family court system.
2. Week Two: Psychology
Week two begins with a deep dive into narcissism, and an analysis of how narcissists tend to behave and communicate during divorce and child custody battles. You’ll also learn strategies for parenting when the co-parent is diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD).
3. Week Three: Divorce Coaching
During the third week, we’ll discuss the basic aspects of divorce coaching, such as identifying client goals and trauma-informed coaching. We’ll also review the importance of self-reflection, identifying triggers, and maintaining professional boundaries.
4. Week Four: Divorce Coaching – Strategy in Action
As discussed in Part 1 of our guide to HCDCs, divorce coaches (DCs) are slightly different from HCDCs. Both provide emotional support, but HCDCs are explicitly trained to become strategy partners for their clients. We’ll review these differences in week four and discuss strategies for claims of parental alienation, child custody, and teaming up with other family court professionals while honoring legal and therapeutic boundaries.
5. Week Five: Legal Part One
Instruction on the complex legal system is divided into two weeks. First, we’ll examine mediation and negotiations, how domestic violence can play out in family court, and the realities of both the court system and co-parenting.
6. Week Six: Legal Part Two
We shift our focus to narcissism in family court professionals and unpack the notion of a “perfect witness.” You’ll also learn about child custody evaluations and common mistakes made in high conflict divorce cases.
7. Week Seven: Documentation & Preparation
We’ll detail how to document and prepare the most important information to help clients represent themselves in court.
8. Week Eight: More Documentation & Preparation
In the final week, we direct our focus to you: how to set up your business as an HCDC and connect with prospective clients through branding, social media, and networking in your local court system.
Even after completing the program, HCDCs can always return to a growing online community of coach graduates, which continues to support its members with advocacy and business efforts. You can tap into this network at any time for collective wisdom, peer support, and valuable client resources.
Using Your HCDC Certification
While the HCDCCP is physically based in the United States, we invite students from across the world to apply to our program. Currently, we have Certified HCDCs in Netherlands, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Israel, and Canada. With the diversity of our students in mind, the HCDCCP is designed to function in any court system, whether U.S.-based or international.
The dynamics of abuse, narcissism, and high conflict individuals are not restricted by geographic boundaries, and we want advocates across the world to have access to these tools and information. With your certificate, you will be able to market yourself as a Certified HCDC. While no situation is the same, clients often consult HCDCs for support with the following goals:
● Formulating a plan to leave a toxic relationship
● Developing a strategy mindset and overall strategy
● Finding radical acceptance and managing expectations around a shifting family situation
● Navigating post separation abuse
● Assistance with coparenting communication
● To gain a deeper understanding of the family court system
● Documentation and how to show case concerns around child safety
Importantly, these goals are not exclusive: you’ll find that each client comes with a unique story and set of goals. With your comprehensive and strategy-focused training, you’ll be able to support a range of clients with confidence, clarity, and compassion.
HCDCCP Core Values
As HCDCs, we take an ethical oath to protect and advocate for our clients within clear boundaries of professionalism. Guided by this oath, the HCDC certificate empowers you to serve as a coach, consultant, and advocate for clients in the family court system.
In all of these roles, the safety, privacy, and well-being of survivors are paramount. Above all, HCDCs are committed to child-centric advocacy, and work with the belief that child safety should supersede parental rights in any family court system. If these values resonate and you’re interested in taking the next step toward certified advocacy work, read more about the history of HCDC program and the testimonials of former students.
Taking the first step toward coaching is a major decision, and often a reflection of your personal work and healing journey. Whatever your history, you are invited to join this value-driven, client-centered, and truly global community of advocates.
